By Alice McFarlane

Olymel plant closure hurts Saskatchewan hog farmers

Feb 16, 2021 | 5:00 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Saskatchewan hog producers will be impacted by a temporary shut down of the Olymel processing plant in Red Deer, Alta.

Sask Pork learned last week there had been a COVID-19 outbreak at the plant and slaughter capacity would be reduced by 50 per cent. By the weekend, Olymel announced it did not have enough workers available to continue.

General manager Mark Ferguson said it was significant enough that Olymel suspended operations temporarily.

“We’re not sure exactly how long that will extend. Certainly, they are having their challenges,” he said.

Ferguson said the Olymel plant is a key market for Saskatchewan hog farms.

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“Just under half of our market hogs go to that facility. So the impact of a stoppage of processing will be felt for the coming weeks if not months,” he said.

Most farms have a regular schedule for shipping hogs to processing plants, according to Ferguson.

“An interruption to this schedule and the inability to ship hogs is a serious situation,” he said. “Within a week or two, at the most, space inside the barns will become an issue.”

Ferguson said pigs are amazing animals in terms of their ability to put on weight and grow. The problem is you cannot stop that growth.

“As younger animals grow, they need more space, and you make space in a barn on a daily or weekly basis by marketing animals,” Ferguson said. “When you send out the market ready hogs, the younger pigs take their place in the finishing room. The move out of the finished hogs won’t be happening for two weeks for many of our farms.”

As a result, hog farms will be implementing emergency plans to deal with excess inventory. Ferguson said there are few things that can be done starting with feeding lower spec rations to slow down the growth of the animals.

“You can’t stop it, but you can slow it down somewhat and double stock pens,” he said. “Also, looking for alternative markets as some of the other processors may be able to take an extra load or two but they won’t be able to make up for what that plant slaughters.”

Ferguson said in the summer months farmers might be able to utilize outdoor pens or more rudimentary shelters but that does not work in the middle of the winter.

Prices are determined by formulas established in the United States so Ferguson does not expect there will be a price impact. But there will be financial pressures. If farmers cannot ship hogs, they cannot get paid.

“There will be a delay in marketing so you won’t get that cheque for the next couple of weeks and that could affect some farms,” Ferguson said. “Obviously feed costs are creeping up and those feed bills have to be paid no matter what is going on at the farm.”

Ferguson said the incident emphasizes the significant work being done at processing plants.

“They’re essential workers doing a very important job on behalf of Saskatchewan hog producers,” he said.

The most recent outbreak of coronavirus resulted in dozens of cases and the death of one worker.

Each year Saskatchewan ships roughly 800,000 market hogs to the Red Deer plant.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF