Reach for the Top with Agriculture Labor Summit
Given the recent changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, attracting and retaining labor in the agriculture industry is more challenging than ever.
That’s why Alberta Pork is proud to be a co-sponsor of the 2014 Agriculture Labour Summit on October 30, 2014 in Red Deer.
The conference will showcase best practices in farm labour management, where to go for agriculture skills and career development in Alberta and provide information on both the Seasonal Agricultural Worker
Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Registration is limited to 200. When: October 30, 2014, 8:15 am – 4:30 pm; Where: Black Knight Inn, Red Deer, Alberta.
To register, go to http://laboursummit.albertamilk.com/, call Daria Taylor at 780-577-3324 or email
dtaylor@albertamilk.com. •

Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
Mark your calendars for the annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, which will take place Wednesday November 5th at the Sheraton in Red Deer.
On line Registration is now open at http://events.SignUp4.net/RDSTW14. The earlybird cost for the one day workshop is $80 and if you purchase four the fifth one is free, valid until Friday October 17th. Registration includes a copy of the proceedings and lunch. For details and information contact ConventionALL at 403.244.7821 •

Alberta Pork AGM
Tha Alberta Pork Annual General Meeting will take place in Calgary Thursday November 6th. The one day meeting will be held at Carriage House commencing at 9:30. Agenda and speakers not confirmed at press time. For details or information contact the Alberta Pork office at 780.492.1505. •

Aherne Awards
Do you know of an innovator who should be recognized? Someone who has developed an original solution to answer a pork production challenge? Or found a creative use of a known technology?
The Banff Pork Seminar is proud to offer a chance for you to “strut your stuff” as a technology innovator and show the rest of us how to put it into practice!
The Dr. FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production recognizes innovators involved in the pork industry who are making a difference by applying new technologies or management techniques.
Innovators can win valuable prizes and free registration to the 2015 Banff Pork Seminar, January 20-22; you’ll be recognized by your peers and the pork industry and have a chance to present your solution at the 2015 Banff Pork Seminar.
Please nominate yourself, or apply on behalf of an innovator that deserves to be recognized. Help us to find these innovators and encourage them to apply for the Dr. FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production.
Specifically, we are looking for innovators who are capable of taking a new research concept, a technology, or even a management concept and apply it successfully in the production of pork. Innovations may be related to, but are not limited to, one of the following areas: Productivity, Profitability, Working Conditions, Animal Well Being, Reduced Environmental Impact, Pork Quality and Safety.
Anyone who has developed a solution to a pork production challenge may enter. Innovations must be relevant to North American pork production but do not necessarily have to be currently in use in Canada at the time of application.
Application and more information will be available online at www.banffpork.ca. Applications must be received by October 24, 2014. Apply today!
Please contact Conference Coordinator Marliss Wolfe Lafreniere at
pork@ualberta.ca with questions. •

Saskatchewan Industry Pork Symposium
The annual Saskatchewan Industry Pork Symposium will be held in Saskatoon at the Saskatoon Inn November 18 & 19, 2014.
Featured speakers include Andy Vance, Dr. Mark Jacobson, Dr Bob Friendship, Jeff Clark, Dr Brad Chappell, Dr. Susan Detmer, Nancy Lidster, Dr. Jennifer Brown, Ron Davidson, Brandon Fields and Kent Bang.
Join these speakers along with producers and fellow industry to learn more on some current hot topics in the swine industry.
For details or information contact Kim Brown at 306.343.3506 or email kbrowne@saskpork.com •

Prairie Livestock Expo
The show has all three a new name, a new focus and a new location.
Prairie Livestock Expo formally known as Hog & Poultry Days, made the decision to expand the show to include multi species. Prairie Livestock Expo the full one day show will take place Wednesday December 10th from 9 am – 6 pm at the newly renovated and built Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre, Winnipeg MB.
All the industries servicing the livestock sector are invited to participate.
Although the name has changed much will remain the same including the highly anticipated carcass competition. •

