Alberta Livestock Expo
A new trade show will take place in Lethbridge AB at Exhibition Park on Thursday October 12th.
This new trade show will be a multispecies event, welcoming all aspects of the agriculture industry for the one day show.
As of press time booths over 80% sold. Booth registration and more details will be available at albertalivestockexpo.com or by contacting Lisa Doyle, Exhibition Manager at 403.305.1563 or lisa@vibranteventmanagement.ca •
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 2018 Banff Pork Seminar, January 9-11; you’ll be recognized by your peers and the pork industry and have a chance to present your solution at the 2018 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 31, 2017. Apply today! Please contact Conference Coordinator Ashely Steele at pork@ualberta.ca with questions. •
Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
The Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop will take place in Red Deer at the Sheraton Wednesday October 18th .
Some of the topics for the one day session are: Ventilation, Stockmanship: Crates vs Open sows, Farm Safety, CPE, PED, Motivating Your Team, Post-cervical Artificial Insemination, Drug Usage on Farm and Early Nursery Care. Registration now open. For details, registration or sponsor information contact Kyla Arneson at 403.244.7821 or kyla@conventionall.com. •
Alberta Pork Congress AGM
The Alberta Pork Congress Annual General Meeting will once again be held as a breakfast meeting prior to the start of Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop Wednesday October 18th, from 7:30am – 8:15am
At the AGM elections will take place for new members for the Board of Directors. Once the meeting has concluded this will be the first opportunity to book your booth space for the 2018 Alberta Pork Congress Tradeshow.
Watch your inbox and the next edition of Prairie Hog Country for details. •
SASK Pork Symposium
The 40th annual Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium will be held Tuesday November 14th and Wednesday November 15th, 2017. As in previous years the Saskatoon Inn in Saskatoon SK will be the venue.
The speakers and agenda have been finalized, check page 35 for complete list of topics and speakers.
The Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre, 2002 Airport Drive, is offering a conference rate of $159.00 for Standard Double Queen rooms. The room block is in effect and we encourage to reserve early by calling reservations at 306.242.1440 or emailing reservations@saskatooninn.com.
For additional information on Symposium contact the Symposium Coordinator at 306.343.3506 or email info@saskpork.com. Full program, registration and sponsorship opportunities will be available on-line at www.saskpork.com in August •
Brandon Hog & Livestock Show
Brandon Hog & Livestock Show, formally known as Hog Days, will be held in December. The one day show will be at the Keystone Center in Brandon, MB on Thursday December 14th, 2017.
For details and exhibitor information contact Sunil Kawthekar Ph. 204.726.6482 or Email: Sunil.Kawthekar@gov.mb.ca •
Banff Pork Seminar
Planning is well underway for the 2018 Banff Pork Seminar which will take place January 9 – 11th, 2018.
The initial agenda is up on the banff pork seminar website. The seminar will be held at the Banff Springs Hotel.
Registration will open mid September. Stay tuned to the banff pork seminar website for updates and information and then next edition of Prairie Hog Country for more details •
Cramer Ag Expo
The 8th annual Cramer Ag Expo will be held in Swift Current at Kinetic Park on Thursday February 22nd, 2018.
This year the Cramer Cup carcass competition will allow entries from not only Saskatchewan but Alberta and Manitoba too. All meat will be donated to charity. For details on the Cramer Cup series contact Doug Cramer at 306.520.3553.
For details on the trade show contact Kelly Turcotte tradeshow co-ordinator at 306.737.6262 or email kelly_turcotte@hotmail.com •
Manitoba Hog Farmers Took PED Message to Ottawa
On June 15, Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson, Claude Vielfaure of HyLife, Dr. Glen Douglas with Maple Leaf Foods, Quintin Pearce from P. Quintaine & Sons, and Bill Rempel from Steve’s Livestock Transport, traveled to Ottawa to address the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. We took with us a dire message about the severity of PEDv and the devastating impact it could have on the Canadian economy if not immediately addressed.
Since the first case in Manitoba in January 2014, western Canada has remained relatively PED-free due to the heightened biosecurity measures that were immediately put in place. One of those measures was the emergency protocol that allowed trailers carrying hogs for export to the U.S., where the disease is endemic, to return to Canadian wash stations that had stringent biosecurity measures in place. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) eliminated the protocol in 2016 and trailers were once again required wash in the U.S. before returning to Canada. We believe this action by the CFIA is a strong factor in the return of the disease with a vengeance to Manitoba last month. We have urged the Standing Committee to order the emergency protocol reinstated immediately.
Along with the federal and provincial governments and our western pork counterparts, we will continue to work to eliminate this scourge from our operations. Stay tuned. •
Canadian Swine Breeders Association Annual General Meeting
Held back in March, members and guests were welcomed by President Dave Vandenbroek to the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Swine Breeders Association. In 2016, members registered 132,418 purebred swine. Breeds registered were Yorkshire, Landrace, Duroc, Berkshire, Large Black and Tamworth. Genesus Inc., located in Manitoba, registered the most purebred swine.
