Cramer Livestock Expo
Be sure to come out for the Cramer Crop and Livestock Expo. It 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 Caitlyn tradeshow co ordinator at
Caitlin@conventionall.com or call 403.244.7821 •

London Swine Conference
Mark your calendars for the 15th London Swine Conference. It will take place April 1 & 2 at The DoubleTree by Hilton which is located in downtown London. This years theme is Production Technologies to Meet Market Demands.
For all the program and registration details check online at www.londonswineconference.ca Earlybird registration deadline is March 17.  •

APC Industry Award Nominations
Now is the time to send in your nominations for the Alberta Pork Congress Industry Awards.
Lifetime Achievement Award (Honours individuals who have played an integral role in advancing the pork industry in Alberta and celebrates their long-term commitment and unwavering dedication to the industry).
Farm Team Award (Recognizes the farm unit which operates in an exemplary manner through commitment and longevity of the staff with virtues of hard work and cooperation, celebrating dedication of the team toward working together for the success of the farm).
Pork Industry Ambassador Award (Honours individuals or companies whose efforts reflect a commitment above and beyond the accepted expectation of the pork industry in Alberta. It recognizes individuals or companies whose actions have become a valuable asset to the pork industry and acknowledges those whose actions have become models for peer recognition).
For more information or to nominate either a individual – team, please contact the Alberta Pork Congress office at 403.244.7821 or Toll  Free 1.800.267.9180 or email info@albertaporkcongress.com.  Deadline for nominations is March 31st.  •

2015 LivestockCare Conference
Alberta Farm Animal Care is hosting the 2015 Annual Livestock Care Conference (LCC),  March 26th and 27th in Calgary, Alberta at the Stampede Grounds.
This conference provides an opportunity for researchers, industry, students, government and the public to address challenges and trends in animal care.
For details and online registration go to www.afac.ab.ca •

Alberta Pork Congress
The 41st annual Alberta Pork Congress will be held at Western Park in Red Deer Alberta June 9 – 11, 2015.
Trade show applications  are now being accepted online check out www.albertaporkcongress.com for the latest updates to the floor plan.
Stay tuned for exciting modifications to the BBQ and other new changes. Details will be available in the April-May edition.
For more information or details contact Caitlin McCoy Tradeshow Coordinator  PH: 403. 244.7821 or TF. 1.800.267.9180 or emailinfo@albertaporkcongress.com  •

World Pork Expo
The dates are set for the 2015 World Pork Expo — June 3-5 — at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. World Pork Expo is brought to you by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and presents a wide range of activities, including the world’s largest pork-specific trade show, educational seminars, and swine shows and sales.
The world’s largest pork-specific trade show features hundreds of commercial exhibits from companies throughout the world. The newest products, services and technologies for producing pork are on display in more than 310,000 square feet of exhibit space.
Check out www.worldpork.org  for the details and information.  •

Lame Sows are Major Issue
Lameness is a major culprit leading to sow culling, so two researchers say it’s a factor that ought to be added to genetic evaluations.
They checked 1,139 sows and found that lameness ranged from eight to 46 per cent in breeding stock.
The totals indicate 20 per cent of sows showed signs of lameness, although much of this was mild, with only five per cent showing signs of more severe lameness.
In all barns surveyed, a high percentage of sows were observed with hoof lesions, with 74 to 97 per cent of animals affected.
Heel erosion was the most common hoof lesion; half the sows in four barns had that issue.
These results suggest that leg and hoof health problems exist, and could be added to sow evaluation or selection criteria, say researchers Yolande Seddon and Jennifer Brown in the 2013-14 Annual Research Report from the Prairie Swine Centre.
The fact that some barns had much lower levels of lameness suggests that some herds may carry beneficial genetic traits that help reduce lameness, they say.  •
—By Jim Romahn

