WINNIPEG – Agriculture minister Harry Enns says hog farmers should use the next few months to form business plans, arrange contracts and prepare themselves for an open market.
Enns announced Manitoba Pork, a single-desk seller of hogs in the province, will lose its monopoly July 1.
Ken Foster, chair of Manitoba Pork, said he didn’t think Enns would change his mind about the change, despite intense lobbying from farmers. But Foster said he’s still disappointed.
“I guess we’ve said all along if there was evidence that someone in the industry would benefit from this, it would be easier to accept. But so far that still has not been demonstrated.”
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Majority against
Foster said a poll taken in January showed only eight percent of producers agreed with Enns’ decision. “I guess we feel that dictatorship is alive and well in Manitoba.”
At a news conference, Enns said farmers will thank him in a few years when processing, production and exports increase. “One has to do things that aren’t always popular.”
Enns also released some details of how the new system will work:
- Manitoba Pork will continue to be responsible for general activities like market development, research, education and environmental issues. All producers will pay an as yet undetermined flat fee per hog for these services.
- Processors and new marketing agencies will collect the checkoff for Manitoba Pork.
- Manitoba Pork will set up a marketing arm for farmers who want it to sell their hogs. Only farmers who use the services will pay for them.
- A third party such as the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange will keep track of prices paid for hogs and publish weekly price ranges, without disclosing confidential information. This system has yet to be refined.
Foster said Manitoba Pork will be coming out with contracts before July 1. The agency will be better able to gauge the number of hogs it will be marketing once farmers start signing contracts.
The agency is introducing new pricing options. Farmers can use the popular forward contracting program, or receive a weekly pooled price or spot price, said Foster.
The board also has two new options for forward contracting: A minimum price contract, and a “window” pricing contract with a minimum and maximum price.
A spokesperson for a lobby group called Producers Protesting Interfering Government said he was caught off-guard by Enns’ announcement. PPIG believed Enns might compromise on some issues, said Stan Yaskiw.
Help understand information
He said the group is pondering what it will do after July 1. It may continue to take a political role, but Yaskiw said PPIG could also become an information agent for hog farmers to help in “deciphering the great number of deals coming at them, the net price and benefits of various contracts.”
The group has been an advocate for the single-desk system, and Yaskiw said it might evolve into a voice for hog producers, including those who want marketing alternatives.
