Farmscape for May 2, 2008  (Episode 2834)

The Canadian Pork Council reports over half of the funding being offered under a federal program to reduce Canada's swine breeding herd has now been applied for.

Under the 50 million dollar Federal Cull Breeding Swine Program, officially launched April 14, swine producers who agree to depopulate breeding barns and leave them empty of breeding stock for a minimum of three years are eligible to receive 225 dollars per animal culled.

The program was developed in response to the depressed economic situation in the pork industry brought on by an over supply of hogs, escalating feed costs and a strong Canadian dollar and targets a ten percent reduction in the national breeding herd.

Canadian Pork Council executive Martin Rice reports interest among producers has been strong.

Clip-Martin Rice-Canadian Pork Council 

We have seen actually more than the halfway point in terms of animals.

To the extent that we were looking at a ten percent program allowance, that's about 154 thousand breeding animals.

We've seen 78 thousand applied for.

That's slightly over half.

Certainly in the two Maritime provinces they have gone well beyond the ten percent of their herd that is applying to be eliminated.

I think in British Columbia and Quebec it would be perhaps lower participation at this point but there has been an increase in recent days in submissions from Quebec.

Ontario is by some margin the largest number of claims and the largest number of breeding stock that they would to have covered by the program.

Rice notes the program is already over halfway subscribed.

He recommends anyone with an interest in this program should get their applications in at their earliest opportunity.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council