The recipient of the Warren Stein Memorial Scholarship for 2016 was Karen DeBruyn. Karen just completed her fourth year of the animal science degree program at the University of Guelph and is from Oxford County in Ontario.
President Dave presented John Gough, Novastar Genetics with the Award of Merit for 2016. While John is now enjoying the retired life, his many contributions to the swine industry are not forgotten and were highlighted by Dave. In 1977, when John graduated from the University of Guelph with a B.Sc. in agriculture, he took over the mixed family farm from his father and with his wife Enid and two sons Michael and Mark, started his own farrow to finish operation with purebred Yorkshire sows. John participated in many provincial, regional and national associations in support of purebred swine breeders.
The slate of officers and representatives for 2017 are as follows: Dave Vandenbroek: President & Representative to PigGen Canada and Canadian Livestock Records Corporation. Jim Long: 1st Vice President. Jim Donaldson: 2nd Vice President. Line Théroux: 4th position on the Executive & Representative to Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement •
Meat Council Wants TPP Approval
The Canadian Meat Council is urging Canada to make every effort to gain 11-nations approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that was negotiated before U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out.
Davidson says a billion-dollar market in Japan is at risk because Japan and Europe last week signed a free trade agreement in principle that improves Europe’s competitive position in the Japanese meat market. Canada was negotiating an agreement with Japan, but set it aside when Japan and Canada both joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.
Ron Davidson, the Director of International Trade, Government and Media Relations for the Canadian Meat Council, said Japan could become a repeat of what happened when South Korea signed an agreement a few years ago with the U.S.
“From what we understand . . . Europe has gained the kind of meaningful access to Japan which was provided for by the TPP,” Davidson said in a recent interview with Farmscape news service. The TPP negotiators meet in July. •
— By Jim Romahn
Canadian Guidelines Recommend Meats as Baby’s First Solid Food
In a major departure from conventional advice, new Canadian guidelines say parents should be offering their six-month-old infants iron-rich foods like pork, beef, fish, poultry, tofu, beans and eggs two or more times a day on a daily basis.
The recommendations are ground breaking. Previously, it was advised that babies start out eating infant cereals, followed by fruits and vegetables, then meats as they transition to solid foods. But when you look at the science, there is no reason to do that.
Experts from Health Canada, Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada, Breastfeeding Committee for Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada state the rationale for this change in infant feeding practices is two-fold: Iron is critical for a baby’s growth and cognitive, neurological, motor and behaviour development.
By about six months, a baby’s iron stores start to diminish and those solely fed breast milk will not meet their iron requirements and are in danger of becoming anemic or iron-deficient. Iron deficiency during infancy and childhood may affect proper brain development, which is irreversible.
A recent national survey* revealed 70 per cent of Canadian mothers are unaware that babies seven to 12 months need 11 mg of iron per day – that’s nearly 40 per cent more than is required of a full-grown man!
Nature has provided delicious, iron-rich pork perfectly compatible with the way humans absorb iron – very efficiently. Adding meat to a meal also helps our bodies absorb up to four times the amount of iron from other foods like green vegetables, bread and cereals. Given the small size of baby’s stomach, serving meat at each meal make good nutritional sense.
Meats are an anchor in a healthy meal for the family. Now six-month-old infants can (and should) enjoy meats as the foundation of their meals too. •
Olymel is Expanding
A $2-million expansion is now underway at Olymel’s Red Deer plant. The Quebec-based company announced in mid-July that it will convert a section of the plant to manufacture fresh sausage for sale in Western Canada.
The renovation will include new equipment and will add 20 jobs to the plant’s current workforce of 1,400 people, president and CEO Rejean Nadeau said in a news released posted on July 10.
“Thanks to this strategic investment, the Olymel Red Deer plant in Alberta is diversifying its local activities and enabling it, among other things, to add value to some of its raw materials,” Nadeau said in his statement.
“(Sausage production) is an integral part of an investment plan directed at greater penetration in the Western Canadian market to meet growing demand for sausage products manufactured in Canada, he said.
The investment was recently boosted with an Alberta Agriculture and Forestry announcement that, under the Growing Forward 2 program, Olymel has been awarded a grant of $171,034 toward the purchase and installation of an advanced meat recovery system to enhance its production process.
The expansion announcement comes on the heels of Olymel’s bid last month to attract more Alberta hog producers to write long-term contracts to finish hogs for the Red Deer plant. Olymel’s presence in Western Canada and its move to vertical integration continues to grow since its acquisitions of hog production facilities formerly owned by Big Sky Farms in Saskatchewan and Pinnacle Pork in Alberta. •
— By Brenda Kossowan
Maple Leaf Sales, Profits Soar
Maple Leaf Foods earned an 18.8 per cent increase in net earnings during its second quarter – $37.3 million compared with $31.4 million for the same quarter last year. Sales increased by 8.3 per cent to $926 million.
