11 The Business of Canadian Hog Farming Better Pork | August 2024 drance for the industry. And it’ll be a cost onto the consumer as well.” From Fitzgerald’s perspective, the label makes little difference. When Canadian and U.S. products are sold side-by-side, the consumer is concerned with price and quality of the product. “In North America, we do have this integration between our three countries, with free-trade agreements,” says Fitzgerald. “We’re pretty unique in the world in what we do and how we work together. And when we delve into the subject, we see that there really is no problem in the industry. Retail, processing, producers are all working together trying to provide an affordable product that’s sustainable.” Dahl notes that while the rule won’t come into effect for another year and a half, his producers are already getting indications from U.S. processors that they don’t want to take pigs that were born in Canada. “It’s two years away, but we’re already getting those indications that it’s going to be a problem,” says Dahl. The concern over the changes is not limited to the northern side of the border. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) stated, in comments to the USDA attributed to president and CEO Dan Halstrom, that they are concerned that the changes would negatively impact the U.S. industry on several fronts. Under the proposed rule, “packers would then be required to sort specifically for Product of USA, requiring only domestic livestock for the product that will circulate in the domestic market but might be bound for export,” reads their statement. “The intent of the rule was to not impact exports, but the opposite is true because the proposed rule contradicts current Product of USA labelling that is mandatory for export, which would lead to the need for product segregation. At the time of production, it is often unknown whether product will be sold on the domestic or international market. It is therefore not feasible to have different labelling schemes for domestic and export boxes.” A representative for USMEF further explained that the impacts on individual pork producers in the U.S. would likely depend on how their processor chooses to deal with the labelling requirements. “Because Product of USA is a voluntary labelling claim, some processors may see value in documenting the fact that all animals were born/raised/ slaughtered in the United States,” said USMEF vice-president of Communications Joe Schuele. “Others may decide that the labelling claim does not justify the additional costs, and therefore continue their current practices for sourcing animals. So, it is difficult to make any general statements about the impact on producers, because each situation is different.” A spokesperson for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service respondFor more information or to contact your local sales representative, scan the QR code or call us toll-free 1-833-578-2740. hypor.com MOST EFFICIENT SOW HIGHEST QUALITY PIGLETS VALUABLE FINISHERS Hypor Libra 'PRODUCT OF USA' LABELS
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