Alberta Livestock Expo
The third annual Alberta Livestock Expo will take place at Exhibition Park in Lethbridge October 9 & 10.
This year the sold out trade show has a expanded floor plan. In addition to trade show on Wednesday October 9th there will be a Pork Rib BBQ Competition. Then on Thursday October 10th a Hog Carcass Competition.
Full details plus online bookings and sponsorship opportunities are available on the website albertalivestockexpo.com or by contacting Lisa Doyle Exhibition Manager at 403.305.1563 or at
lisa@vibrabteventmanagement.ca •
Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
The annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop will be held in Red Deer Wednesday October 23rd returning to the Parkland Pavillion at Westerner Park.
The full agenda and online registration is available on the albertapork.com website.
Early registration was prior to September 30th, now $110/guest.
For booth bookings, sponsorship options or any questions contact Charlotte Shipp at 780.491.3528 or
charlotte.shipp@albertapork.com . •
Alberta Pork Congress AGM
The Alberta Pork Congress annual general meeting (AGM) will be held in conjunction with Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, as a meeting prior to start of Swine Tech, Wednesday September 23rd.
This will be the first opportunity to book your booth for the 2020 Alberta Pork Congress. Watch your inbox for more information. •
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 2020 Banff Pork Seminar, January 7-9; you’ll be recognized by your peers and the pork industry and have a chance to present your solution at the 2020 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, 2019. Apply today! Please contact Conference Coordinator Ashely Steele at
pork@ualberta.ca with questions. •
Sask Pork Symposium
The annual Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium will take place November 12 & 13 at the Saskatoon Inn.
Complete list of speakers and agenda can be found on page 38.
The Saskatoon Inn & Conference Centre, is offering a reduced conference rate. The room block is now if effect when reserving mention the Symposium to receive the discounted rate 306.242.1440.
For additional information on Symposium contact the Symposium Co ordinator at 306.343.3506 or email info@saskpork.com. Online registration and sponsorship available on line at www.saskpork.com •
Alberta Pork AGM
Alberta Pork’s annual general meeting (AGM) and 50th anniversary celebration will take place at the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel on November 21, 2019. The AGM is open to registered producers and industry members, and the banquet is a ticketed event. Visit albertapork.com/annual-general-meeting or call 1-877-247-PORK (7675) for details.
Watch your inbox for complete details including agenda, times and RSVP details. •
Brandon Hog & Livestock Expo
The Brandon Hog & Livestock Expo will be held at Keystone Centre Wednesday December 11th.
The one day show will take place from 10 – 4, featuring the Pork Quality Competition to wrap up the day. Online registration now open at the website hogdaysbrandon.com
For more details and information on the trade show contact Rhonda Coupland , trade show co ordinator at 204.534.6381 or email
info@hogdaysbrandon.com
For details on or about the Pork Quality Competition contact Ron Bazylo
204.572.5282 or email Ron.Bazylo@gov.mb.ca •
Banff Pork Seminar
Banff Pork Seminar will take place at the Banff Springs Hotel January 7th – 9th , 2020
The committee is already working hard on planning the next instalment at the Castle in the Rockies.
Some of the breakout sessions will be: Environment, Litigation, Liability; Activism & Liability; Feeding the Grow-Finish Pig & Managing Their Increasing Carcass Weights; Feeding Nursery Pigs Without Dietary Antibiotics; Novel Advances in Vaccine Development; Vaccines in Practices; Key Aspects for Capturing Reproductive & Sow Lifetime Productivity; Factors involved in Sow Mortality; The Natural Disease Challenge Model for Evaluating Resilience; Phenotypes & the Genomic Approach; Microbiome & Resilience; Precision Livestock Ecosystems; Individual Pig Activity; EveryPig – a Better Way to Manage Pig Health; ASF – How Do We Ensure Business Continuity Through Prevention; Planning for First 48 and Financial Planning.
While a few of the feature keynote topics are: Separating Fact from Fiction; The Alternative Protein Movement; Global Markets & Trade and Disease in Global World. Followed by a closing Plenary session on Wild Boars in Canada.
Online registration now open. $310 Early registration prior to November 15th, $360 Full registration November 16-December 20th, $410 Late registration December 21st- conference starting. Check banffpork.ca for all the details.