President and chief executive officer Michael McCain said the company is now focused on maintaining profits. During the quarter it bought a company in the United States that makes meat substitutes, positioning the company to be sustainable if and when meats fall out of consumer favour. •
— By Jim Romahn
CPC’s Priorities Align Closely with Priority Areas Identified in the Canadian Agricultural Partnership Statement
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is pleased to see research and innovation, along with markets and trade highlighted in the new agriculture policy framework statement released following the agriculture minister meeting. In Fact, CPC’s priorities align closely with the six priority areas identified in the Canadian Agricultural Partnership statement.
The Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture announced key elements of a new FPT agricultural policy framework at their annual meeting held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3 billion investment, will come into effect on April 1, 2018.
“CPC would like to thank the Ministers of Agriculture for their ongoing support in key areas that will strengthen the hog sector. We look forward to seeing ministers continue to be engaged by playing a role in ensuring that implementation is smooth” said CPC’s Chair Rick Bergmann. According to Bergmann, potential delays in implementing the programs in April 2018 would be to the detriment of industry who is benefiting from a growing demand from Canadian consumers and other countries.
“We look forward to participating with industry partners and government in a review to explore options to improve Business Risk Management (BRM) programming,” stated Bergmann. “Producers support core BRM suite of programs that can help manage market risk since it is a fundamental cornerstone in any business venture with volatility in revenue and costs—exactly like Canada’s hog sector.” •
Hypor Magnus Boar Scores High on Maple Leaf Foods’ Monthly Index Rankings
Pork producers that use the Hypor Magnus Duroc on their operations held 58 of the top 120 rankings on the h@ms Marketing index for pigs shipped to Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon, Canada, during 2016.
“Having so many of the top indexing farms using the Magnus is very significant,” says Hypor Sales Manager, Carl Esau. “Higher indexes means higher payouts for producers.” Hypor customers were featured frequently on the monthly top 10 lists for 2016, and held seven of the top 10 places during the month of April.
Every month h@ms Marketing Services, Western Canada’s largest hog marketing organization, ranks the quality of pigs from Manitoba and Saskatchewan-based producers marketing to Maple Leaf Foods. Maple Leaf Foods is one of Canada’s leading consumer packaged meat companies.
Maple Leaf pays producers based on a combination of carcass weight and index score. The index takes into account the weight of the carcass and the lean yield percentage. For example: pigs with an index of 111 will receive a 5 percent bonus on the standard market value compared to pigs with an index of 106.
“Each increase in the index adds up for the producer,” Esau says, “especially when you consider the impact it has on the thousands of pigs our customers market each and every year.”
The carcass grading system helps meat packers market uniform products by offering incentives to producers that supply pigs that fit their criteria. •
Buy-one-get-one-free Offer Kicks off a Two-Month Celebration of Canadian Pork
The pioneer of the toasted sandwich, Quiznos, is “pulling” out the stops to make the months of August and September a party for Canadian BBQ roasted pork lovers.
Kicking off the celebration, on Tuesday, August 1 Quiznos will be offering a buy-one-get-one free offer for its two new BBQ pulled pork sandwiches made from 100 per cent Canadian pork.
“This is our chance to thank, and show our pride for, the farmers of Canada and connect their important work to Canada’s 150th birthday,” said George Jeffrey, Quiznos’ Chief Operating Officer. “One hundred and fifty years ago, 80 per cent of Canadians lived in rural markets. Today, less than 20 per cent do, yet rural produce remains a key economic driver.”
Canada is the world’s third-largest pork exporter, sending more than $2.6 billion worth of pork products to over 100 countries around the globe every year. Quiznos sources its pork from Lou’s Barbeque Company in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Starting with a quality pork shoulder, it is seasoned with simple ingredients to allow the natural flavours to shine through. The next step adds flavour and tenderness that is all about patience. Lou’s Barbeque smokes the pork for almost two hours to create a rich smoky flavor in Canada’s largest open rack smokehouse.
Low temperatures and slow roasting on open racks retains moisture and increases the tenderness of the meat creating a truly mouthwatering experience. Tenderness is enhanced by further slow cooking the pork for nine hours leading to classic, pull-apart pork. Available until the end of September, the two Canadian-inspired sandwiches include the following: Southern Style saluting traditional backyard BBQ pits with melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese and tangy pickles. Spicy Chipotle a fusion of pulled pork, ham, smoky bacon, melted cheddar cheese, jalapeños, pickles, sautéed onions and tomatoes.
Both toasted signature sandwiches are offered on a variety of artisan breads and include Quiznos’ Zesty Grill Sauce and chipotle mayo. •
Alberta Pork Has a New Look
In early July, Alberta Pork officially launched a brand new design for our website. We’ve replaced the old look for a fresh design that contains information for the public, while still maintaining the information and resources that our producers require. Take a look at albertapork.com today. •
Glitches Remain for Meat Exports
The Canadian Meat Council is hoping for two changes to European regulations to improve pork and beef access under the new free trade agreement. For pork, it’s a change to allow food-safety labeling to be applied immediately before export and only on boxes destined for the European market. That will enable packers to continue as usual with cooler storage and packaging for the Canadian and other export markets. •
— By Jim Romahn
