Dutch pitch paints rosy picture
By DON STONEMAN
Real estate agents in Holland and Canada are using hard sell techniques to entice pig farmers to leave Holland for Canada's wide open spaces, says a Dutch pig magazine writer.Margreet Welink, a journalist for the Dutch farm magazine Boerdeij, toured Ontario for a week in February. She wanted to see whether there was truth behind the Dutch television and farm newspaper ads expounding upon the joys of Canada's wide open spaces and lack of farming restrictions. She found some truth - and some fiction - in what they had to say.
"The laws you have here in Canada are baby laws compared to Holland," Welink concedes.
But Dutch agents' claims are exaggerated, she says. "Canada has possibilities for pig breeders. But it is not the promised land," Welink told Farm & Country as she waited for her plane to leave Pearson International Airport for Amsterdam.
Some immigrants have paid far too much for Ontario farms, Welink asserts. Agents "take advantage of them." She claims Dutch farmers have been told that there are no restrictions on the type of operation that they can run in Canada, and that there are no rules on handling manure.
"A lot of them get into financial difficulties here. They are not telling people at home. They are ashamed," Welink says.
Since the February 1997 hog cholera outbreak in Holland, government pressure on the 20,000 farmers who raise pigs has become intolerable for many.
"A lot of pig breeders think there might be no future for them in Holland," says Welink.
But it won't be easy for them to farm in Ontario either, because of the different mindset required. Apart from building from scratch in Ontario, they would find it difficult fitting into a pig loop that depended upon either co-operation with other farmers or with a corporation. "If they want to come over they have to make decisions about land. We are not used to that."
Welink toured western Ontario in February, visiting the Pork Corporation's facilities at Ben Miller, the Terpstra family corporation at Brussels, and Shamrock Genetics.
Brucefield-based real estate agent Bruce Rathwell says there is a tremendous increase in Dutch pig farmer interest in Ontario since the beginning of the year. But agents in Holland may not have the best interests of farmers at heart when they sell them farms here in Canada, he says: "They are selling farms, not a stable, profitable pig operation into the future. What we've told them is totally different than what they've been told over there.
"They have to go home and make a mental adjustment."
It's important that they come and see Canada, he says: "I don't think the Dutch farmer realizes the new trends."
The pressures on the Dutch pork industry are intense and growing, Welink says. The government wants to reduce it by between 20 and 25 per cent.
Authorities cite the outbreak of hog cholera last year, but farmers feel the real goal is to reduce the amount of manure that is being produced, Welink says. Farmers who have made efforts to cut back on their manure output by feeding special diets or mechanically separating the liquid are being treated the same as the farmers who didn't bother, Welink says: "A lot of people are quite angry about that."
Dutch pig farmers must pay between C$8 and $16 to move 10,000 litres of manure from their barns. There is also a quota on manure production, and the government wants to buy farmers out to reduce pig numbers.
Last November the Dutch government offered farmers about C$30 for the quota to produce one kilo of phosphorus. Welink says many farmers paid almost twice as much for the quota and refused to sell.
HAL, meet HAMS
Ontario Pork's long-awaited HAMS (Hog Allocation Management System) is ready this month. A producer with Internet access who ships pigs on a Monday may get grading information as soon as the following night.Ontario Pork's accounting department has been testing the program's accuracy for weeks.
Zev Ionis, the pork board's amiable director of information services, says the system contains a number of impressive features that will make it a dream for pork board staff to use. Most importantly, though, producers get a settlement "that's certainly more accurate, less error prone, perhaps even faster," Ionis observes.
"I say 'perhaps,' because much of that is out of our hands. It depends on when we get the files from the packers."
A producer who shipped pigs on a Monday morning should be able to view grading information Tuesday night by connecting with the pork board web site <www.ontariopork.on.ca/ophome.html>.
Harry Stoddart, who runs a 100-sow farrow-to-finish operation with his family in Bradford, reckons HAMS could have saved him about $140 in one three-week period last fall. "Our scale went out by almost 10 pounds, and it took us almost three weeks before we were able to adjust our shippings," he recalls.
There are benefits for anyone running a hog assembly yard, too. Later this year, yard operators willing to install an inexpensive personal computer will be able to use board-supplied software that will eliminate the need to fill out manifests manually.
By entering data electronically they will avoid having to file copies of manifests and send paperwork to the board. "They can manipulate all that data into some sort of an accounting system so that they can bill their clients and make sure that we're paying them the right amount," Ionis says.
"We'll get the benefit, they'll get the benefit."
The system has allowed the board to slash tens of thousands of dollars in computer maintenance as well as software and licensing costs. The board has been able to replace a costly mainframe-style technology with a Pentium Pro PC found in many homes and small businesses.
In the past, every hog grade settlement was looked at individually by staff. "We will be touching only exceptions in the future," Ionis says.
He says in industry the HAMS type of automation reduces error rate "by a factor of eight."
The system centres on a relational database, which means information can be manipulated together with other databases, such as those belonging to breeding stock suppliers and groups including Ontario Swine Improvement.
