MANITOBA’S moratorium on new hog barn development is poorly timed and unfair.
On Nov. 8 the Manitoba government announced a moratorium on new and expanded hog barn construction until the independent Clean Environment Commission holds a public review of the province’s new water protection plan, which has a particular focus on regulating hog barn waste.
Concern about water quality in Manitoba is understandable and the province is right to take action to protect it. Lake Winnipeg is threatened by huge toxic blue-green algae blooms that cause dead spots in the lake. The blooms are fed by phosphorous and nitrogen. Manitoba is implementing a range of initiatives to address the problem. But only the hog industry has been singled out for draconian action – the moratorium.
Read Also
Rural emergency room closures continue to be vexing problem
Staffing issues are at the root of disruptions and closures in hospital emergency departments, both in rural and urban Canadian locations.
This is unfair. The sources of phosphorous entering Lake Winnipeg are many. Water entering Manitoba from the United States, Saskatchewan and Ontario account for 53 percent. Natural sources in Manitoba account for 17 percent. Municipal and industrial sources account for nine percent and agriculture about 15 percent. Of that, hog production accounts for only a small portion. With so many sources of problem nutrients, why single out hogs?
Not only is the moratorium unfair, but its impact will worsen an already bad situation. The industry faces serious adjustment following financially troubled Maple Leaf Food’s decision to restructure, end most of its pig production partnerships with farmers and move to a double shift at its Brandon slaughter plant.
OlyWest, a partnership between hog producers and Olymel that is planning to build a hog slaughter plant in Winnipeg, is also troubled. Like Maple Leaf, Olymel has struggled to make a profit from hogs. It plans to proceed with the Winnipeg plant, but few would be surprised if the moratorium causes delays.
A moratorium of indefinite length adds uncertainty to a struggling industry, and markets and investors don’t like uncertainty.
Manitoba’s farmers know they can contribute to the effort to improve surface water quality. Most already follow management practices to limit their impact on waterways and lakes. They accept reasonable regulation, but should not face more onerous rules than other parts of society.
It is suspicious that the New Democratic government, facing an election in the near future and trailing the opposition Progressive Conservatives in the polls, should focus such restrictions squarely on the hog industry. It is not only manure that smells.
Sizable opposition to the proposed OlyWest plant threatens the New Democrat’s power base in Winnipeg.
We hope that the moratorium’s shakeup of the hog industry is not simply a strategy to win urban votes.
Bruce Dyck, Terry Fries, Barb Glen, D’Arce McMillan and Ken Zacharias collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
