so much for value added

[craig]

It has become obvious in the last few weeks that few people and obviously no politicians realize that the canadian pork industry is set for total collapse. Current hog prices would be no different than if we were offered $1.00/bushel barley, $2.00/Bushel wheat and $4.00 /bushel Canola. On top of that this would be the offers after we had 3 years of total crop failure. While there are no easy solutions there needs to be at least an attempt made by the powers that be. Call a payout a Cool offset and then let the U.S. defend their position. Trade retalition is only a feeble excuse to do nothing. When the packing plants close there will be no turning back. As a grain producer I depend on markets for my feed grains and manure to help fertilize my fields.
There is a strong message here and that is that our grain industry could be in a similar situation down the road when unforseen circumstance means we are no longer a viable business. If you are a poor manager that is one thing ,but that's not the case in the pork industry. The producers still operating know their business. So while good operators go further in the hole, the retail sector are making an increasing sizable margin from the industry. Hope we aren't in the same position down the road. We would also probably find our crys for help would fall on deaf ears.

[cottonpicken]

So when talking government tax dollars who EXACTLY should be taxed.

AND I DO MEAN EXACTLY.

janitors
teachers
nurses
doctors
fast food/minium wage

Isnt that a funny site-minium wage earnears subsidizing multi million doollar hog opperators?
Kill piggy
Or 70 dollar an hour car guys
ROME burns

[parsley]

...."know their business".


I'm going to get hit with a 2X4 here. But I want to ask AV'ers a question or two:

1. Has the quality of pork that consumers buy, improved or deteriorated ot stayed the same?

2. Are pork sales up?


Maybe increased consumption is the best solution. Taxing another group of people is not. Pars

[Hopperbin]

Quality of pork? I may get hit by the same 2 by 4. My chinese friends smell our fresh pork and think it does not smell right. Myself cannot tell the difference. There are a lot of better noses out there than mine.

[parsley]

It doesn't smell right.
At all.
Several problems with the meat itself.

Pars

[furrowtickler]

They have sold cat as pork and they are woundering if your pork may smell right? WTF? Most cuts they use are thrown out as dog meat.

[LWeber]

LMAO...

lock up the dogs...lol

[parsley]

furrow, do YOU buy pork?

[Hopperbin]

Bullshit at least they know what they are eating and how to eat it something we lost somewhere.

[parsley]

Smart business listens to consumer comments. Chinese cooking is exemplary.

We can bash a type of cooking or we can discuss the quality of Canadian pork.

[craig]

cottonpicken
I would suggest to you there are no multimillion dollar hog operations left in Canada. The ones I hear about are the ones millions in debt. To the rest of the comments, don't expect anyone to show sympathy when you can't afford your $300,000 dollar combine.Further is your barley, canola peas or wheat any better than it was 20 years ago. You all seem to miss the point. Pork quality is not what is currently effecting the market. The pork industry is being impacted by media sensationalism, non tariff trade barriers and a poor economy. If you as a grain farmer has a solution to these issues then step to the plate.

[parsley]

I am trying to step up to the plate, except this is the part you don't want to hear:

Taxation is not an option.

We can't bail every industry and their tagalongs, out of a bad spot, although begging is defensible if you're paid as the lobbyist, I guess.


A few years ago when beef tanked, a lot of consumers went out of their way to buy beef. And they filled their freezers to barbque. it helped a lot.

Consumers buying a whack of pork right about now would help as I see it.As long as it's a saleable product.

GM took to begging. But if they had targeted 50 thousand farmers and convinced them to buy half tons, it would probably been more helpful to GM's bottom line in the long run. Capista? Pars

[grassfarmer]

Agree on the pork quality issue - or should say our customers do. We marketed some pasture raised Large Black hogs last year to our grass-fed beef customers and the response was phenominal. They had a clean taste, not a hog barn stink taste. We doubled our orders for this year with no marketing effort. The customer is always right - unfortunately industrial agriculture still doesn't want to listen.

Agree that this doesn't help the "pork industry" - but rather like the "beef industry" how worth saving is it? We are in the food production business and it's time we got back in touch with our real paymasters - the consumer not Governments, not multinational packers, not retailers.

[Hopperbin]

No multi million dollar hog operations?
Is there a hog operation that is not multi million dollar? Ditto for us farmers these days but when a hog operation can go bankrupt and the owner buys a new half ton and a new million dollar house in the same year after bankruptsy , not sure what to say here.

[Hopperbin]

Is it all about jobs and an extra market for our grains? That definately has been a boost to the community.