The pork board will lose its single-desk marketing powers on Dec. 4 and its right to review direct producer-to-packer contracts. The decision comes from Ontario Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell who has exercised her authority to over-rule appeals tribunal decisions. She has, in effect, restored the directives from the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission which were appealed by Rein Minnema of Appin, an appeal joined by several other groups. Mitchell said farmers have said they want clarity on the issues so they can get on with their planning. However, her decision leaves the situation up in the air until a Dec. 4 deadline for the pork board and the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to work out a detailed plan, including consultations with producers and other stakeholders. “In the meantime, it’s business as usual,” she said, meaning the pork board remains in charge of marketing, logistics and transportation. The board has granted special permissions to the farmers who own the Conestoga Meat Packers plant at Breslau via their Progressive Pork Producers Cooperative. Mitchell noted that both the commission’s directives and the ensuing appeals tribunal decision recognize that farmers want more choice, so she said the new plan must grant farmers the right to sell direct to packers, through the pork board or through any other agent they choose. The board can review contracts if either the farmer or packer asks. That will not happen until Dec. 4. Prices must continue to be reported to the pork board so it can keep producers informed. One of the other missing pieces – financial protection for farmers – remains to be resolved through further negotiations. She has agreed with the commission ruling that farmers must pay levies to the board for all types of hogs, including weaners, breeding stock and culls. The board proposed that the levy on weaners would apply only to exports on the basis that weaners raised in Ontario would pay the levy when they reach market weight and are sold. The Hog Industry Advisory Committee will be as the tribunal ruled with the commission appointing the chair. “I know how difficult it has been for the industry, how hard it has been,” she said, adding that there are many hog producers in her Huron County riding. She said she received more than 40 submissions after she announced that she would review the tribunal’s decision.