Ontario's pork industry - past, present and future

Monday, April 5, 2010

In times of extreme adversity, an industry that has done much to improve the health and quality of its products deserves the full support of governments and consumers

by JIM DALRYMPLE

From production to processing, the Ontario pork industry has seen dramatic changes over the past few decades.

As with most other major farm commodities, the number of pork producers has fallen substantially, both in Ontario and across Canada.

In 1951, 364,068 farms in Canada reported pigs with an average of 13.5 pigs per farm.

Ontario's share of Canadian production has decreased over the past 15 years and the size of farms in Ontario has shown the smallest increase of the major provinces. One concern, in the event of major swine health problems, is the concentration of almost 46 per cent of the hogs on farms in only three counties in Ontario; Huron, Oxford and Perth.

In 2001, the pork industry accounted for 12.2 per cent of Ontario's farm cash receipts, amounting to a little more than $1 billion. In 2008, in spite of extremely depressed prices, the pork industry accounted for eight per cent or $816 million of the total of $10.2 billion farm cash receipts in Ontario.

The availability of local processing can have an effect on the opportunities to promote local foods. Current reports from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency indicate hog slaughter by province of origin for Ontario in 2008 at 5.36 million hogs, and for 2009 at 5.07 million hogs, a reduction of 5.3 per cent.

Industry and government support
To maintain a successful industry, the pork sector relies on support from several agribusiness and market support groups, including farm equipment and feed suppliers, veterinarians, transporters, financial institutions and others. There has been a decline in recent years of community sales-barns, dead-stock handlers, local feed and farm suppliers and veterinarians, as well as in the commitment by research scientists to the industry.

The Ontario Pork Industry Council was established about 10 years ago and is now playing a key role, along with Ontario Swine Improvement Inc. and Ontario Pork to move the industry forward.

Ontario's population has continued to increase. With the emphasis on locally-grown food and distance to processing, proposed changes to transport distances for live animals, and one-third of the Canadian population residing in Ontario, it would be logical to retain production and processing in Ontario.

Production efficiency
The reduction in boar numbers through artificial insemination use reduces feed requirements, reduces manure produced and reduces the problem of boar transport and marketing. As well, there has been dramatic improvement in production efficiency of the pigs produced.

In spite of the lack of profits for pork producers, the improvement in productivity has been dramatic. Fewer days to market, less feed and water to reach market weights, leaner and higher quality meats have all benefitted consumers.

Forty per cent less water is required to reach market weight compared to 50 years ago. Intensive production, while under attack from many environmentalists and animal rightists, has meant fewer disease concerns for animals and the human population.

A recent study from the Missouri Extension Service in the United States shows that moving pigs indoors has led to improved health for pigs and higher quality products for consumers. The report indicates that, since the shift to concentrated feeding operations (CAFOs), veterinarians have seen a decline in parasites. In the 1940s, 55-70 per cent of pigs were infected with lungworms. Lungworms are rarely seen today.

"Trichinella and toxoplasma also have seen dramatic drops in recent decades," the report says. Scientists believe that this is because pigs are not feeding on garbage, and have no access to wildlife in CAFO facilities.

The author, Dr. Beth Young, also indicates that many other swine diseases have seen significant decreases or eradication since the move to confined operations. These include swine dysentery, atrophic rhinitis, brucellosis, pseudorabies and classical swine fever (hog cholera).

Cull Breeding Swine Program/Hog Farm Transition Program
Two major programs have been set up at the national level from 2008 through 2010 to reduce the hog numbers in Canada.

The Cull Breeding Swine Program was initiated in April 2008 and, with an extended program completed in June 2009, reduced the breeding herd by approximately 110,000 breeding swine in Canada on 565 claims. The Hog Farm Transition Program completed its forth bidding process last month.

Barns are to remain empty for three years from the last cull date. Audits will be conducted on a random number of farms in both the CBSP and HFTP to ensure that repopulation has not occurred.

Pork consumption
Pork and other red meats have come under attack from cancer researchers. Mary Ann Binnie, a pork industry consultant, recently reported to the Canadian Pork Summit in Ottawa that a 1997 World Cancer Research Fund Report concluded that red meat probably increases cancer risk and that processed meat possibly increases risk.

It is interesting that eating processed meats posed a risk for only one type of cancer, while consuming alcohol posed a convincing risk or possible risk for six types of cancer.

Pork is significantly leaner than a few decades ago and per capita consumption has remained steady over the past 20 years.

The pork industry has been faced with extreme adversity and deserves the support of all levels of government and of consumers as it continues to provide lean, quality products, both for domestic and export markets. BP

J.R. (Jim) Dalrymple is a former Ontario government swine specialist and president of Livestock Technology Services Ltd. in Brighton.