Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1436

Manitoba Pork Council is fast tracking a new study to examine how the new Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program will work for the province's hog producers.

Manitoba Pork Council has approved the hiring of a financial consultant to examine how the new CAIS program can be applied to the swine industry.

Council Vice Chair Karl Kynoch says the biggest contributor to the plunge in live hog prices, the change in the Canadian dollar, has cost about 25 dollars per pig, while BSE has contributed to a reduction in pork consumption.

"We're discussing some of the CAIS scenarios. We don't think, right now, that the CAIS is maybe going to work that great for the hog producers. I've had meetings with the minister and we, at Pork Council, have decided to run some scenarios on how the CAIS will impact the hog producer.

The minister has shown great interest in this and is willing to appoint some staff people to work with us.

She also wants to know what we feel can be changed in the CAIS program to help out producers. The one big concern that we have is they send us a margin that we're allowed to cover.

The hog industry has been hurting and having such low margins, out of the last five years we've probably only had one good year.

Out of the last two years we've probably spent 18 months running negative margins. When you get into a scenario with the CAIS, when they're using you're five year history knocking off the highest and the lowest, we have no profit margins to deal with to use for retroactive history".

Kynoch says, to gain a better understanding of exactly how the program will work for hog producers and to uncover any deficiencies, it's important to have some concrete figures.

He says the initiative to evaluate the CAIS program was approved Wednesday and hopefully there will be some progress on the initiative by next week.

He stresses producers have to be careful of what they request. He says direct compensation per hog would be countervailable and of no benefit so what ever is requested has to be green.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.