Every challenge presents an opportunity for improvement, Lifetime Achievement winner Jim Haggins said in offering his thanks to the swine industry during the 42nd-Annual Alberta Pork Congress in June.

Chairman of Alberta Pork during some of the industry’s toughest years, Haggins has retired from production and sold his farm, but remains active in various other ventures within the industry.

Like other exhibitors working the 2016 show, Haggins has seen the industry turn around over the past seven years from some of the darkest days in its history – and that bodes well for exhibitors showing their products and services during the event, held at Westerner Park in Red Deer.

“2009 was a disastrous year and it carried through in 2010. Producers were losing up to $65 a hog due to high feed costs back in those days. A producer this morning talked to me about $8. And then we didn’t really recover from that until late 2010, and it was not a great recovery,” said Haggins.

The outlook looks so much better at this year’s show, he said. “Back in those tough years, there was next to no maintenance going on. You patched things together and held on and held on until you got some money. That, I think now, is caught up to some extent. Producers have to look at re-capitalizing some of their units, especially the sow units, with the Code of Practice taking place.”

It will be a tough challenge for new people interested in entering the industry, but there is opportunity for those who have good backing, said Haggins.

“We still have difficulty attracting good financing options, we still have difficulty assuring banks that this is a good strong industry, because it hasn’t been strong for so long and they’re cautious, very cautious.

“If you’re already in it, or if you have family in it and through succession planning you can take over an operation and pay for it over time without a massive cash injection to start with, that will work. There will always be some colony expansion, and I think there’s going to be expansion in the larger systems as well, because they want to service the processing capacity that we have in Western Canada and get them to an efficient level as quickly as we can, too.”

Paul Groenewegen, general manager for Alltech Canada, said he could see a palpable change in mood among exhibitors and visitors at this year’s show.

“(It’s been) very positive. Producers are very positive, obviously, pig prices are good. It’s a larger crowd than I’ve seen in other years. From our booth perspective, I thought we had more traffic in the last two days than we’ve had in other years. This is a new location for us, whether that makes a difference, it’s been good,” said Groenewegen, a long-time exhibitor at Pork Congress.

He said that is quite different from 2009, when there were lots of people, but they were very subdued, describing a crowd that was “deadly quiet.” This year, people were much happier and most seemed to be enjoying themselves, he said.

“That’s what it’s about. It’s the revitalization that we need every year.”

Groenewegen said the decision a couple of years ago to move the show from March to June also made a big difference, largely because it is so much easier to travel.

Producers attending the show got to put their hands on a variety of new technologies, including some unique barn equipment shipped from the Netherlands by Vereijken Hooijer.

Company representative Geseina Hooijer demonstrated a farrowing crate that she said has dramatically reduced the number of piglets that are crushed by their mothers, saving one or two pigs per year per sow.

The crate has an automated floor that raises when the sow stands, separating her from her litter, and then lowers when she lies down, activated by a control arm suspended above her back. As of the show date, Vereijken Hooijer did not have a distributor in Canada, but has shipped directly from the Netherlands.

Central Alberta producer Hanneka Boekman said her farm purchased some of the company’s floor slats and plastic walls through connections in the Netherlands, and then had them shipped over with a number of other items they had picked up there.

“The good thing about the place where the piglets are laying, it’s filled with warm water,” Boekman said while inspecting the crate.

She said the products she has purchased from the company have proven their worth both in sturdiness and ease of maintenance. “I love the products; easy to clean, easy to disinfect, smooth, nothing will stick to it.”

Haggins said that, while there may not be many new people coming into the industry, a number of people have indicated that they will upgrade and expand their barns, in part to meet new sow stall requirements laid out in the Code of Practice and also to accommodate bigger pigs.

“They’re not doing it in massive amounts, but they’re adding 10 or 20 per cent, and that will add up over time,” said Haggins.

Exhibitor Jim Lewis, producer relations consultant with Langley, BC-based Donald’s Fine Foods, said he loved the way visitors flowed through the floor during the 2016 show.

“It was awesome. You didn’t have people standing around a whole lot. A lot of your producers, you could treat them a lot better,” said Lewis.

He used the opportunity to invite producers to his company’s open house, set for the following week at its plant in Moose Jaw, Sask. The plant has had some renovations since opening six years ago, and has a capacity of 6,000 hogs per week. The company has been looking at renovating the line going into its coolers to help make it more efficient, said Lewis.

Cheryl Berndt and Susan Fedyk, from Aon Reed Stenhouse in Saskatoon, Sask., said they weren’t seeing a lot of people who were interested in upgrading their insurance packages.

