Lots of room for more hogs
Western Canadians are not alone in debating the merits of expanding the hog industry.
Most agriculture analysts agree demand for pork and other meats will rise in the next 25 years as hundreds of millions of people in Asia become more affluent and desire more variety and protein in their diets.
They will increase their own hog production, but most agree that due to geographic and population restrictions, Asia will not be self-sufficient in pork.
Hog promoters from Alberta to Alabama, Saskatchewan to South Carolina, are encouraging the enlargement of their region’s herds to feed this world demand.
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And it seems all of them to a greater or lesser degree are running into opposition from people concerned about the impact of large, intensive livestock operations on the environment and the local area’s quality of life.
Richard Wright, general manager of Quadra Group, a Saskatchewan hog company, presented a paper to the Regina Chamber of Commerce last spring giving his argument for boosting hog development. His focus was on Saskatchewan, but most of what he said applies to Manitoba and Alberta too.
He noted a key component of hog production costs – feed grain – is cheaper in Western Canada than in Ontario, Quebec or Iowa.
A particularly striking graphic in his presentation was a map of the three prairie provinces. Maps of Denmark and Holland are also shown, tucked comfortably into the southern half of Saskatchewan, filling less than half the space.
A table shows that between them, Denmark and Holland have about 37 million hogs. Saskatchewan has about one million.
The implication is that Saskatchewan could double, triple or even quadruple production and still come nowhere near the hog concentration of these two European countries.
The sparse population and wide open areas make the Prairies an ideal place for hog production.
What the graphic doesn’t show is that hog barn effects are local in scope. If you have a nearby, poorly managed barn wafting vile, noxious manure stench and threatening well water with nitrates, it is little comfort that there isn’t another barn for 25 kilometres.
But Wright recognizes the importance of community involvement. From site selection to investment to manure management regimes – all should have strong community input from the start.
The market for pork is real.
By adopting a constructive, but watchful approach, Prairie communities will gain economic development and jobs by boosting production to fill part of it.
