Sturgeon Valley Pork, a hog processing operation near St. Albert, Alta., has ceased operations and its future is in question.
Dan Majeau, marketing manager for the co-operative, confirmed July 18 that the plant was not operating, but said he could not comment further.
The plant, which involved more than 20 producers and has a weekly slaughter capacity of 1,000 head, ceased operations near the end of June.
Majeau would not comment on the status of the employees or confirm the number of workers affected.
However, a video prepared two years ago by the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency said the plant employed up to 70 people. ALMA provided the business with a $960,000 grant in 2010 to assist with a planned expansion.
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Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director for Alberta Pork, said the closure, whether temporary or permanent, is unfortunate and a sign of current economics in the hog business.
“I’m sure it had a lot to do with the high cost of pigs and the low cost of what the cut-out value is in comparison,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s just too bad. There was a great opportunity for a number of producers to invest in a plant and make it work.”
Fitzgerald said some of the producers involved in the co-operative venture had recently decided to quit the hog business due to poor economics.
“They’re not the only ones. There’s other producers (getting out), too. When prices got really high in the last month or so, they just decided it was probably the best time to leave.”
Sturgeon Valley is a federally inspected plant that was among the first to use DNA as a tool for traceability from farm to retailer. The company website said it has “integrated and complete control from production through processing.”
The plant dealt only in primal pork cuts.
In a July 6 report, Kevin Grier of the George Morris Centre based in Guelph, Ont., said the owners and operators of Sturgeon Valley are among the more highly regarded and well known players in the Alberta pork industry.
“They have worked hard and gained a great deal of respect as they tried to make a name for the operation since purchasing a small plant in the area in 2000,” Grier said in his report.
Cessation of its operations is symptomatic of industry problems, the analyst added.
“The fact of the matter is that running a small hog plant is an extremely challenging venture. It requires unique skills and experience, not to mention deep pockets.”
Though hogs are profitable for producers, at least until feed prices rise, the volatile market is forcing some out of the business.
Fitzgerald said there is poor public understanding about the costs involved in hog and pork production.
“I think we need a bigger realization that this stuff isn’t free. It costs money to grow and now we’re running into the bigger problem for a lot of producers where really, the feed costs … are out of whack.”
