Pork producers face 'perfect storm' of industry challenges

The Alberta pork industry is facing "a perfect storm" of competitiveness issues, a rapidly changing political climate and growing regulatory pressures. And it will have to adapt on all fronts in order to survive, say three front-line analysts of the Alberta pork industry.

That message to the annual meeting of Alberta Pork, the organization representing the province's pork producers, came from three long time Edmonton-based agriculture and food-based analysts: Jerry Bouma of Toma & Bouma Management Consultants, Lee Funke of Torque Communications and Keith Wilson of the Wilson Law Office.

"It all comes down to the ability to adapt," says Bouma. "Ultimately, the advantages that can cause an industry to grow are the same ones that will cause it to falter without the ability to adapt. And in the case of the pork industry in 2006, that means the ability to step back, take a look at our industry and develop new strategies for growth."

Bouma outlined Canada's feedgrain disadvantage in the face of a growing U.S. corn industry, where corn yield increases have dramatically outpaced Canadian barley yield increases, largely due to regulatory factors in Canada. The loss of pork processing capacity due to recent decisions by Maple Leaf and Olymel, and the general loss of pricing power compared to the U.S. are two other challenges the industry is facing today, he says.

Partnering with processors, identifying the needs of consumers, and finding more efficient feeding solutions were three suggestions Bouma made to tackle these growing concerns. "Many people see the pork industry as a problem. What the industry needs to do is change that image into one where we're part of the solution. We should literally be in the solution business."

Lee Funke says it's critical for the pork industry to fully understand the political process and "have a place at the table" of government in today's rapidly changing political environment.

"Today, in Alberta, rural areas are losing their long-held electoral and political advantage," says Funke. "Because of this, we need to identify potential allies outside of the industry, both in government and among other influential policy makers, in order to build a 'political bank account.' Alberta needs to know why it needs its pork industry, and it's up to us to send that message."

That political bank account will be needed as the pork industry faces a growing tide of regulatory pressures, says Keith Wilson. These are in three general areas: the environment; worker employment standards, health and safety, and unionization; and animal health and food safety.

Perhaps the greatest pressure, says Wilson, comes from the environmental arena. "The federal Clean Air Act, Alberta's Water for Life policy, and surface water allocation, including issues around irrigation and crop and animal water use, all have the potential to affect pork producers' ability to farm," he says.

To compound that, some of the current legislation contains wording that could allow the general community to deny producers the right to farm. Wilson cites several examples of recent U.S. court cases and legislation, targeted directly at agricultural producers, which have succeeded in that objective.

"Prominent examples include million dollar court awards to neighbours over odour issues and the legislated banning of gestation crates in Arizona."

Reinforcing Bouma's urge for the industry to become "solution providers," Wilson suggested the industry take the opportunity to counter the claims of industry opponents. "Ask yourself this question: how many environmental wrecks have we had in the Alberta pork industry? None. We have a phenomenal track record. That's a fact, and it's time people knew it."

Alberta Pork represents more than 1,000 pork producers in the province. The industry produces more than 3.5 million hogs each year. The overall agriculture industry directly and indirectly generates one out of three jobs in the province. For more information on Alberta's pork industry, visit the Alberta Pork Web site at www.albertapork.com.

© 2006 Meristem Information Resources Ltd.
Meristem® is a registered trademark of Meristem Information Resources Ltd. All rights reserved.
Legal Disclaimer