Who's at fault?

There’s no question now; our agriculture industry is up against it. High costs and low prices – at least the part that producers get – hobble the farm community.

Right now, the pork sector is hurting and the centre of it is in Kings County, which host more than 30 producers.

Pork Nova Scotia chairman Martin Porskamp of Sheffield Mills said at last week’s media briefing and support meeting in Kentville prior to the Halifax rally that the industry needs a total of $6 million in government assistance over the next 18 months until its strategic plan is in place and the sector is stabilized and viable.

After recently battling disease and now continued low prices and high production costs for their product, pork farmers are maxed out. Hogs that cost about $180 to produce bring back $125. But that’s not what consumers pay at the counter.

Premier Rodney MacDonald’s Tory government has said no to the producers.

The sector has a farm-gate value of $35 million a year, spinning off to $100 million for the economy. It pays $8 million in provincial taxes and $9 million in federal levies.

It employs 1,500 people directly or indirectly, including in the processing end such as Larsen’s.

Loss of the sector and its processing would be like, as Berwick Mayor John Prall pointed out, Stora pulling out of the Canso Straight area.

If, in fact, no further assistance is forthcoming from the government, 50 per cent of the hog numbers will be gone in 6-9 months.

Pork production is complicated. A farmer can’t just go out of the sector. The specialized facilities can’t be converted readily to other commodities.

And as producer Jim Lamb noted, it takes 10 months to wind down a pork operation.

Meanwhile, world forces are stacked against the local farm. Producers in other countries can produce more food cheaper. At the same time, Canadian producers are carrying heavier and heavier costs for food safety, standards and accountability.

On top of this is an aging farm population and a lack of farm labour. As well, there are many more profitable endeavours in which one can engage than using farmland for farming.

The low-key media coverage of the pork producers’ “Who Is Going to Feed Your Children?� rally in Halifax last Tuesday is indicative of what we can expect without a lot more awareness efforts on the importance of agriculture to Nova Scotia and Nova Scotians.

At the preparatory media briefing last week, participants noted there is a disconnect between the industry and government. We recognize that it’s not just government, but the public, too.

We have to ask: what are the government’s priorities, and those of the Opposition parties? In comparison, what should the people of the province be concerned about – a former cabinet minister’s minor traffic accident last year or the future of a major industry?

Farmers and folks in Kings County know the answer to that one already.