Rick Bergmann new Canadian Pork Council Chair

At a recent meeting of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), Mr. Rick Bergmann received the country-wide support of his peers, and will lead the charge for the Canadian pork industry in the upcoming year at the CPC’s helm as its Chair.

Mr. Bergmann, a hog producer from Steinbach, Manitoba, expressed his gratitude for being chosen to represent the industry, a sector which in 2013, accounted for over $4.1 billion in farm cash receipts. “The Canadian hog industry is a vital contributor to the country’s economy. I am honoured to have been chosen to help shape the future of our industry, and look forward to working with my colleagues to address the many challenges and opportunities we will meet over the next year,” he says.

The Canadian hog industry is relatively unique in agriculture as it is spread across the entire country.  The industry is a central factor in rural development and is a crucial, value adding market for grains.  By its very nature animal production requires a human resource base.  As a result of this human resource requirement, it is a very strong employment generator both directly and indirectly across the country.

It is also important to note that over the past decade the Canadian hog industry has endured both difficult and prosperous times.  In both good economic times and bad, the industry continued to generate strong economic activity, jobs and value-added contributions to the Canadian economy.

Rick intends to use his time as CPC’s Chair to further strengthen the pork industry by working with Canadian producers, provincial and federal governments and industry partners to:

 

• focus on four Pillars of Success ̶  Industry Integrity, Competitiveness, Market Penetration and Industry Leadership. These pillars address the industry’s economic circumstances, performance and societal pressures. Synchronizing the pillars will move Canadian hog producers towards long-term success
• strengthen the industry value chain with the goal of increasing hog farm cash receipts
• encourage activities that would help to eliminate or reduce unnecessary regulatory divergences between Canada and the integrated North American hog industry
• support the federal government’s efforts to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and initiating a Bilateral Economic Partnership agreement with Japan due to the long term potential of these agreements for the pork industry
• create the environment for producers to take advantage of the great opportunities that exist in the long-term for increased sales of pork in the Asia-Pacific region and the European Union, as well as in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Mr. Bergmann, a representative of Manitoba Pork Council, is joined by two other newly elected executive officers, consisting of 1st Vice-President, Bill Wymenga from Ontario Pork and 2^nd Vice-President, Frank Novak from Alberta Pork.