Delegates to the annual Banff Pork Seminar are assured that it will stay with the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel at least until 2021.
Seminar co-ordinator Ashley Steeple, based at the University of Alberta, confirmed late in September that the contract has been extended for three more years, including the same deal offering delegates an extended stay at the hotel for the relatively inexpensive room rate offered with the conference package. The initial three-year contract starting in 2016 was signed when organizers received a competitive offer from the hotel during negotiations with the Banff Centre.
Room rates at the Banff Springs start at $149 per night and are available for two days prior to the seminar and three days after, so delegates can combine the seminar with a winter vacation in Banff Park, said Steeple.
The luxury hotel’s winter deals, by comparison, run from $215 and up. On Sept. 21, ZenHotels.com was advertising discounted rates at the Banff Springs starting at $391 per night.
Delegates to the 2018 seminar, which runs Jan. 9-11, can expect a package that will be much the same as last year, including shuttle buses to the town centre, trade floor, breakout sessions and morning plenaries, said Steeple. She didn’t address the traditional Wednesday-night visit to the “Irish pub,” which is outside her mandate but still a highlight among delegates.
The closing session on Thursday will run much the same as last year, led by Greg Peterson of Peterson Farm Bros., a trio of fifth-generation farmers from Kansas who perform musical parodies on You Tube.
The George Foxcroft Lectureship, set for Thursday morning, was awarded for 2018 to Mark Wilson of Zinpro Performance Minerals, who will offer insight in sow management.
The 2018 breakouts will introduce a session dealing with the industry’s newest innovations. A full slate of speakers for the session had not been filled by mid-September.
The trade floor was nearly full, with only three spaces left, which Steeple anticipated would be sold in the ensuing weeks.
She reminds people that BPS is still seeking nominees for the F. X. Aherne Prize for Innovation in Pork Production. The prize seeks nominations from production facilities that have found and developed unique solutions for issues in the barn. Past winners have included various system to ease handling of piglets and deadstock, managing manure and otherwise creating a more pleasant environment for workers and animals. Candidates can nominate themselves or they can be nominated by a third party such as a co-worker or employer.
Steeple encourages people to register early to take advantage of the room rates. Walk-ins will be accepted at the site.
The registration desk opens in the hotel’s convention centre at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9 and there will be a reception in the neighbouring trade floor from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Program details, sponsorship opportunities and registration information are available on the website, www.banffpork.ca or by calling Steeple’s office in Edmonton, 780.492.3651.
Banff Pork Seminar is a joint project of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Alberta Pork and the University of Alberta with sustaining sponsorship from Fast Genetics, PIC, Swine Innovation Porc and Topigs Norsvin. •
— By Brenda Kossowan
