Manitoba Clean Environment Commission Recommendations Expected to Improve Environmental Sustainability of Hog Production
CANADA - The chair of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission is confident the province's hog industry can move into the future in an environmentally sustainable manner, writes Bruce Cochrane.Earlier this week Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers released the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission's final report on the environmental sustainability of the province's hog industry.
The report, which took just over one year to complete, contains 48 recommendations aimed at improving the environmental sustainability of hog production in the province.
CEC Chairman Terry Sargeant says hog farmers have done a good job safeguarding the environment and he's convinced the industry can continue producing pork into the future.
Terry Sargeant-Manitoba Clean Environment Commission
I'm quite confident that the industry will be able to continue in an environmentally sustainable manner.
There will be some cost implications for hog farmers in the recommendations that we have made,.
The government has indicated that there will be some assistance or incentive to help them move to those new regulations and others, many of our recommendations, don't apply to existing operations but will apply to new operations.
For example we suggested all new earthen storage systems have a synthetic cover but that's a new operation.
It's something that somebody going into knows will be a cost and it won't be a new cost to an existing operator.
Sargeant believes the commission came up with a reasonable report that will allow the industry to continue into the future and will protect Manitoba's waterways and environment.
He concedes some areas, including those where the minister has implemented an ongoing moratorium, have reached their productive capacity, particularly once regulations dealing with the application of phosphorus take effect.