Fostering the sustainability and prosperity of the pork industry for hog farmers and all Manitobans

Grassroots Campaign against Government Moratorium on Pork Industry Gains Momentum

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

(Winnipeg, Manitoba – September 8, 2011) – Manitoba’s pork industry is the bread and butter for Marcel and Andy Joanisse. For the past 16 years, the son and father team have owned Dutch Meat Market in St. Boniface. However, both fear that a governmentimposed moratorium on the expansion of pork production will jeopardize jobs and restrict growth in the province.

“As business owners we provide meaningful employment in the city and believe that banning or severely restricting one sector is the wrong approach to solve the problem,” stated Marcel Joanisse.

The moratorium is one of several measures the province announced, aimed at protecting water quality and reducing the amount of phosphorus in Lake Winnipeg and other bodies of water. However, Don Flaten, a University of Manitoba soil scientist and the Chair of the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment emphasizes that the hog industry is responsible for only a fraction of phosphorus in Lake Winnipeg and the industry has

led the way in working towards solutions.

“Approximately one or two per cent of phosphorus that ends up in Lake Winnipeg comes from the hog industry,” Flaten explains. “The remaining 98 or 99 per cent comes from many other small sources, such as natural processes, other agricultural activities, and sewage from cities and towns…most of which are outside the province of Manitoba.”

Manure is applied to 2.5 per cent of Manitoba’s 4.7 million hectares of farmland, according to a 2007 Clean Environment Commission report. Livestock eat grains mostly produced here and the manure from these animals is applied to the soil as fertilizer to promote the growth of crops that are again fed back to the animals. The crops use up most of the nutrients, leaving little to run off. This is known as the Nutrient Cycle.

“Manitoba farmers are committed to environmental sustainability, and we want to adopt new technology and beneficial management practices that have a positive impact on the environment,” says Doug Chorney, President of the Keystone Agricultural Producers.

“But rigid regulation doesn’t help achieve these goals. Instead it will push growth outside of Manitoba.”

Despite these environmentally sustainable practices, the province has announced a legislated ban on winter manure spreading. However, the majority of operators have been prohibited from winter spreading for years, and regulations already in place remove the option for small-scale producers as of 2013.

Graham Starmer, President of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce says that failing to weigh the costs of a policy decision against the potential benefits can cause more damage than the original concern. Starmer believes, “A ban, even a temporary one, threatens the livelihoods of the province’s 500 hog producers as well as 11,000 hog industry jobs in

communities across the province.”

The value of hog production to the Manitoba economy is $1.2 billion annually, making hog production this province’s leading agricultural industry.

Nicole Harris

Maverick Media

Cellular: 204-470-4555

nharris@maverick-media.ca