Banff Pork Seminar
Plans are being finalized and speakers confirmed for the 2015 Banff Pork Seminar. Mark your calendars January 20-22, 2015.
Registration is now open.
For details or information check online at banffpork.ca or email pork@ualberta.ca •

Manitoba Swine Seminar
The Manitoba Swine Seminar will once again be held at the Victoria Inn & Conference Centre in Winnipeg.
The dates for 2015 are February 4 and 5th. Stay tuned to the December-January edition for more information. •

Cramer Livestock Expo
Cramer Crop and Livestock Expo is back for its fifth consecutive year and will be held Thursday February 19th in Swift Current, SK at Kinetic Park.
The show continues to grow each year, in addition to the one day trade show will feature the Cramer Cup series – awards presented in various categories; hog, forage, baking and egg competitions.
For details or information contact ConventionALL at 403.244.7821 •

CPP Statement on the Conclusion of Canada- EU Trade Negotiations
Canadian Pork producers welcome the conclusion of the Canada-European Union comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European commission President José Manuel Barroso signed a declaration marking the end of negotiations today in Ottawa.
The Canadian and EU markets for pork complement each other and this relationship holds great potential to enhance the sector’s export opportunities, as well as benefit workers, businesses and families who rely on the pork sector for their livelihood. The Canadian pork industry urges Canada and the EU to work toward an aggressive timetable to bring the agreement info force.
This agreement will secure free access for processed pork products on the day this new agreement takes effect and Canada will acquire a quota volume equivalent to 80 thousand tonnes of pork cuts. Canada’s pork industry exports two-thirds of its production. The diversification in export marketing opportunities is crucial to maintaining this important industry.
Current exports of pork cuts to the EU are virtually non-existent. This is not because our prices are uncompetitive but instead is due to tariff and non-tariff barriers to entry into the EU market which CETA will now address. CETA will provide the Canadian pork sector meaningful access to the EU market and an estimated economic return far greater than the projected export value when factoring in the additional economic development stimulated by the increased feed grain production, meat processing and distribution activities generated by these new sales of Canadian pork. •

PED Trials Show Disinfectant Effective
A research team at Iowa State University says it found Accel disinfectant totally effective for treating livestock trailers for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus.
The team’s findings, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, came from trials that simulated field conditions.
Accel is an accelerated hydrogen peroxide disinfectant. It’s distributed by Omega Solutions LLC and patented by Virox Technologies Inc.
The research team says Accel worked well even in trailers still contaminated with up to 25 per cent fecal matter.
The company says this “adds a significant layer of protection to the current way trailers and other equipment are cleaned and disinfected.” They say it is easy to use and environmentally friendly.
Eliminating PED virus from livestock trailers has been a major challenge. Some wash bays in the United States recycle wash water, so PED can survive and contaminate and otherwise PED-free trailer.
Ontario had only one good wash facility during much of the riskiest cold-weather period last winter and early spring. There now are additional trailer-washing facilities.
Another challenge has been cleaning and disinfecting loading and unloading chutes at packing plants and assembly yards and cleaning workers’ boots and clothing. •
— By Jim Romahn

Americans Seek Another COOL Court Hearing
The American Meat Institute has filed for another court hearing over its application to block implementation of Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations.
The meat industry, backed by Canadians and Mexicans, lost the original application and appeals, but now they want the courts to start over.
Their court application comes after the World Trade Organization ruled that the COOL regulations now in effect violate U.S. trade commitments.
The American government still has an opportunity to appeal that decision and, should it lose, to argue over the trade sanctions Canada and Mexico could impose if the regulations are not amended or removed so there is no longer discrimination against hogs and cattle, beef and pork from Canada and Mexico.
The American Meat Institute (AMI) has taken the lead for a list of plaintiffs that includes the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). •
— By Jim Romahn

Programme Offers Funding to Enhance Pig Welfare in Canada
An animal care specialist with Manitoba pork says funding available under the Growing Assurance-Food Safety On-Farm program will help pork producers further enhance animal welfare on their farms, reports Bruce Cochrane.
Applications for the Growing Assurance Food Safety On-Farm program, developed under Growing Forward two, are being accepted until 21 November.
Mark Fynn, an animal care specialist with Manitoba Pork notes all Canadian Quality Assurance registered swine producers are eligible. •

