For some people in Manitoba, it smells like money.
To the critics, it smells like pig manure.
During the past decade, Manitoba’s hog population has more than doubled to almost five million. There are predictions it could double again.
The possibility has launched a battle between environmentalists and farmers. It has resurrected the controversy within the farm community about the benefits of the single-desk selling system dismantled by the former Conservative government.
And it has left agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuck and her NDP government damaged by her own past promises about restoring single-desk selling.
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In this special report, Brandon-based Western Producer reporter Ian Bell explores the controversy unleashed by Manitoba’s booming hog business and its expansion plans.
Question: Manitoba more than doubled hog production during the past decade and it could
double again. Is this good?
Answer: It depends on whom you ask.
Critics of hog expansion warn of tainted air, contaminated water, a hog manure glut and an industry dominated by corporate giants.
They worry that family farms will be replaced by what they call factory farms – large barns backed by off-farm investors and corporations.
And the critics predict vertical integration will become as deeply rooted in Manitoba as it has in the United States.
Randy Stefanson is among those alarmed by the rapid expansion. He worries most about the environment, including water quality in his region between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba.
“If they try to put 10 million hogs in the province we’re headed for disaster,” said Stefanson, who has joined the Hog Watch Manitoba coalition.
Stefanson lives within sniffing distance of a hog barn and odors engulf his yard several times a year. It makes him gag, he said.
“When you walk out of the house, it’s as if you’ve got your head stuck between the hog’s butt.”
Meanwhile, those who support expansion emphasize divers-ification opportunities for farmers and a chance to feed grain to livestock rather than paying transportation to port.
Proponents describe hog manure as a natural nutrient source that helps farmers cut fertilizer costs.
And they talk of an industry creating jobs, enriching municipalities and helping reverse rural depopulation.
Herb Watson farms near Treherne, Man., and backs industry expansion.
He grows seed canola, navy beans and cereals on 2,500 acres, owns a hog feeder business built in 1993 and is one of 100 investors backing a two-year-old, 600-sow, farrow-to-finish operation.
The hogs allowed Watson to diversify his farm income.
Neighbors were consulted before the farrow-to-finish operation was built, Watson said.
To alleviate lagoon odors, manure is removed twice a year instead of once. The liquid manure is injected into soil, reducing the risk of runoff.
“We’re looking at all the options,” said Watson.
He believes hog producers must align themselves with major food companies if they want to stay in business. He also thinks economies of scale require larger, more efficient barns.
“In order to be competitive and efficient, you need to have volume,” he said.
“We need to be able to provide jobs for staff. It all adds to efficiency and efficiency adds to the bottom line.”
Both sides of the debate have their arguments.
In the middle is the provincial NDP government, which supports economic development while pledging environmental protection.
In early June, the New Democrats released a livestock discussion paper that set the stage for public meetings now under way in Manitoba.
The discussion paper chronicles evolution in Manitoba’s livestock sector and concerns about the industry’s growth. It also looks at existing environmental regulations to control livestock operations.
When the discussion paper was released, Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk was mum about whether she has livestock industry concerns.
A week earlier, she had been cautious when interviewed on the topic.
“As with any issue, there is always going to be conflict and I hope this process will help to resolve some of that,” she said.
Part of that conflict is within NDP ranks.
Janet Brady, one of six NDP regional vice-presidents, wants the province to hold Clean Environment Commission hearings on all aspects of hog industry expansion.
Brady, a member of Hog Watch Manitoba, said the government is a disappointment as it scrambles to catch up with the expansion.
“They’re going by the seat of their pants,” she complained.
“Instead of putting on the brakes and letting it rest out a bit … they’re just, ‘Oh, well, we’ll invent it as we go along.’ “
The province has announced measures it says will protect the environment while allowing livestock industry growth.
Earlier this year, the government promised more soil and water monitoring. Hog farm lagoon inspections will be increased to include operations built before 1994, when provincial permits were not required.
And the government promised funding to help municipalities plan land use and update zoning bylaws. A committee of provincial bureaucrats will review every proposal for livestock operations of 400 animal units or more.
The previous Tory government brought in tougher rules to control how much manure is applied to fields and when it can be applied.
While environmentalists demand tighter restrictions, producers wonder how far those restrictions might go and the cost of compliance.
Leonard Hofer, secretary of the Starlite Hutterite Colony at Starbuck, Man., said his colony spent $180,000 last year to build a new lagoon and to buy equipment that injects manure into the ground.
He begrudged the added costs, but noted that manure management rules forced the colony to look more seriously at the benefits of using hog manure as a fertilizer.
And what about the question of vertical integration?
It is an open question, despite critics’ fears.
Michael McCain, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Meats, said his company wants independent Manitoba producers.
During the official May opening of his company’s $120 million Brandon hog processing plant, McCain said corporate farming is not the answer.
Meanwhile, Maple Leaf last September bought the Landmark Group, the largest prairie feed manufacturing and swine
production network. With the purchase, it acquired a large stake in prairie hog production, including partial ownership of barns.
McCain said producers within that network still can sell freely to whichever buyer they choose.
“In fact, they do – substantially.”
