March 19, 2008

Canadian organisations to begin construction of hog slaughter plant

Plans to construct a new 1 million per year hog slaughter plant in Saskatchewan will commence this summer.

The project is a partnership between Fishing Lake First Nation, the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board and Big Sky Farms.

Planning for the new plant started after Maple Leaf announced in October 2006 that it would be shutting down its slaughter facility, a move that would deprive the province of its only hog slaughtering plant. The closure had caused hog farmers to pay for higher transportation costs, as they had to move their hogs over greater distances.

Jim Ramsey, chairman of the project, said that the new plant would expand the market and ease the producers' financial burden.

Ramsey added that the plant's business development plan has been completed and they are now gathering resources for the tendering stage.