"HAMS has no intention of storing a genetic database, but we can certainly connect to a genetics database," Ionis says.
Larry Charlton, owner of Save Tyme software in Cambridge, has been watching HAMS development and keeping in touch with Ionis. He is incorporating output from the system into his swine management software. -R. Irwin
Thames Bend looks to future
The death of co-founder Warren Stein last month left Tavistock-based Thames Bend Farms management in a state of shock. But Richard Stein, Warren's brother, says the business continues to pursue an aggressive expansion plan.The latest expansion includes a 1,200-sow daughter nucleus in Alberta along with two 1,000-sow multiplier herds.
Stocking has also begun on a 1,200-sow multiplier in Manitoba. Plans are in the works for two daughter nucleus herds in Asia and two to four in four South American countries this year.
Richard, just recently returned from an Asian marketing trip, reports Thames Bend breeding stock sales continue brisk in that part of the world as well as in Mexico and several South American countries.
Thames Bend has become exclusive commercial partners with GUARD, assisted by the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement, in the development of High Immune Response (HIR) genetics. GUARD is a Guelph-based, publicly-traded corporation, backed by an agreement with the University of Guelph, to turn new inventions and technology into successful businesses.
Thames Bend, after testing the technology during the past year, will soon have HIR stock for sale. Results will be used to measure commercial benefits and build a commercial marketing structure for HIR genetics world wide. -Robert Irwin
ISO quality control on horizon
You've seen the ISO 9000 banners denoting high manufacturing standards hung on the sides of industrial buildings. Sam Bradshaw, Ontario Pork's new environmental officer, thinks pork producers might one day be adorning their barns with banners boasting conformity to ISO 14,000 - a standard of environmental excellence."I don't know how quickly it's going to take off, but it sure sounds interesting," Bradshaw declares. He says an ISO-certified production facility might be just the edge needed to impress a foreign pork buyer.
Bradshaw says estimates for Ontario might be about $7,500 for accreditation. Auditing could cost between $3,000 and $4,000.
"Nobody knows until they go through it," Bradshaw explains. He says ISO 14,000 involves a basic framework and according to the literature is tailored so that "the customer would set the bar."
Once a foreign buyer identifies what is wanted the packer involved would set out the requirements to producers. Then a better cost estimate could be derived.
The question on everyone's minds at the meeting, Bradshaw says, was will the industry decide to wait for better times, reject the idea or proceed. "I think most people thought we should go ahead," he says.
How will this affect the average producer?
"The packers are going to be saying soon we want pigs from a HACCP program [Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point]. From there it will filter down to ISO 14,000," Bradshaw predicts. -R. Irwin
Pool Plus pays a twoonie
Producers can earn an extra $2 per hog by signing up for Pool Plus, an Ontario Pork program that began this month for anyone committing a specified number of pigs to the pool.Each producer decides how many pigs to pledge, explains Doug Richards, an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs swine specialist on secondment to the pork board for three months to kick start the new initiative.
"Ontario Pork has been asked several times at several annual meetings to become more aggressive marketers, and this is one program that allows them to do that," says Richards. The board plans to use the large numbers the program is expected to attract as a lever to negotiate better prices.
"You can ship one or 100. It's a very open agreement," Richards says. Producers have a choice of a 12-, 18- or 24-month term.
Richards says he has no idea how many producers will be needed to meet contracts for 10,000 hogs already signed with Quebec packers: "You could get three and have it all done."
Richards predicts that in addition to the extra $2 participants get, everyone shipping through the pool will receive more because large numbers of committed pigs will force packers to bid more for remaining animals. He has already begun a series of information meetings across the province and is prepared to speak to any groups who invite him. -Robert Irwin
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Prairie hog growth slows
Has the Prairie pig boom gone bust? Livestock numbers released by Statistics Canada in February and published in the Western Producer show much anticipated Prairie pig population growth has yet to materialize.During 1997, the pig population for both Saskatchewan and Alberta actually dropped. (See Hog Numbers.) Only in Manitoba, where the number of hogs grew by 2.8 per cent, did the industry record pig growth. While Manitoba farmers added 55,000 pig pigs to their herds, Ouebec farmers added 60,000 pigs, a 1.7 per cent increase, to push the population in la belle province to 3.5 million.
Ontario pig numbers increased by almost 15,000, pushing the provincial population to 3.26 million. Overall, the Canadian pig herd grew to 12.24 million a 1.1 per cent increase.
Statistics Canada noted that while the Canadian pig herd has grown for seven consecutive years, surplus red meat inventories in the U.S. and economic troubles in the Asian market may slow further pig growth in 1998. -Bernard Tobin
Licensing livestock drug users?
Tim Blackwell, OMAFRA veterinarian, flies this trial balloon: Should Ontario pork producers require a licence to administer livestock medicine, similar to pesticide purchasers?Pigs consume more antibiotics than any other class of livestock, Blackwell says. Canadian pork producers have extremely liberal access to swine medicines compared to other major pork exporting countries.
