A task force report issued last week underlines the need for more slaughter capacity in Manitoba and suggests part of the solution could be the establishment of a large slaughter plant in the province.
The report was prepared by a task force pulled together by the province to find ways to improve the ruminant livestock industry for the long term.
Among the suggestions in the report is that Manitoba should either try by itself to attract a large multinational slaughter plant or team up with Saskatchewan to pursue a shared slaughter facility.
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Manitoba premier Gary Doer said in an interview after the Sept. 1 release of the report that the first priority needs to be increased slaughter of cull cattle in the province.
However, his government would also support a large packing plant for other types of cattle, he said, especially if the United States continues to delay the reopening of its border to imports of Canadian cattle.
The premier wants prime minister Paul Martin to keep his word when he warned this summer that unless live cattle exports to the U.S. resume, Canada would ramp up its slaughter capacity to compete against the Americans in overseas markets like Korea and Japan.
“There are two ways to go,” Doer said. “Either their border opens or we compete in their markets.”
The ruminant task force report had other suggestions, including the need for expertise to help local abattoirs and provincially inspected slaughter plants that want to expand.
One of the greatest gaps is knowledge about market development.
“A number of current abattoir owners are placing expansion plans in abeyance because they are not confident that they have the necessary marketing skills to sustain an expanded facility,” said the authors of the report.
Also needed is venture capital to support an expansion of the province’s livestock industry and further processing. Loan guarantees and tax incentives were cited as ways government could provide that kind of capital.
The report suggested that with government help, processors could develop ready-to-eat products and a line of branded meat that guarantee the quality and traceability of the products from the farm to the consumer’s plate.
“It appears there is a great need for the entire industry, from the cow-calf farmer through to the retailer, to sit down and determine where the Manitoba industry needs to go,” said Ron Bell, chair of the ruminant task force.
Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk promised the province will increase its efforts to build markets.
“We know we have to look for new markets and we have to brand our products,” she said.
The province also has pledged $2.25 million to encourage more slaughter capacity through incentives and support services. Doer said that is new money above what was announced last year.
To provide immediate help to ruminant producers struggling with cash flow because of the BSE crisis, Wowchuk said the province is recommending changes to the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program that would free up $65 million in federal-provincial funding.
“There is money in the program, but it’s not flowing,” said the minister, noting that the financial and emotional costs of the BSE situation have been enormous.
After reviewing the task force report, Carberry, Man., producer Tom Baron questioned the merits of trying to land a large slaughter plant for Manitoba. He said the major packers in Alberta would simply add more capacity to discourage competitors.
Baron believes a better approach is to encourage more local meat processing and marketing. Building several smaller slaughter facilities across the province is one possibility, he said, since it would make it more practical for producers to cut and wrap their own beef for sale.
Overall, one of the main problems Baron sees is a lack of leadership within industry and government to move ahead with solutions. If the current situation continues, a lot of cattle producers will be forced out of the industry over the next few months.
“They’re going to hit a wall and I would guess it will be right after Christmas, if not before.”
