Sask Pork Seeks Producer Direction in Addressing Processing Capacity Concerns

CANADA - Farm-Scape: Episode 2250. Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.
calendar icon 29 November 2006
clock icon 3 minute read
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Farm-Scape, Episode 2250

The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board is looking to its membership for direction in addressing the pending loss of hog slaughter capacity within Saskatchewan.

Over 130 hog producers turned out to a meeting Monday in Saskatoon to discuss the pending closure of the Mitchell's Gourmet Foods hog slaughtering plant in Saskatoon and examine options.

Sask Pork general manager Neil Ketilson says a letter being circulated among producers outlines alternatives and asks for an indication of their preference for addressing the issue.

Producers at the meeting were provided with the letter as well as the information in terms of various scenarios and the options that we would like in terms of direction from an organizational point of view.

We gave them three options basically. First that the organization would not pursue this at all and just leave it alone and let the market place do what ever it's going to do.

Secondly that producers would simply look after themselves in terms of marketing decisions and go their own way or third that there was interest in having the Pork Development Board pursue a slaughter facility somewhere in Saskatchewan here and that collectively producers would be interested in investing and committing hogs to that effect.

Many of them dropped off the letter and signed it there and indicated their wishes.

Some took it home and I'm sure want to consider it and think about it because it's a very important issue for them and really for the industry in total and thirdly, for those people that weren't able to come to the meeting, we're going to send letters out to every producer in the province and ask them to indicate their wishes and send it back to us so we can tally up the wish of the group and, if we have a critical mass, then we can determine what we need to do next."

Ketilson says it's hoped the letters will be returned by the middle of next week.

Staff Farmscape.Ca

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