Pork producers happy to have Conestoga Meats back online, but prices still volatile

It's been a tough few months for Ontario pork producers.

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted the market, leading to problems of volatile pricing and, in some cases, an oversupply of product.

In southwestern Ontario, the one-week closure of Conestoga Meats in Kitchener has been the latest challenge. 

The plant is one of only two federally regulated pork producers in Ontario. Last week it closed after seven employees tested positive for COVID-19. 

The plant re-opened on Monday, but even its short closure put farmer John de Bruyn in a tough spot. He typically sends a few hundred pigs to the plant weekly from his farm in Oxford County, just outside of Ingersoll. 

"Every time a pig processing plant goes offline, even for a short period of time, there goes one of our buyers out of the market," said de Bruyn on Monday. "The price volatility is really high right now." 

It's a volatility felt in many segments of the food industry as the pandemic has disrupted consumer behaviour and affected distribution chains. 

Monday on London Morning, Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Karen Vecchio said she's heard from livestock owners who have "nowhere to send their finished hogs."

De Bruyn said with Conestoga Meats coming back online, he's not in that position. Having a few hundred extra hogs means "space is tight in the barns," which is a challenge he can deal with. 

But downward pressure on pork prices remains the bigger issue. In addition to being a producer, De Bruyn is on the board of Ontario Pork, an industry group that represents more than 1,000 producers in the province. 

"As the processor shut down the price dropped significantly and now, as it's sorting itself out, the prices should come up a little but but it's certainly down from where it was last year."

Hog farmers losing money 

For now de Bruyn says he and other Ontario pork farmers are actually losing money on each hog they produce. While cutting back on production is an option, de Bruyn says he hasn't heard of Ontario farmers being forced to euthanize animals instead of processing them. 

De Bruyn says he's trying to focus on his daily activities, which includes planting hog feed for next year. But he's also calling for extra support from the federal government.

"I think with the unprecedented conditions, it's probably something we could use a bit of government help for in the short-term to get us the cash flow [we need] to get us into the fall," said de Bruyn.