A block of rooms are available at the Banff Springs Hotel for BPS 2020 starting at $153/night plus taxes and fees for single occupancy. Space is limited so book early. Must book by December 1, 2019 to receive the special conference rates (while space is available). Reservations can be made through the Banff Pork Seminar website.
Latest updates are found on the website, banffpork.ca
For more information contact Ashley Steeple, Conference Coordinator, PH: 780.492.3651 or
Email: pork@ualberta.ca •
Manitoba Swine Seminar
The annual Manitoba Swine Seminar will take place at the Victoria Inn and Conference Centre adjacent to the Winnipeg International Airport. The dates are Wednesday and Thursday February 5 & 6, 2020.
The theme for this years seminar is “Sharing Ideas and Information for Efficient Pork Production.”
The Manitoba Swine Seminar will again host a series of presentations that provide useful information for anyone associated with the pork production business and present ways that each participant can contribute to the long-term sustainability of the pig industry.
For more information, please contact: Dallas Ballance, Conference Manager T: 204. 475.8585 E: Dallas@goodwinballance.ca •
Cramer Ag Expo
Mark Thursday February 13th, 2020 down for the 10th annual Cramer Expo in Swift Current, SK. The one day show will be held at the Kinetic Exhibition Park, featuring a trade show, door prizes, silent and live auction and of course the Cramer Cup series.
Registration is open and with 95% of booths sold already don’t delay book yours today. Check the website for downloadable form at
www.cramereventmanagement.com
A block of guest rooms will be held at the Days Inn (formally BW) 105 George St W, Swift Current, SK until Feb 1st, so reserve early, call 306.773.4660. Please inform front desk that you are attending Cramer Ag Expo.
Please contact Kelly Turcotte trade show co ordinator at 306. 737.6262 or email kelly_turcotte@hotmail.com. For questions about Cramer Cup Series contact Doug Cramer at 306.520.3553 or email
cramerexpomgmt@gmail.com •
Montana Livestock Expo
The Montana Livestock Expo presented by Friesen Nutrition will take place in Great Falls MT Thursday April 16th, 2020. More details to follow. •
The Pork Industry is an Important Economic Motor in Canada
Quick Facts: 7,000 pig farms; 25.5 million animals/year; $4.1 billion farm gate annual sales; 4th largest source of farm cash receipts; 31,000 farm jobs contribute to 103,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Canada.
These jobs generated $23.8 billion in total economic activity or output.
Canada is the 3rd largest pork exporter of the world $3.9 billion dollars’ worth of pork exported in 2018 to 88 countries
Pork is the most consumed protein in the world. Producers, Industry and Governments benefit from addressing producers priorities. •
— Canadian Pork Council
Veterinarians Join to Address African Swine Fever
Government veterinarians from across North, South and Central America have formed a working group to address the threat of African Swine Fever.
The group will ‘coordinate efforts to prevent the spread of African swine fever in the Americas region,’ the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said.
The new group was formed recently at a meeting of the OIE and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Panama City.
OIE in May launched a global initiative for the control of ASF, in part by strengthening countries’ prevention and preparation efforts.
Joining like groups in other regions of the world, the formation of a Standing Group of Experts on ASF in the Americas comes as the region is free of the disease, in hopes of preventing the disastrous effects of the deadly pig virus that have been seen in Europe and more recently in Asia, particularly in China.
With projections that as much as half of China’s hog herd will succumb to ASF by the end of the year, pork is already in short supply there, and skyrocketing prices prompted the government to release 10,000 tonnes of pork from its reserves this week.
The 10th Meeting of the GF TADs Steering Committee of the Americas gathered 15 OIE delegates and senior authorities, as well as regional organizations representing North, Central and South America.
Discussions led to the creation of the Americas group. Included in the new group, on an ad hoc basis, will be internationally recognized ASF or swine disease experts with experience working in Europe or Asia, OIE officials said. •
— By Jim Romahn
U.S. Partners with Vietnam on ASF
The United States is investing $1.7 million US in a partnership to study African Swine Fever in Vietnam.
The virus has spread fast in Vietnam, claiming about half of the pig population either by death to the disease or culling to stop the spread of the virus.
The projects seek to gain insight in five key areas:
- Identifying pathways for viral entry on farms.
- Validating use of swine oral fluids to confirm farm or region positive or negative status.
