Stomp Pork Farms (SPF), Saskatchewan's second largest pork producer, employing more than 250 people, filed for bankruptcy protection this week.  The company hopes this will provide the time it needs to develop a plan to satisfy creditors and get the organization back on solid financial footing.  SPF will maintain business as usual over the short term and is working on a plan to restructure its debt with creditors. 

Saskatchewan's pork producers have continued the daily struggle to stay afloat during the worst financial crisis they have ever experienced. They are incurring losses in excess of $40-60 per pig produced.  While recently announced federal and provincial safety net programs are helping many producers cope, the caps on the three major support programs available seriously disadvantages the industry's larger operators.

SPF's current financial cash flow crisis is directly attributed to the federal government policy to limit agricultural support payments to larger producers.  For example, the 2008 federal AgriStability program is expected to provide support payments of at least $30 per hog sold to most producers.  Due to the limit of support to larger producers as a result of the caps, Stomp Pork Farms would receive less than $6 per pig sold.  The result of this federal policy is that larger producers, including Stomp Pork Farms, which represent 60% of Saskatchewan's pork production, are left with little or no support.

The pork industry's larger operators impact the livelihoods of thousands of rural people and pay millions in uncapped taxes in the province every year.  They utilize millions of bushels of locally grown feed grains and support hundreds of complementary businesses across Saskatchewan and western Canada.  In addition, millions of dollars are returned to Canada in foreign exchange due to world-wide exports of high quality pork products.

The true extent of the financial loss to the province and the country are almost incalculable should the larger operators be forced to cease operations.  These producers are the backbone of the Canadian pork industry but are continually denied the same financial consideration that is available to smaller farming operations.

Due to flawed government policy that subjectively limits protection to larger operators, extremely efficient producers are being forced out of business.  Our industry's repeated requests to have the caps removed from the current suite of farm support programs have been ignored.

On March 14, cross-commodity letters of support for the removal of program caps were submitted to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, James Bezan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud.  The letters were submitted by Big Sky Farms, Olymel S.E.C./L.P., Federation des producteurs de porcs du Quebec, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association, Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association, and SPI Marketing Group.

Additionally, the Canadian Pork Council and its provincial pork organizations have implored the federal and provincial governments to make these necessary changes to ensure farm support programs are fair and equitable to all producers. To date we have had no response.

The time for waiting for the industry to heal itself is over. As evidenced by the second major bankruptcy case in the hog industry in western Canada this week, the signs are very evident the industry is at a breaking point.  If the federal government continues to choose to wait and watch, there will be no livestock industry left.

Clearly, Minister Ritz needs to let producers know if the federal government intends to do something meaningful to change the cap level. A non-response again is unacceptable, as producers have life-altering decisions to make.  No response clearly sends the message that the federal government is no longer interested in sustaining Canada's livestock sector.

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For further information contact:

Neil Ketilson, General Manager
Saskatchewan Pork Development Board
Tel: (306) 244-7752

Joe Kleinsasser, Chairman
Saskatchewan Pork Development Board
Tel: (306) 261-4725