Delayed Pig Weaning Works
Australian researchers have found they can delay weaning and still get sows bred soon after they give farrow.
The trick is to expose them to a boar about a week after farrowing.
That’s enough to trigger oestrus, they found,
Normally hog farmers have believed that sows will only begin oestrus cycling after their litter has been weaned.
That has prompted early weaning to get the maximum number of piglets per sow per year.
But early weaning also stresses the piglets, often resulting in diarrhea, setbacks and higher mortality rates.
The research was done at the University of Adelaide, where veterinary student Alice Weaver said different treatment groups were set up among the Large White/ Landrace cross sows, with half of the sows weaned early at day seven after birth and half at day 26.
Half of each group had daily contact with boars from day seven.
“The research showed that providing sows daily contact with a mature male pig seven days after giving birth is sufficient to stimulate oestrus regardless of whether they were still suckling a litter or not,” she said.
“We’ve shown that piglet weaning age should be able to be increased with sows still producing the average 2.4 litters a year.
“This is very important to the pig industry and should lead to improvements in post-weaning growth and the welfare and survival of piglets.”
“Most piglets in Australia are weaned at an average of 24 days. If we can push that out to at least 30 days, the extra time will have significant benefit for the piglets,” Weaver said.
Continuing research is looking at whether there are any negative impacts on the following litter, which would be conceived and gestating while the sow was still suckling the previous litter. •
— By Jim Romahn

Mixed Message for Piglet Rations
Centralia College has issued a report on research that indicates that adding spray-dried animal protein to nursing-piglet rations counters the negative impacts of vomitoxin from corn rations.
However, research by others indicates that Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus may contaminate spray-dried pig plasma and spread the disease to piglets that eat the ration.
That seems to be what happened at 17 Ontario farms, beginning in January, but abruptly ending when the feed company alerted customers.
The research at Centralia indicates that when spray-dried animal protein is added to rations where the corn has been contaminated with DON toxin that evolves from fusarium-mould-infected ears of corn, they fare just as well as piglets fed corn-based rations that have no DON toxin. •
— By Jim Romahn

Hog-farm Workers Studied for Bacteria
Workers are hog farms are at greater risk than the general public of picking up antibiotic-resistant strains of harmful bacteria, according to a new study out of North Carolina.
A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of North Carolina took nasal swabs from 22 North Carolina hog-facility workers over 14 days and found that 10 of them proved to be “persistent” carriers of Staphylococcus aureus.
Seven of those 10 workers carried a form of Staphylococcus aureus that’s resistant to one or more antibiotics.
The results are similar to studies conducted in Ontario, showing the higher incidence of MSRA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) among hog farmers and staff.
The U.S. researchers claim their study is the first to test the persistence of the bacteria strains that workers pick up at livestock farms.
“Researchers had believed that livestock-associated bacteria would clear from the noses of hog workers quickly—within 24 hours,” the press release accompanying the report states, but this study indicates the bacteria persisted for four days after they left the hog barns.
While these and other studies suggest that farm workers are moving resistant bacteria from farms and into the world, potentially infecting others, they don’t prove that MRSA and other potentially deadly staph strains are spreading from this source, says the news release.
You can carry a staph germ in your nose without becoming infected with it. The authors say they’re now studying whether the workers, their families, and their surrounding communities are more prone to infections.
A study team at the University of Iowa reported earlier this year that people who live within a mile of a hog operation are nearly three times more likely to carry MRSA in their noses than the general population.
Last year another research report from Johns Hopkins university studied actual MRSA infections in Pennsylvania and found that people who live near fields treated with liquid hog manure are “significantly” more likely to be treated for infections; and people who live near hog operations showed a “similar but weaker association” with MRSA infection rates. •
— By Jim Romahn

