Farmscape for September 13, 2006 (Episode 2244) The head of Maple Leaf Foods suggests improved waste water treatment is key to double shifting the company's Brandon hog slaughtering plant. In an address to community leaders in Brandon yesterday, Maple Leaf Foods President and CEO Michael McCain reaffirmed his company's commitment to double shifting its flagship Brandon pork plant as quickly as possible. He notes, to overcome the financial hurdles of a new wastewater treatment facility, the City of Brandon in partnership with Maple Leaf Foods and Wyeth Organics have sought out a collaborative solution to their respective waste water treatment challenges. He stresses, in order to meet the requirements of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission and move to a more competitive double shift waste water treatment must first be addressed. Clip-Michael McCain-Maple Leaf Foods In the United States over 50 percent of the country's pork production comes from double shifted plants processing over 80 thousand hogs per week. The consolidation of US pork processors has resulted in large scale plants that are highly cost efficient and run between 80 to 90 percent capacity utilization where as in Canada we are simply sub-scale in too many spots. Case in point, south of the border 17 of the top 20 plants currently run a double shift. By contrast only three of Canada's top 23 plants are double shifted. McCain is hopeful a funding arrangement involving the city of Brandon, Maple Leaf, Wyeth and the federal and provincial governments can be worked out by year's end. He notes since 1999 Maple Leaf has invested more than 200 million dollars in the Brandon processing plant and, if the wastewater treatment facility moves ahead, it will be the catalyst for an additional 50 million dollars in upgrades, Maple Leaf's largest investment in Manitoba since the facility was originally built. He suggests the transition to a second shift would begin in late 2007 and would ultimately result in the creation of up to one thousand new jobs in Brandon. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane. *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council |