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August, 2008 |
Board Highlights Volume 10, Issue 8 |
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The purpose of this Newsflash is to help keep you informed on the issues the Board is dealing with on your behalf.
This update is sent by fax or e-mail (preferably e-mail wherever possible). If you have received a duplicate fax or e-mail, wish to make changes, or would like to be added to or removed from our distribution list, please let us know.
Please direct any questions or comments to the Ontario Pork Communications department at 1-877-ONT-PORK (668-7675) or by e-mail to comm@ontariopork.on.ca
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The following are highlights from the August 26-27th, 2008 Ontario Pork board meeting.
The Board has discussed a format for the electoral structure and will provide details for consideration in the materials for the Fall Policy Conference scheduled for Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20 (location to be confirmed).
Background materials in preparation for the policy conference will be mailed out with the resolutions response document the week of October 20.
Local groups to hold a meeting sometime between Monday, October 27 and the November 19/20 Policy Conference to review and discuss the background materials. Meetings can be at the county or district level or joint county meetings – whatever works for local producers.
A meeting of County Presidents and Secretaries is being planned for last September/early October at the office in Guelph.
Attendance at the Fall Policy Conference will be limited to councillors, designated alternates and local officers as per the June 11 session. |
| Hiring Committee |
A recruitment firm has been selected and will begin preliminary background work in the coming weeks. The pending the outcome of the Farm Products Marketing Commission ruling and the strategic planning will provide the Board with information about the type of person required for the leadership role.
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Ontario Research and Development Funds (ORD) |
The ORD swine grant funds will be split between research (66%) and operations (34%). |
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Canadian Pork Council Report |
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There is general optimism for the hog industry as evident from recent counter-seasonal price increases. European production is expected to decrease by 10% in the new year and that North American hog prices should eventually reflect hog prices in other parts of the world.
The CPC Committee Appointments were reviewed and Ontario is generally well-represented, and there has been increased activity on the traceability file. The West Hawk Lake Zoning Project is nearing successful completion.
The Board discussed the government’s intention to download inspection responsibilities and cited concerns about the potential for reactionary legislation being introduced that could put the Ontario meat industry at a competitive disadvantage.
Additional funds have been secured to promote Canadian pork in Japanese retail stores, and CPI has been busy in the US setting up PMI (Pork Marketing International).
Producers should be encouraged to send in their vaccine applications as soon as possible as funding is expected to run out.
Meetings will be held regarding CFIA changes to user fees for inspection at borders looking at opportunities for cost-sharing and the impact on competitiveness.
WTO
The Board discussed the potential for Ontario Pork to influence the positioning of Canadian interests and the need for a more balanced representation between supply-managed and non supply-managed commodities at world trade talks.
Encouraging Canadian negotiators to come to a position before leaving Canada was suggested, as was putting the issue to the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council for resolution amongst all non-supply managed commodities.
Messaging should be developed for pre-election lobbying – while supply-management does not look for government support, export agriculture does and the investment is vital to Canada as the balance of trade is what creates wealth in a country. |
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Market Renewal Strategy Update |
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The third strategic review meeting was held recently with Informa Economics. The proposed draft Business Plan as presented by Informa included short, mid and long-term strategies with supply chain coordination being the key concept for development. It was emphasized that the Business Plan is a very high-level proposal, and that more work needs to be done to examine options for implementation.
The interrelatedness of issues was discussed considering currency fluctuations, export potential, limitations of COOL, safety nets, etc. There was acknowledgement that over the short-term is it necessary to look beyond typical fluctuations and focus on a long-term, stabilizing strategy while at the same time understanding that no one solution will serve each individual business structure. |
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Country of Origin Labeling |
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The 60-day comment period commenced August 1st, the day the interim rule was released. CPC legal counsel is working on the file, and the Government of Canada will circulate their comments to industry prior to their submission. The Board discussed the application of the current labelling scenarios. |
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Sow Cull Update |
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The total number of Ontario sows processed 9,782, and 534 have been processed for the food bank program. There may be as many as 300 more sows to be processed for the food bank program but cooler space at food banks is limited.
A request has been made to extend the deadline for all paperwork to be submitted, as it appears that money will still be available.
It was decided to send a communication out to producers via email and post on the website information for producers who may not know that they are in fact eligible to apply for funds prior to the August 31st deadline. |
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Delivery Management |
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Three decision items were presented to the Board around the delivery management project including:
Forecast Timeframe:
Forecasts to be created a minimum of 12 weeks prior to delivery date.
Forecast Rollout:
The forecasting program will be launch in a phased approach rather than requiring all producers to provide forecast information starting on a pre-determined date.
Forecast Security:
Ontario Pork to have access to all forecasts, that plants have access to forecasts for their contract shipments, and that assignees, assemblers, and transporters have access as designated by the producer.
The Board discussed issues of secure access to the OINK site and the need for producers to actively manage who has access to their data. Producers need to contact Ontario Pork to revoke access assigned to a business partner as changing passwords doesn’t change who has access.. |
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Policy Conference Preliminary Planning |
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Scheduled for November 19th and 20th, the Policy Conference agenda is comprised of the following items – electoral restructure, safety net changes and policies, Market Renewal Strategy Project, and the strategic direction.
A meeting of County Presidents & Secretaries will be held this fall prior to the mailing of the Policy Conference background materials the week of October 20th. Local associations should plan to hold meetings to review the materials anytime between October 27th and the conference.
The Board discussed its preference for this format for the purposes of 2-way communication and policy development. |
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Ethnic Market Development |
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A funding application is being prepared for submission to the Agricultural Adaptation Council. The proposed project involves hiring a Chinese sales consultant to promote pork products to the domestic ethnic Chinese market. The consultant would be hired, paid and report to Ontario Pork and would showcase/sell Conestoga product. A one-year contract has been proposed and at the completion of the project the consultant would be released from Ontario Pork. Ontario Pork would own the research resulting from the project, and would be in a position to share generic information with other processors as appropriate. |
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Safety Nets |
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Ontario Pork Safety Net Committee Chair provided a brief overview of recent committee activities and issues.
Advanced Payment Program (APP)
It will be communicated to policy advisors that producers are not accessing the APP because they are afraid they can’t pay it back and/or their operating loans will be reduced accordingly.
CAIS
While there is general agreement that there are issues with the CAIS program – the Board debated the dangers of being overly critical when the option could be no program at all.
The Board reviewed recent discussions with OMAFRA program staff, and attempts to reconcile Ontario Pork’s cost of production model results with actual CAIS payments. Calendarization for individual hog operations may account for the discrepancy and it was suggested that the model could be shifted 6 months and run to see if any trends appear.
AgriCorp Audit
Comments will be drafted on the AgriCorp audit results as invited by Minister Dombrowsky. The Board considered comments for inclusion and indicated support for a technical liaison, the ability to track application status online, and clear and published eligibility requirements.
Federal Election
CPC will need to organize pre-election lobby activities and Ontario Pork should provide them with provincial issues for inclusion.
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Toronto Stockyards Land Development Board |
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Ontario Pork’s representative to the Toronto Stockyards Land Development Board (TSYLDB) provided an update highlighting the receipt of annual funds, and the upcoming annual meeting scheduled for September 12th, 2008. The annual meeting agenda will include discussion around policies to protect the organization in the event that one of the tenants leaves. |
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OFAC Livestock Transportation Project |
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An application has been submitted to the Agricultural Adaptation Council by the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) to fund a livestock transportation training coordinator. |
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