Genesus Dominates the China Export Market in 2014
In a market like China’s, to be more competitive you must search out the best methods and technology to survive and prosper. One of these technologies is genetics.
Genesus China has been selling, providing technical and genetic support over the last four years. In that time, our Chinese customers have had good success. Customers are always the best salesmen.
According to a recent report from China official import documents, Genesus is number 1 with 36% market share, followed by Denmark at 30%, USA at 14%, United Kingdom and France each at 10%.
Having more pigs that grow, have tasty meat, and don’t die is a recipe for Genesus’ success in China especially combined with strong technical support.
Genesus is proud of our continued success and the support of our loyal customers in China.
China, it is the pork powerhouse of the world with over 51% of the world’s population of pigs raised within China.  •

Elanco, Novartis Combination Brings Value, More Innovation to Customers
Elanco recently announced it has finalized the acquisition of Novartis Animal Health, creating a new global leader in animal health focused on delivering increased value and innovation to the industry.
The acquisition, announced in April, follows Elanco’s purchase of Lohmann Animal Health earlier in 2014. Both strategic investments position the company to offer a more diversified product offering and capabilities to help customers sustain and grow their businesses. This includes the flagship brands customers have come to expect from Elanco, but also a comprehensive portfolio of nearly 300 brands encompassing therapeutics, vaccines, parasiticides, antimicrobials, surgical, enzymes, food safety and more.
Going forward, Elanco will significantly increase investment in research and development, bringing greater breadth and depth to an already strong pipeline. The combined organization will have expanded capabilities and expertise with a broader portfolio of more than 100 product development projects focused on:
• enhancing care and extending quality of life of pets, while preventing disease and protecting from parasites
• protecting livestock from disease and parasites, improving animal well-being and reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production
• providing a broader set of solutions in areas such as enzymes, diagnostics, aquaculture and vaccines.
Elanco aims to help veterinarians help pets live longer, healthier lives, with pet ownership increasing as millions recognize the physical, social and emotional benefits of companionship. Elanco is also committed to helping producers around the world produce more food using fewer resources to meet the growing demand for animal protein while protecting the planet and well-being of     animals.  •

Canada Ready to Expand Pork Exports
Kevin Grier says Canada is in a good position to expand pork production for export markets.
It has weathered seven or eight incredibly-tough years of low prices, U.S. trade barriers and wildly fluctuating feed costs without losing its 15 to 20 per cent share of global pork exports.
Now that the tough times are behind it, the industry is in solid shape to expand, using record-high profits last year, a decline in feed costs and relative success – compared with the United States – in limiting death from Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus.
The United States is in a last-gasp effort to preserve its protectionist Country-of-Origin Labeling regulations and if it loses during an appeal hearing Feb. 17 and 18 at Geneva, the World Trade Organization will order it to either drop COOL or face punitive tariffs that Canada and Mexico could impose to pressure the U.S.
“I think the data gathered by independent sources around the world have shown that Canada at the production level is a very competitive production area globally,” Grier told a recent pork-industry conference at Banff, Alta.
“We rank among the least cost producers amongst all the major producers.”
“We’re among the least cost and so, from a production perspective, Canada is a very competitive nation,” he said.
But he also cautioned that Canadian meat packers are less efficient than their competitors in the United States.
That is “where we start to run into some problems,” he said, including lack of opportunities to match the high volumes that can be run through the largest U.S. plants.  •
—By Jim Romahn

New Strain of PED Found in U.S.
Researchers have identified a third strain of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus killing young hogs across the United States.
It’s equal to, or worse, than the original strain, reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
The new strain was recently confirmed by the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, but it was actually first identified in June, 2013.
“Three naturally occurring U.S. PEDV strains have been identified: the original PEDV, the PEDV with changes in the spike gene (INDEL), and the PEDV strain (S2aadel),” the swine veterinarians’ association says in an article available on the internet.
“The role of genetic changes in the US PEDV strains to clinical disease has yet to be reported. The clinical presentation of diarrhea in this case was reported as equally or more severe than such presentation in cases caused by the prototype PEDV Colorado/2013,” says the report.
The CDC adds that though the North American PEDv variant-INDEL strain was only recently identified, it was first detected in June 2013 and reported in February 2014 by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
This suggests the original PEDv strain mutated or two different PEDv strains were introduced into the U.S. at the same time.
Since it was first identified in U.S. hog herds in April 2013, PEDv had killed an estimated eight million pigs.
It is a fast-spreading disease that thrives in cold weather, and it doesn’t take much of infected feces to spread the infection. One gram of feces diluted in 24,000 gallons of water is still enough to infect pigs.
In June, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the department would pump $26 million into fighting the disease, including $11.1 million to support better ons-farm biosecurity. Vilsack also announced mandatory PEDv reporting.
There’s more about the recent outbreak at www.aasv.org .   •
—By Jim Romahn