PED Virus Can be Spread by Breezes
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus can spread up to 10 miles by air, researchers at the University of Minnesota have found.
They gathered air samples downwind from a large hog operation in Oklahoma to find out whether the highly-contagious disease can be spread by air.
While the samples gathered 10 miles or more downwind would not infect piglets, other air samples collected closer to the barns did sicken piglets.
The researchers say this is the first evidence that the disease can spread by air.
Most biosecurity efforts have focused on eliminating exposure to manure from infected barns and trucks.
There has also been recent confirmation that PED can spread via feed, especially where dried blood plasma from pigs is used in piglet rations.
This research into airborne transmission was conducted by Carmen Alonso, Dane P. Goede, Robert B. Morrison, Peter R. Davies, Albert Rovira, Douglas G. Marthaler and Montserrat Torremorell. •
— By Jim Romahn

Pork Council Joins Coalition Pressuring Japan
The Canadian Pork Council has joined a coalition pressuring Japan to stop protecting its farmers in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations.
That draws attention to the split among Canadian farmers. The beef, hog and grain farmers want access to markets; the dairy and poultry farmers want continuation of high tariffs that shield them from competition.
Martin Rice, chief executive for the Canadian Pork Council, told Globe and Mail reporter and columnist Barrie McKenna that the negotiations are stalled because Japan, Canada and others are unwilling to offer tariff and trade concessions for agriculture products that would increase competition and probably lower prices in their domestic markets.
Rice said he doesn’t blame Canada.
He said everybody seems to be waiting for the United States and Japan to reach an agreement and then others might offer agriculture-sector concessions to strike the kind of deal that the Trans-Pacific Trade negotiations are intended to achieve.
Others in the coalition who have written to the TPP negotiators include the National Pork Producers Council representing hog farmers in the United States and the governments of Australia, Chile and Mexico.
The Japanese protect their domestic beef and pork markets via variable-rate tariffs. •
— By Jim Romahn

MapleLeaf hands out Top Awards
MapleLeaf (Brandon) handed out awards to the top producing Saskatchewan herds.
The Top overall producer was Carmichael Colony in 2013 shipping year. They also placed first in Tattoo, Dermit Free and Loin.
Second overall was Grassy Hill followed in third by Wheatland.
Wheatland took number one in both Percentage Core and Index.
Placing first in Yield was Beechy Colony.
Congratulations to all the winners for achieving strong numbers.
Fast is pleased to be supplying genetics to three of the four top herds. •

Pork From China fills Canadian Void in Russia
Chinese pork products will replace banned pork exports from the West, which are unlikely to win back their place in the Russian market even if the present ban is lifted, according to Russia’s meat products watchdog.
Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance said in a statement on the agency’s website on Wednesday that “the Russian government now is actively cooperating with China’s veterinary authorities on pork supplies from certain highly integrated Chinese enterprises”.
Russia’s Far East region used to rely heavily on meat supplies from the United States and Canada.
The change in meat suppliers comes after Moscow imposed a one-year ban on a number of agricultural products, including meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables, wine and dairy products from the U.S., the member nations of the European Union, Norway, Canada and Australia as retaliation for their economic sanctions.
The economic sanctions are designed to persuade Russia to back off its aggression in the Ukraine. •
— By Jim Romahn

Zoetis to Market PED Virus Vaccine
Zoetis has gained a conditional licence from the United States Department of Agriculture to market a vaccine to counter Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus.
The virus has killed about eight per cent of the U.S. baby-pig population since it first showed up about 18 months ago.
It is highly infectious and deadly to piglets and difficult to keep from spreading during cool and cold weather conditions.
Ontario has been hit the hardest in Canada, beginning at the end of January, but appears to be getting on top of the virus now. •

Russians Invest to Increase Meat Production
Russian meat companies are announcing major expansions in the wake of the government’s ban on imports from Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.
The bans are the Russian response to economic sanctions countries are applying to Russia to pressure her to stop battling for control over more of Eastern Ukraine.
Typical of the meat-industry response is the announcement this week by Cherkizovo Group which said it will spend more than $115 million Cdn to increase poultry and pork production in Russia’s Voronezh Region.
Cherkizovo is Russia’s largest meat processor.
It says it will also build more slaughter capacity to increase production by 15,000 tons in 2015.
Plans also include construction of seven hog-raising complexes with capacity of more than 35,000 tons of marketable pork per year.
That will enable the company to triple pork production to more than 50,000 tonnes per year. •
— By Jim Romahn