- Exploring the potential to isolate the virus on one area of a farm to enable other areas to provide pigs free of ASF contamination.
- Validating cleaning and disinfecting procedures so farms may be repopulated as soon as it is safe.
- Assessing cross-border risks and risk management of transboundary swine diseases. •
— By Jim Romahn
China Will Seek More Pork Imports
Chinese pork import demand is poised to rise from 2.1 million tonnes last year to 3.3 million tonnes this year and 4.2 million tonnes next year, according to INTL FCStone, a brokerage and consultantcy.
It released its estimates during a commodities outlook conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this week.
It expects China’s pork production to decline from 54 to 38 million tonnes this year because of African Swine Fever, and decline again to 34 million tonnes next year.
Renato Rasmussen, FCStone’s market intelligence director in Brazil, said that China could take up to seven years to return to production levels near 50 million tonnes per year.
He said Brazil could become the major supplier of not only pork, but also beef and poultry.
The U.S. faces stiff tariffs and Canada is suspended because of export certificate fraud. • — By Jim Romahn
Canada Loses Trade Edge to Japan
Canada has lost its trading edge over the U.S. in beef and pork exports to Japan.
That’s because the U.S. and Japan have an agreement in principle to allow trade on the same terms and the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the TPP soon after he was elected president.
Both organizations representing beef and pork producers in the U.S. hailed the agreement for “levelling the playing field”. •
— By Jim Romahn
More Pigs in U.S., Fewer in Canada.
The Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs on July 1 was 14 million head, down slightly from last year and down by two per cent from July 1, 2017.
The breeding inventory, at 1.23 million head, was down by one per cent from last year and down by two per cent from 2017.
The market hog inventory, at 12.7 million head, was up slightly from last year but down by two per cent from 2017. The semi-annual pig crop, at 14.1 million head, was up by one per cent from 2018 but down by five per cent from 2017.
Sows farrowing during this period totalled 1.22 million head, down by one per cent from last year and down by three from 2017.
The U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1 was 75.5 million head, up by four per cent from last year and by one per cent from March 1 this year.
The breeding inventory in the U.S., at 6.41 million head, was up by one per cent from last year, and up by one per cent from March.
The market hog inventory, at 69.1 million head, was up by four per cent from last year, and by one per cent from March.
The pig crop, at 34.2 million head, was up by four per cent from 2018 and up seven per cent from 2017.
Sows farrowing during this period totalled 3.11 million head, up slightly from 2018 and up by three per cent from 2017. •
— By Jim Romahn
DMA-FCC Mental Health Awareness Program Now Accepting Applications
Year two of the rural mental health training program presented by the Do More Agriculture Foundation (DMA) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has officially launched and is accepting applications.
The training and workshops are aimed at developing community members who will be trained to identify mental health concerns and provide initial supports to producers coping with difficult or unfortunate circumstances. The program will be offered at no cost to participants.
“The training is aimed at raising mental health awareness and equipping participants with basic skills to provide assistance when help is not immediately available,” said Adelle Stewart, Executive Director of Do More Ag.
In addition to the funding provided by FCC, the program relies on “Community Leaders” to apply on behalf of their community to bring the training to their rural area. They work directly with DMA and the facilitators to organize and market the training.
“Community Leaders who apply to bring in and help organize the trainings are truly the cornerstone of the program” said Stewart.
The fund is open to all rural agriculture communities across Canada. Interested individuals can apply online at https://www.domore.ag/how-to-do-more from September 22, to October 10, 2019. •
Novel Vaccination Approach for Sows
Researchers in Saskatoon have found they can effectively vaccinate both sows and gestating piglets by combining vaccine with semen during artificial insemination.
Dr Heather Wilson, a research scientist with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, recently explained the research in an interview with Farmscape.
“Most of the diseases that are important for the pig industry actually impact reproduction or they impact the newborn piglets,” she said, so putting vaccine into the uterus made sense. Piglets would pick up immunity via colostrum.
“You’re inseminating, why not administer the vaccine directly to the uterus along with the semen and go from there?”
Dr Wilson says initial results suggest a strong antibody response and no negative effects on the semen, the piglets and the sows.
She said more trials will be needed on this “very promising” approach to vaccination. •
— By Jim Romahn
Elanco Buying Bayer Animal Health
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated has bid $7.6 billion to buy Bayer AG’s animal health business.