ABC4-Calculator Now On Line
Pig nutritionists and formulators can use different tools to optimize diets. Advanced feed manufacturers use in routine the Dietary Electrolytic Balance (DEB) especially for sow feeds. However, the calculation of both DEB and ABC (Acid-Binding Capacity) for piglet diets can help for the improvement of feed intake and growth performance. DEB, as a ratio between dietary anions and cations, expresses the potential to generate acids or bases. ABC is the capacity of the feed to buffer acid : diets with low ABC support acidification of the bolus in the upper part of the digestive system, thus limiting the development of harmful bacteria. This is critical for weaned piglets which have high gastric pH. Animine has just launched ABC4-calculator software. This is a very user friendly tool, free of charge: no need to register, no need to download. ABC4 calculator enables to measure the buffer capacity of piglet feeds; it is not adapted to growing pigs. Users can modify as many variables as they want : feed formula, by replacing or adding ingredients; ABC4 values, if they have their own matrix values; and inclusion rates.
What is the influence of the pharmacological dosage of zinc oxide ? How much can it neutralize acidifiers ? What is the effect of a substitution by a low dosage of HiZox® ? ABC4 calculator helps to visualize the contributions of minerals and acidifiers to the buffer capacity of the complete feed, and to better understand negative interactions when formulating piglet diets.  •

Disinfectant Effective Against PED
VIROCID®, distributed by Merial Canada, effective against PED virus, new data shows.
Merial, announced late last fall that VIROCID®, a highly concentrated and broad spectrum disinfectant for use in food processing establishments and livestock industries is effective at a dilution rate of 1:400 (0.25 % or 2.5 mL / L) in completely inactivating PEDv1 following a 10 minute exposure time at 20.0oC as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) is a viral disease that causes vomiting, diarrhea and high death loss in pigs. It is caused by a Coronavirus that infects the cells lining the small intestine of a pig. In nursing pigs the disease can be quite severe with mortalities that have been reported as high as 100%. Although growing pigs tend to exhibit diarrhea, the mortality levels are generally low.
“I am not aware of any other laboratory testing report that directly demonstrates the efficacy of a broad spectrum disinfectant like VIROCID against the virus causing PED,” said Dr. Louis Coulombe, Technical Services Veterinarian for Merial. “Farmers and veterinarians can now make a more informed decision about the efficacy of VIROCID to protect their herds against this devastating disease.”
Farmers, veterinarians, universities, government agencies, local and regional pig producer organizations, stakeholders and other experts are working together to better understand the disease to prevent it from spreading from farm to farm. One strategy that has been shown to be critical in the fight against PED is to ensure all parts of the pig supply chain maintain strict biosecurity measures to limit the virus’ spread. Stringent cleaning and disinfection protocols are essential.  •

Cargill Has Phased Out Sow Gestation Stalls
Cargill says it has completed conversion of its barns from stalls to loose housing for gestating sows.
It’s a year ahead of the schedule was for completion by the end of this year.
“We are pleased to achieve 100 percent group housing at Cargill Pork farms nearly one year ahead of schedule,” said Mike Luker, president of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.’s pork business
“This is a significant investment in the future of our pork business.”
The barn conversions puts Cargill in a strong position to market pork to restaurant and supermarket chains and foodservices companies who have announced deadlines after which they will no longer buy pork that comes from farms that use gestation stalls.  •
—By Jim Romahn

