Behind the Lines - February 2009

It’s almost a cliché to say that change drives the pork industry. It’s in the spirit of change, however, that after nearly a decade with familiar topics and regular sections, this issue of Better Pork brings you some new features.

A lot has changed with swine genetics since we launched Better Pork. Serge Pommier, director of technical operations for PIC in Canada, has stepped up to the plate by contributing to what we hope will be an ongoing occasional feature that will keep us abreast of a critical pillar of efficient pork production. In this issue, Pommier explores the role genetic markers play in determining production efficiencies ranging from resistance to PRRS to carcass quality.

“Beyond the Barn” is another of the changes we introduce with this issue. Edited by second-generation pork producer and long-time agricultural journalist Kate Procter, the new feature is a sometimes whimsical, sometimes irreverent look at the strange or illogical things we come across when we look beyond our production systems and work day. Kate also wrote this month’s cover story on survival strategies for dealing with PRRS.

Our industry is very focused on the bottom line and so the things we write about in Better Pork naturally enough tend to deal in a logical manner with the challenges you face in running your business. Most production decisions in the barn are based on reason: if you vaccinate against a particular disease, for example, you expect to reduce or eliminate that disease challenge. As a producer, you test a new practice against an old one and adopt the practice which works better in terms of cost and productivity.

In general, the barn is a place that makes sense. But have you ever noticed how many things which happen beyond the barn seem to defy logic? Recent developments with pork marketing spring to mind. The Farm Products Marketing Commission caught many industry observers off guard when it stripped Ontario Pork of its single-desk powers and ordered the industry to adopt and adapt to this profound change in short order. The lack of debate among producers on this important issue and subsequent appeals of the Commission’s decision have left us with more questions than answers.

Marketing can’t be described as whimsical. Even the most cynical among us must treat it with the utmost respect. In our “Second Look” column this month, former University of Guelph ag economist Larry Martin joins our new group of contributors to the back page. He argues that, instead of enduring the ongoing boom and bust cycle, producers and processors could share in the rewards.

Covering changes like those happening with pork marketing in Ontario right now is a challenge. Events are unfolding quickly and there is a lack of clear information. The bad news is that magazine production is simply too slow to deal with breaking news. Producers have another option, however. Staying up to date with pork marketing developments as they happen is now as simple as visiting our website: www.betterfarming.com.

If you click on our website now, you’ll find stories on the Commission’s decision, the appeals which have followed and ongoing developments as they happen. This is information that producers deserve to have to make decisions.

ROBERT IRWIN

Better Pork - February 2009