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 1424

Sask Pork says strategies to address the crisis mad cow disease is creating in the swine industry will need to be creative and non-countervailable.

An hog industry analysis of the Canadian Agricultural Income stabilization program indicates, in 2003, Saskatchewan hog producers would have qualified for payouts ranging from zero for some to about five dollars per head for others.

Sask Pork General Manager Neil Ketilson says, when consider losses are ranging from 15 to 30 dollars per head because of BSE and the higher dollar, the program won't meet the need.

"I think we have to be creative in the hog industry as we have been in other industries and look at all kinds of different options available to us and, in so doing, think of ways that we could help the industry out through this one and compliment the needs and requirements of governments as well as the rest of the industry.

The hog industry certainly hasn't been asking for a direct subsidy because of countervail issues that always arise when you think about the large amount of product we send into the US and the projectionist attitude that they've got right now.

I think it's really important that the policy makers think very creatively about programs that may be very useful to us.

I think it's also important that the public understand that it's not just the beef sector that has been damaged by this particular incident.

The hog industry has also suffered some very significant impacts and we have a number of producers that are facing very significant difficult times".

Ketilson says alternatives must be palatable to the marketplace while considering the needs of the province, with respect to budgeting and other issues.

He says several have been discussed.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.