Inspectors Object to Fast Hog-Slaughter Line Speeds
Three meat inspectors have filed affidavits claiming the United States agriculture department is allowing hog-packing plants to push too many pigs, going too fast, through slaughter lines.
Their affidavits were released recently by the Government Accountability Project.
The complaints target a plant owned and operated by Hormel Foods. It is one of three that have been allowed to use HIMP, which stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Inspection Model Project.
The inspectors say that food and worker safety have been compromised as operators have taken on more responsibility for monitoring the processing lines.
“Over the years it has become clear that USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) does not care about collecting scientifically sound data to justify HIMP,” one inspector says.
On the other hand, USDA spokesman Rick Williams says “oversight is more efficient and more effective in plants participating in the HIMP program.
“Truly the measure of an establishment’s performance” is the periodic sampling for microorganisms of concern.
He said Hormel’s facilities “consistently meet or perform better than published USDA microbiological performance standards.  •                         —By Jim Romahn

U.S. to Kick the COOL Can in Geneva
The United States gets its final kick at the Country-of-Origin-Labeling issue at an appeal hearing before a panel of the World Trade Organization in Geneva Feb. 17 and 18.
The U.S. has lost every time it has been before the World Trade Organization in the past.
If it loses this appeal, Canada will be in a position to ask the World Trade Organization to impose duties on U.S. goods if the U.S. refuses to amend its COOL regulations so they no longer depress prices of Canadian and Mexican livestock.
The hearings in Geneva will, for the first time, be open to the public to observe. Canada asked for that, so the WTO has agreed to video the proceedings and make them available in nearby rooms.
Those who want to view the proceedings had until Feb. 4 to file an application.  •
—By Jim Romahn

Saskatchewan Drops Contract with SPCA
The Saskatchewan government is bowing out of contracting with the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for animal-cruelty investigations and prosecutions.
The SPCA says instead it will focus on education programs in the hope of preventing animal cruelty.
The charity has been responsible for enforcing such laws for about 40 years.
It’s contracted for this role in Ontario where it has run into heavy criticism and a few court challenges from farmers.
The SPCA says its $530,000 per year contract with the government expires on March 31 and up to six people will lose their jobs.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture says it is exploring other ways to investigate animal cruelty complaints.  •
—By Jim Romahn

Meat Packers Upset Over Food Guidelines
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) is calling foul over a last-minute, closed-door meeting of a portion of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) that removed lean meat from foods recommended for a healthy diet., reports Meatingplace Magazine.
The Dietary Guidelines are similar to Health Canada’s Food Guide.
During December meeting on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, the committee presented a slide made available to Meatingplace that described common components of dietary patterns associated with positive health outcomes as:
• Higher intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish/seafood, legumes, lean meat and nuts
• Moderate intake of alcohol
• Lower consumption of red and processed meat
• Low intake of sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains.
After that slide was presented, debate emerged over the definition of lean meat.
During an 80-minute lunch meeting, a subcommittee agreed to remove “lean meat” from the list of foods that promote health.
The full committee then returned and later declared that it had voted to approve as its final recommendations for a healthy dietary pattern, a diet:
• High in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lower-fat dairy, seafood, legumes and nuts
• Moderate in alcohol • Lower in red and processed meats • Low in added sugars (not more than 10 percent of total energy)  • Low in refined grains
The committee also recommended that, as part of a healthy dietary pattern:
• Saturated fat not exceed 10 percent of total energy (emphasizing substitution of polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats) • Limiting sodium intake to not more than 2,300 mg per day • Calories to meet energy needs and to achieve and maintain ideal body weight
“The omission is stunning,” NAMI Vice President for Scientific Affairs Betsy Booren told Meatingplace. “By not including it, they are completely ignoring any nutritional value that lean meat has to the population.”
The move is also a change from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, which included lean meat as a component of a dietary pattern associated with positive health outcomes.
It’s not yet a done deal because there will be two opportunities for public comment, one up to Dec. 30, the other 45 days after the recommendations are published in the Federal Register.  •               —By Jim Romahn

Pork to Pass Beef Production in U.S.
Pork production is predicted to narrowly top beef production in the United States for the first time this year.
Pork production will total a record 23.908 billion pounds, as per-capita consumption reaches the highest in five years, predicts the United States Department of Agriculture.
Beef output will decline by 1.7 percent to 23.901 billion.  •             —By Jim Romahn