Good morning fellow pork producers and supporters of the Ontario pork industry. Welcome and thank you all for coming here today to show your commitment to our industry.

Do we want to produce hogs in Ontario? (Yes)

We cannot continue to produce hogs at 1960’s prices. Despite an increase of 16% in number of hogs marketed this year, Ontario’s gross revenues from pork sales will be down an estimated $180 million this year. Producers will take a 25% cut in gross revenues in 1998 compared to 1997.

Based on historical trends, we stand to lose at least half of our pork producers over the next three years. Look around you. Shake hands with your neighbour and wish him luck. Without a firm commitment to disaster relief today, only one of you will be in the business of pork production by the year 2001.

Imagine the impact on our rural communities of losing half our pork producers! We live, work, raise our families and contribute to local service clubs and churches back home. We provide good jobs to people who choose to live in our communities. We are proud of our abilities to produce high quality pork. We are proud of our organizations and the infrastructure we have created in this province. And we are proud of our contribution to society.

But pride doesn’t pay the bills.

Second to Dallas-Fort Worth, the Greater Toronto Area is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America. This presents tremendous opportunities for Ontario’s pork producers. We need to get through the current economic crisis to welcome brighter tomorrows.

Futures markets suggest prices will rebound over the next few months. And when they do, Ontario’s pork producers need to be in business.

The current crisis has developed due to the simultaneous convergence of several factors, including;

• higher than expected hog numbers in the U.S. that far exceed processing capacity;
• depressed demand from Asia and Russia due to their own domestic economic disasters;
• and a recent increase in European Union subsidies for export pork, adding further stress to our export markets. If we don’t participate, we lose by default.

We have come here today to ensure our politicians and the public understand the severity of our plight and to demand that they take action on our behalf. We are not looking for a handout. We are calling for a hand-up.

Our industry makes major contributions to the economic and social structure of Ontario and Canada. It is time for provincial and federal governments to recognize those contributions. And it is time for provincial and federal governments to invest in those contributions.

Every dollar the government invests in the pork industry today means jobs for Canadians tomorrow. In Ontario alone, the pork industry accounts for 42,300 jobs and $4.5 billion in economic activity each year. The province of Ontario cannot afford to withhold support for this vital economic engine.

We know the federal and provincial governments have the means to provide meaningful, timely and equitable support to Ontario pork producers. We believe the proposed national Whole Farm Income Disaster Relief Program initiative is the means. The challenge before us today is to ensure they also have the political will to provide that support.

The federal and provincial Ag. Ministers must present a unified voice in calling for fast tracking the Whole Farm Income Disaster Relief Program. Funds must flow to producers no later than March 1999 to have any significant impact on tomorrow’s pork industry. But a firm commitment to this initiative needs to be voiced today so that we can go to our lenders and suppliers and provide them with assurances that we will be in business for many years to come.

The Whole Farm Income Disaster Relief Program is not an ad hoc, "throw-money-at-the-problem-and-it-will-go-away" Band-Aid. It is a solid, long-term safety net package that promises to provide meaningful support to all farmers facing extreme cuts to income due to natural or economic disasters. Pork producers recognize the delicate balance any financial assistance initiative must achieve.

This disaster relief program must be considered "green" under the last NAFTA and GATT. We cannot afford to provoke trade actions by our international trading partners. Canadian pork production exceeds domestic demand by approximately 40% and we have been extremely successful in finding lucrative export markets for that surplus. Ontario’s pork producers have built a reputation for lean, wholesome product that is in demand around the world.

To meet the criteria as laid out by the World Trade Organization, the Whole Farm Income Disaster Relief Program must be:

• National in scope and delivered equitably and uniformly across the country.
• It must not be tied to NISA or any other financial assistance program currently in place.
• It must not be countervailable.
• It must be administratively practical.
• It must be implemented immediately.

The proposed Whole Farm Income Disaster Relief Program will provide compensation to any farmer when gross margins fall below 70% of either the 3-year average gross margin or the 3 out of 5 year average after removing the highs and lows. Gross margins will be calculated using revenues earned from sales of all commodities.

Every sector and stakeholder of the pork industry is doing its part to help producers get over this tough time. Banks and Farm Credit Corporation are fully supportive of our political efforts and have committed to working with their pork-producing customers to get through the current price wreck. In some cases, they have agreed to defer principle or interest payments until profit margins return. Feed companies are extending terms where possible and many have reduced feed prices by as much as 15% to help producers decrease their costs of production. And meat packers are increasing their slaughter to help remove excess supplies. Producers have donated 400 live hogs to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. Food banks, however, cannot handle highly perishable goods. So packers have once again offered their support by agreeing to convert the hogs to processed meats.

But even with all this laudable support, we still need government assistance. Already, the U.S.D.A. announced intentions to bolster their safety net programs. They have purchased $50 million worth of pork to contribute to a food aid package to Russia. And they have announced intentions to implement other measures as well. A recent independent study suggests U.S. farmers could receive as much as $12 billion in government assistance over the next 3 months.

Canadian governments must follow their lead today. Table farm relief programs now.

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