Improved Marketing Services and Reduced Costs

CANADA - The general manager of the SPI Marketing Group says Saskatchewan pork producers will see improved services and reduced costs as the result of a new joint hog marketing venture, writes Bruce Cochrane.

30 December 2009

3 minute read

North America

With the start of the new year h@ms, or Hog Administrative Services, a joint venture of Manitoba Pork Marketing and the SPI Marketing Group, will begin providing hog marketing services to pork producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Don Hrapchak, the general manager of SPI and a director of h@ms, says it was felt it would be in the long term interest of prairie pork producers for the two organizations to join forces.

Don Hrapchak-SPI Marketing Group

Initially producers in Saskatchewan will see very little change as to their day to day operations.

What they will notice however is a tremendous increase in the number of services that they'll be able to address, whether it's risk management, whether it's on-line computer skills, whether it's feed purchasing, it is a complete package of marketing opportunities for Saskatchewan and Manitoba producers.

The fact that we are not duplicating services, it allows us to eventually reduce the total cost package that producers are eventually going to pay.

In Saskatchewan we are looking at a 50 per cent reduction in our marketing cost.

Prior to h@ms starting Saskatchewan producers paid a dollar per hog marketing fee.

Effective January the 1st that fee will decline by 50 percent.

Producers in Saskatchewan will be just paying 50 cents.

So it is significant for Saskatchewan producers not only considering what they are paying but also the new services that they will be receiving.

Mr Hrapchak says the new joint venture bodes well for the producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

He says it will provide them excellent services at a reduced cost and the job of the marketing organizations is to provide the best services possible at the least cost affordable.