Race is On to Find Solution to Boar Taint
With the possibility of January 1 2018 marking the end of the use of castration as a solution to boar taint the search for alternatives has begun. One such alternative being investigated at Aarhus University is the adding of a substance to boar feed that will capture the foul odour.
Boar taint is the main reason for castrating young male pigs, it a painful experience for the young pig and extra work for the farmer. Plus, several main players in the pig meat chain have agreed on a plan to voluntarily end the surgical castration of pigs in Europe by 1 January 2018.
Scientists from Aarhus University are started a two year project new project funded by the Green Development and Demonstration Programme under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, to reduce the concentration of the substances that create the foul smell. The project is aiming to find out whether the substances that taint the meat can be taken out of circulation by using adsorbents. Adsorption occurs when a material binds another substance to its surface. One of the substances that cause boar taint, which the scientists are putting under the microscope, is androstenone.
Androstenone is a substance produced by the mature male pig, which he uses, among other things, to attract sows in heat. It is found in high concentrations in the boar’s saliva. The boar’s excess androstenone can be found in the blood plasma and adipose tissue, which is why it taints the meat.
New research shows that adsorbents such as activated carbon can reduce the concentration of androstenone in fat and blood plasma and thus reduce boar taint in the roasted meat. Activated carbon has been used for centuries to bind moisture, odours and noxious substances and to clean air and water.
The scientists will examine whether androstenone is absorbed from the gut. They will identify how much of the adsorbent effect can be attributed to the binding of androstenone in the gut and to the binding of sex hormones that could potentially affect the metabolism of androstenone in the liver. Finally, the scientists will develop methods to identify adsorbents that have the potential to reduce boar taint. •

North American Pork Industry Leaders Meet to Discuss Trade
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) recently hosted a meeting of North American pork industry leaders, finding several areas of common interest and concern. The meeting took place in Montreal, Quebec, where representatives of the CPC met with their counterparts from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the Mexican pork producer organization, the Confederación de Porcicultores Mexicanos (CPM).
“It is quite clear to me from our discussions that pork farmers from all across North America share the same abiding commitment to providing consumers a nutritious, safe and affordable food supply”, said Jean-Guy Vincent, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. “I’m pleased that we have a common interest and commitment to trade negotiations such as TPP and recognize that maintaining pork markets and opening up new markets to pork is important to the North American hog industry.”
“It is quite clear to me from our discussions that pork farmers from all across North America share the same abiding commitment to providing consumers a nutritious, safe and affordable food supply”, said Jean-Guy Vincent, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. “We agreed that herd health is a critical component to the success of the industry and I’m pleased that we have a common interest in preventing a resurgence of PEDv as well as a need to keep this virus in control.”
The Mexican, U.S. and Canadian producer representatives also discussed several others areas of common interest including the potential for Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to open up additional export opportunities for the North American pork industry, a desire for the United States to come into compliance with WTO rulings on Country-of-Origin Labelling (COOL) and to thus avoid retaliatory actions by Canada and Mexico, and the need for science-based food safety and animal health regulations that avoid unnecessary disruptions to trade.
“The single most important commercial issue before our producers is the elimination of the gate price in Japan and all tariffs on pork in every TPP nation,” said Howard Hill, President of NPPC. “We appreciate the importance of working together with our colleagues in the North American pork industry to attain these objectives” said Hill.
José Cervera, CPM’s Treasurer and who led the Mexican delegation, added “The Mexican pork industry has made tremendous progress towards achieving the international health status which, together with TPP and other trade agreements, allows us to participate in the rapidly growing international pork market”.
The next meeting will be take place in the spring of 2015 and be hosted by the National Pork Producers Council. •

APC AGM
Due to low enrolment the Alberta Pork Congress Golf Tournament that was to be held in conjunction with the AGM was cancelled. The Annual General Meeting which allows the first opportunity to book booth space for the 2015 trade show will be rescheduled. At press time a date had not yet been selected. •