The situation couldn’t be any worse for pork producers in Kings County. Some may end up shooting their own pigs or calling on the SPCA to care for animals they can no longer feed.

What has gone wrong? One would think an industry that has been given millions of dollars in financial aid would be in better shape, but clearly that’s not the case.

Indeed, farmers were given $1 million in October, 2005 and another $1.8 million in March to bridge the gap between production costs and actual income from each pig raised and processed in the province.

Government expected that to last through to the end of 2006, but the money ran out in mid-May and Pork Nova Scotia’s request for $2.5 million to float the boat through to March 31, 2007 has been denied.

As far as the Nova Scotia government is concerned, the cupboard’s bare, with agriculture minister Brooke Taylor going on record as saying “it has been made to clear� to him by his caucus that there’s a difference between money for pork producers and money for cancer patients’ medication.

Perhaps that’s so if you’re sitting in Province House or a person battling cancer, and we absolutely don’t want to suggest that health care funds are immaterial to those who need help.

But the pork industry’s impact in Kings County is huge. Kings County Warden Fred Whalen said last week that it’s a viable part of the local economy and ultimately affects 1,500 people. “They’re facing a loss of dignity, the loss of their retirement investment and bankruptcy,� he said.

So: what has happened to push this crucial economic engine to the brink of disaster?

Simply put, the price of raising and processing hogs outstrips the income it generates. Consumers want a reasonable price at market, the U.S. dollar is a factor and feed costs to our region eat up any potential profit.

In that scenario, something had to give and we should acknowledge the government’s willingness then to support farmers until a new plan could be formulated.

That plan arrived two years ago and was promoted heavily by the provincial government. A pork development officer was hired to explore new products and value-added options, and infrastructure and production streamlining was on the agenda.

Producers locally were counting on government support while these groundbreaking initiatives were established. However, any hope for the future was dashed last week, and that’s wrong.

Any mechanism as large as that which manages the province’s pork industry cannot effect change overnight. Communication, protocol and implementation take time and even though the industry is two years into a strategic makeover, why pull the plug now?

Why offer producers money and support and then halt it in midstream? Surely the provincial government knew it was in for the long haul and should have budgeted accordingly so that a vital part of our local economy could have a decent shot at survival.

As it is, the New Year looks bleak for producers, but it needn’t be so. We’re all affected by this industry’s circumstance and many voices make a great noise. If you have a stake in this, get involved. Livelihoods and, indeed, a way of life hang in the balance.