Berndt said she found business a little slower than usual with fewer visits from her existing clients.

Show president Kurt Preugschas, a relative newcomer to Pork Congress, said he was pleased with the way this year’s show worked out.

“There was great attendance and everyone was excited to see the booths and talk to people and collaborate and see new things,” said Preugschas, a swine veterinarian practicing in Red Deer.

“I thought the mood was good and fairly upbeat. I heard lots of comments that the show was great and they definitely want to be here next year, and that it’s a show they don’t want to miss.”

Wrapped up between the Swine and Cheese opening event the night before the show opens and the “Almost” Famous Barbecue after it shuts down is the highlight of every Pork Congress, the Wednesday-night banquet when the committee offers its annual awards.

That includes recognition for the exhibitors with the best booths as well as the Lifetime Achievement, Farm Team and Industry Ambassador Awards. Olymel’s Red Deer plant also uses the opportunity to hand out its annual Reach for the Top Awards, presented to its top producers. This year’s winners of the Reach for the Top Awards are revealed elsewhere in this edition of Prairie Hog Country.

As noted above, former producer and Alberta Pork Chairman Jim Haggins was selected for the Lifetime Achievement award. In thanking the committee and industry, Haggins said he’s not finished yet.

“I encourage you all to work closely with your families and your friends and with your industry colleagues to keep moving this industry forward, supporting the industry the way you have and the way you continue to do, and this will be a greater industry a year from now, and greater yet another year from now,” said Haggins.

“It’s a lifetime achievement award, I know I’ve still got some life left, hopefully a few achievements as well.

Neudorf Colony, based in Crossfield, Alta., was named Farm Team for 2016. In a video made for the presentation, the narrator credits the way the farm managers encourage their workers with the successes they have experienced in their barn, a 450-sow farrow-to-finish setup.

Neudorf has been running in the existing barn since 1992 and is now starting construction on new facilities.

“For us, it’s a sense of accomplishment . . . to know we’ve done the best job that we can for the community,” said the narrator. He explained that Neudorf Colony takes an active role in the agricultural community and makes an effort to keep up to date with new technology. Managers are actively involved with team members every day in an effort to keep them motivated and successful.

“We find people want to work in our barn and that it’s a good job for the young guys,” said the narrator.

Industry Ambassador went to former purebred producer Murray Roeske, who went to work on a variety of projects with Alberta Pork after selling his farm.

In the video created for his award, Roeske said that he and his family had been involved in a successful business in the city before investing in a purebred herd. He found that it takes a long time to develop a client base and that one of the biggest things working in their favour was a guarantee offered on their breeding stock. If an animal was not performing as expected, they would replace it.

Roeske’s farm was also on the cutting edge of technology and was the first bloodstock producer in Alberta to switch entirely to artificial insemination.

Over time, his sales took him all over the world, leaving his wife and sons to run the operation while he did business on every continent except Antarctica, picking up a couple of new languages in the processes.

Roeske went on to work as a consultant for commercial producers and spent about seven years with Alberta Pork. He was named Farmer of the Year by the SPCA and has served on a variety of boards, including the Alberta Swine Breeders, Canadian Swine Breeders and Canadian Livestock Records.

After thanking the industry and committee for the recognition, Roeske asked them all to be proud of their accomplishments.

“We really have to hold our heads up, because I don’t think there’s a more noble profession in the world than producing food for your fellow man,” said Roeske.

“The people I celebrate is each and every one in this room. You are the pork industry. Without you, I would not have a career.”

The committee also handed out awards to the top three booths, chosen based on a variety of criteria.

First place went to Glass-Pac, notable for its comfortable arrangement and conversation area, where people could come and interact with each other.

Second place was awarded to Western Hog Exchange, noted for bright, eye-catching décor and for staff who were engaging and presented well.

Automated Production took third place for good use of colour, a strong theme and nicely arranged products.

The show closed out with a full-on pork barbecue, sending producers and exhibitors home with their bellies full of smoked pork and, presumably, with their heads full of new ideas.

Alberta Pork Congress is an independent and not-for-profit group, run by a volunteer board and offering its annual trade show with support from a contractor, ConventionALL Management Inc. and services in kind from Prairie Hog Country.

Its mission is to provide a forum for the pork industry to showcase its products and services. Events include social and networking opportunities in addition to the tradeshow. Key sponsors of the trade show, held annually in Red Deer, include Alberta Pork, Genesus, Hypor, Maple Leaf Pork, Masterfeeds, Merial Canada, MNP, Nutrition Partners, Olymel, Real Solutions Plus and Rapid Strides. •

— By Brenda Kossowan