WINNIPEG – Amid the flurry of talk in government and industry circles about Manitoba’s hog production doubling by the turn of the century, J. M. Schneider Inc. took action last week.
Schneider will invest $40 million in a new slaughtering and processing plant in the province. When completed in 1997, it is expected to handle 48,000 hogs per week. That’s four times what the company now handles, and double Manitoba’s total current production.
Company president and chief executive officer Douglas Dodds said in a press release there’s a growing demand for Canadian pork around the world.
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The company said the plant will be one of the most modern in the world. Bill McLean, general manager of the Winnipeg plant, said it will include fresh-chill processing, popular with Asian customers.
McLean said a Manitoba Pork agency program that helps the company deal directly with producers who can provide specific types and weights of hogs played a big part in deciding to expand in Manitoba.
Ken Foster, chair of Manitoba Pork, the province’s pork marketing agency, said the expansion is good news for farmers. “It should give producers the confidence … in their investments, in that their hogs will be slaughtered here in this province, which I think has a lot more security … than relying on a live export market.”
Foster said by the time the new building is running, Manitoba Pork won’t likely have to ship hogs outside the province. And in the long run, they should see better prices.
“Anytime a plant becomes more efficient and increases their volume, the costs for their side of the production equation should become less…. I would have to believe that part of that would be passed on to the producers,” he said.
Manitoba’s agriculture minister said the announcement will also help banks feel more comfortable lending money to help farmers get into the business or expand their operations.
Sparks confidence
“It gives them a lot of confidence that there’s a major packer-processor like Schneider that’s prepared to put $40 million on the line in their confidence that they can market the hogs profitably,” said Harry Enns.
“This really kind of epitomizes what has to take place in Manitoba agriculture,” he said. “We are not in the position to be shipping too much feed grain out of our province with the freight rates that our farmers … are now confronted with.”
McLean said the plant’s location has not yet been determined.
Enns said he believes it will likely be built in St. Boniface, close to the company’s existing facilities.
