The Manitoba hog industry will have to wait for the province’s decision on whether it will continue a ban on new hog barns and expansions.
Manitoba’s NDP government announced Feb. 6 that it has received the Clean Environment Commission report, but it would not release its contents until the end of the month.
In the meantime, the ban remains in place.
“It (the report) was supposed to be out last December, but now we’re looking into (the end of) February. It’s a bit of a disappointment,” said Karl Kynoch, chair of the Manitoba Pork Council.
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In November 2006, the Manitoba government stopped approvals of new hog barns or expansions of existing operations. The restriction was a reaction to growing concern over increased levels of phosphorus and algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg, and a desire to protect other bodies of water.
Manitoba has 2.9 million hogs and pigs and 45 percent of the hog production in Western Canada. As well, according to the Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op, the industry employs 15,000 people in the province.
When the ban was imposed, Kynoch and others in the hog business said they were scapegoats for the health of the lake.
Now that the process is nearing an end, Kynoch said Manitoba pork producers are worried.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty. You don’t know what the added cost to producers is going to be,” said Kynoch, adding he has no knowledge of the recommendations in the report.
“If you put something like that into government hands … you’re never sure if they fully understand the hog industry.”
Despite the concerns, Kynoch said the consultation process went well.
“There was a lot of positive stuff that was being done in the industry that people didn’t realize. So if you go by how the consultations went, this report should come out very friendly to the industry.”
Although algae in Lake Winnipeg is not on the top of Neil Ketilson’s mind, the general manager of Sask Pork said the CEC report and public perception is a significant issue for the industry.
“It (the environment) is always something we’re very cognizant of, to make sure we have all our ducks in a row,” he said.
When asked if Sask Pork is doing enough to get out the message that hog producers are environmentally conscious, he said it has spent thousands of dollars on air and water quality studies. And, of course, communication is always key.