Licensing will be seen by some as interference, and by others as insurance against losing access to major swine medicines, Blackwell says. -Andy Bunn
Hog wild in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is the fastest growing pig producer in the United States, aided by its geographic position midway between the U.S. Corn Belt and booming Mexican markets.Pork production is also on the increase in the Midwest, while in Atlantic seaboard states including North Carolina, it's flat.
In the December-through-February quarter, the U.S. swine industry shipped 25.2 million head, up eight per cent over a year earlier, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total live inventory was 60.1 million, also up eight per cent.
The growth, however, was unevenly spread. The total herd in North Carolina was 9.6 million head, up a mere one per cent over the quarter ending February 1997. The herd in Georgia was down 13 per cent.
Traditional hog states saw double-digit increases. Indiana's herd, for instance, was up 11 per cent and Minnesota's climbed 10 per cent. Iowa, the country's largest pork producer, had 14.1 million pigs on farm, up 17 per cent.
In terms of percentages, however, Oklahoma outpaced them all, with a 29-per cent increase in total hog numbers over a year earlier. It had 100,000 fewer hogs than Ohio last year; this year it has 200,000 more, with a total 1.77-million-head live inventory.
Incredibly, Oklahoma farmers farrowed 50 per cent more sows in the quarter than the year earlier, compared to a three-per cent increase in North Carolina and an 11-per cent jump in Iowa.
Oklahoma's farmers tied North Carolina's in pigs per litter, with an average 8.9 per farrowing. The state's fast growth shows up too in its market hog report. At March 1, 46 per cent of Oklahoma's market hogs were 60 pounds and under. In North Carolina, 40 per cent were under 60 pounds. -T. Button
Exponential exports
The value of Canadian pork exports has been growing steadily since Canada Pork International (CPI) was founded in 1991. Jacques Pomerleau, CPI executive director, predicts additional markets will open up this year.Pomerleau told those attending the recent Ontario Pork annual meeting in Toronto that he plans to continue to push for "meaningful access to China." In the next few months, Chilean and Panamanian inspectors will be reviewing Canadian plants for possible approval of exports to those countries.
"Reaching a veterinary agreement with Argentina could prove to be a significant breakthrough, as this market shows great promise," Pomerleau predicted. Another plus is the recent lifting of an Australian ban on Canadian frozen pork despite strong opposition by Aussie producers.
Last year, Australia allowed the import of Canadian cooked pork products. It has become Canada's fifth-largest market, with sales exceeding $25 million.
And Venezuela has lifted its PRRS ban on Canadian pork.
"This is a clear illustration that the Canadian pork industry has been very successful in diversifying its export markets," Pomerleau said. (See Export Diversity Grows).
Pomerleau predicted U.S. exports could drop by 10 per cent in 1998. Swine fever has curtailed exports from the Netherlands and Taiwan has stopped all export activity.
Major competition could come from Denmark, where production is increasing, as well as Korea, particularly in the Japanese market.
One hurdle Canada faces is a bureaucracy that can't match the speed of its American counterpart in arranging export credit, according to retiring Ontario Pork chairman Carl Moore: "In Korea in the past few months we have lost a number of significant sales because the Americans were in there first with a credit package."
Saskatchewan in vertical mode
Saskatchewan markets one million hogs a year. A 1996 government report, Partnership for Growth, calls for doubling hog production in the province by 2000.The province currently exports three-million tonnes of feed grain every year. But as freight costs to Vancouver ports can reach 25 per cent of the value of feed barley, for instance, feed grains for domestic use are relatively cheap.
With 26.9-million hectares of farmland, Saskatchewan currently has a pig density of 3.5 per 100 hectares. Cold winters and low densities have allowed for high-health status herds.
Packers in Western Canada continue to expand and upgrade plants, taking advantage of Saskatchewan's proximity to the U.S. northwest and Asian markets.
In 1994, the livestock operations of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Manitoba Pool Elevators amalgamated to form "Heartland Livestock Services."
The parent company, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, owns 43 per cent of Fletchers Fine Food, a packing plant in Red Deer, Alta., as well as feed mills in Western Canada.
A fundamental cornerstone of each Heartland hog projects is community involvement. Communities initiate hog projects. Financing comes from partnership units, sold to community individuals, and from Heartland investment of up to 50 per cent of equity. The capital cost of each project is between $12 and $14.5 million.
Sow barns have a capacity of 2,400 sows, producing 1,100 pigs per week. Four nursery barns hold 2,220 pigs per barn, and eight finishing barns hold 2,000 head apiece and market 1,000 a week. Heartland CEO Stewart Stone says producers with feed grain for sale can invest in the system and market grain through hogs. Each 2,400-sow farrow-to-finish system will require 14,500 tonnes of processed grain per year.
Heartland Pork Management Services will provide complete management packages, including breeding stock, the recruitment and supervision of the manager, and detailed outline for herd health, feed purchases, day-to-day operations, record keeping and environmental compliance.
To date, 27 community projects are in various stages of approval. On average, six projects can be built per year. -A. Bunn