The deal needs government approval and would create the world’s second-largest animal health company.
It would double Elanco’s pet business and add eight significant products now in Bayer’s research and development pipeline. Bayer has more than 30 animal health products.
“This combination will join two complementary animal health-focused entities previously under the human pharma umbrella into a dedicated company focused on delivering for farmers, veterinarians and pet owners,” said Jeffrey Simmons, president and chief executive officer of Elanco.
“It creates increased speed, attention and investment to bring customers greater access and options . . . to make a difference in the lives of animals,” he said. •
— By Jim Romahn
Plant-based “Meats” Soaring
Plant-based meats are growing by leaps and bounds with two more big announcements recently.
Subway said it will start offering Beyond Meat’s meatballs in its sandwiches in September. It has more outlets than any other fast-food chain: a total of 685 across Canada and the United States.
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest hog producer and pork packer, said it is launching a new line of soybean-based products under its Pure Farmland brand, including burgers, meatballs and breakfast patties. •
— By Jim Romahn
Ukraine May Begin Consuming ASF-Infected Meat
Approximately 100,000 pigs will be culled in Lviv, Ukraine, after African Swine Fever (ASF) was confirmed at a local farm in August, said the Ukrainian state veterinary service.
Ukraine is about to lose 1.6% of its 6.4 million (1 August 2019 figure) pigs as a result of the outbreak. This figure is higher than the 72,226 pigs that the country culled due to 351 outbreaks of ASF at commercial farms and among wild boars since 2017, the state veterinary service estimated.
It is yet to be determined how this case of ASF will affect the local pork market in the region, but some local news outlets have reported that the price of pork increased slightly following confirmation of the outbreak.
Speaking at a press-conference a few days prior to the outbreak, Volodimir Lapa, chairman of the state veterinary service, said that the overall number of ASF outbreaks in Ukraine had declined. He estimated that there were 163 cases registered in 2017 and 145 cases in 2018, and the number of outbreaks in the first 8 months of 2019 was substantially lower compared to the same period the previous year.
The Ukrainian state veterinary service is urging the government to pay hunters for killing infected wild boars. This practice is being widely used in the EU and has already proved its value in tackling the spread of ASF, Mr Lapa added.
Consuming infected pork
Ukraine’s Livestock Producers Association have called on authorities to allow meat of infected pigs in the food industry. Because a number of cases of ASF have been unreported by farmers, Ukrainian citizens have been consuming pork from infected pigs for years, the Livestock Producers Association told a local news outlet UNN.
“Scientists say that the ASF virus dies when being treated with a temperature of 60°C for 30 minutes.”
“This means that, for example, canned meat manufactured using infected pork is absolutely safe both for human consumption and from a point of view of biological safety. If we would produce these products for the national strategic reserve, we would be able to feed around 200,000 people using pork from pigs culled following ASF outbreaks,” the Livestock Producers Association said.
The infected pork could be processed with a special mobile unit within the farm’s premises, the Association said, adding that this type of processing plant is widely used in the US. The price per unit is approximately US$ 100,000 and is far lower than what Ukraine farmers suffer due of the continuing spread of ASF. There has not yet been an official reaction from the Ukraine government in response to this proposal. •
— Source Pig Progress
China Releases State Reserves of Pork
China has released 10,000 tonnes of pork from state reserves today to secure meat supply during the National Day Holiday
Beijing also released 2,400 tonnes of beef and 1,900 tonnes of mutton from state reserves earlier this month, according to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Commerce.
Pork prices have jumped sharply recently and demand for the meat has fallen, the ministry said.
With a significant increase in meat imports and as the volume of frozen meat in reserves remains high, supplies are secured, it added.
The ministry said it will continue to monitor supplies and prices of pork, and coordinate with other government departments to release meats from state reserves in due time, to guarantee supply in the market.
Pork prices in the world’s top consumer hit record levels following the epidemic of African swine fever that has slashed output of its favourite meat.
Beijing is rolling out a series of measures to help recover pig production and secure meat supplies, especially during the holidays when demand usually reaches peak levels.
China consumed about 54 million tonnes of pork in 2018 but volumes this year are uncertain due to shortages. •
— Source The Pig Site
