Mr. Speaker, pork producers are being devastated by low prices. Hogs are selling for half the cost of producing them. Last Friday I met with over 70 hog farmers in my constituency office in Smithville. These are efficient, hardworking producers who know their business, but they have been caught in circumstances beyond their control.
Hog farmers recognize that their industry is cyclical and they prepare for the normal ups and downs, but the situation they find themselves in is not normal. Pork producers and other farmers who export their product are suffering from the fallout of the Asian economic crisis and its spinoffs. Canadian exporters have lost their markets and oversupply has depressed prices globally.
The farm income situation is urgent. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has been working with farm leaders and his provincial counterparts to find a solution to the problem. I encourage him to create a national disaster program that will kick in when the safety net system proves insufficient.