In another article in this publication, it shows there’s increased demand from producers in the United States for weanlings, just to fill existing sow barns.

Here George Matheson chair of Manitoba Pork says the repeal of U.S. Country of Origin Labelling will have a negligible impact on hog markets in the United States.

A delegation representing Manitoba Pork met with U.S. political leaders, leaders of U.S. farm organizations and fellow farmers to discuss wide ranging issues of mutual concern in Des Moines as part of Iowa Pork Congress 2016.

Matheson says a key issue, the repeal of COOL and what impact it might have on Manitoba weanling exports south. “Number one, we thanked them for supporting us in getting the matter resolved in regards to COOL,” he said. “We also did advise them that there would be no expectations of a sudden increase in exports from Manitoba just because COOL is repealed. We will probably stay at roughly 3,000,000.”

Matheson says Manitoba dropped from before COOL, probably just over 4,000,000 weanlings exported and COOL or no COOL, that number of approximately 3,000,000 is not going to change so it’s not going to be a flood of pigs that would depress their market.

“I took part in a seminar by a pork economist who felt that possibly in Ontario where they’re lacking slaughter space, they may start moving more hogs south, being a little easier to do so with the repeal of COOL,” he said.

“That would increase U.S. slaughter by no more than one per cent so he didn’t think it would pressure prices too much and in fact that flow of hogs may not happen. Perhaps Ontario, as they’ve done in the past, will find space in Quebec,” added Matheson

Matheson says no one on either side of the border wanted to see the retaliatory tariffs had the U.S. Congress not repealed the provisions of COOL for pork and beef.

On another mission, Rick Prejet, a hog producer from Notre Dame, MB and a member of Manitoba Pork’s Executive Committee says, by keeping the lines of communication open among Manitoba and mid-western U.S. pork producers the misconceptions and misunderstandings that can lead to problems can be avoided.

A delegation representing Manitoba took part in the 2016 Minnesota Pork Congress in late January as part of a trade advocacy mission. Prejet says it’s important to keep the lines of communication open. “We had a breakfast meeting with a number of people from the Minnesota Pork committee and etcetera’s and some government officials,” he said. “They had many questions ranging from health, to COOL, transportation and such, a pretty broad general discussion. They’re interested in understanding some of the risk there might be with Canadian hogs going down there, the risk of what our supply is going to be doing in the future, especially with COOL for pork and beef repealed.”

Prejet says people are wondering if Canadian producers will go crazy expanding their hog herd in western Canada and those kinds of questions. It’s just really a communication clarification on everything there. “Again, it’s amazing, through all the discussions we kind of go, yea we are all in the same boat here kind of thing,” he said.

“Again, it’s a matter of explaining what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, why we’re doing it and taking away all the rumours and demystify the whole thing of pork production in western Canada so they can fully understand what we’re doing, where we’re coming from.”

Prejet says the main goal of the effort is to keep the lines of communication open so when issues do come up phone calls can be made to talk things out and hopefully avoid some of the past issues between the U.S. and Canada.

He says for the most part those problems are the result of misunderstandings or misconceptions so the goal is to make sure things are clear, that people understand what the hog industry is doing in Canada and why. “The issues we have and what we have in common,” added Prejet. •

— By Harry Siemens