Swine producers in Alberta are seeing various degrees of impact as they adjust to the world-wide battle against a deadly new virus.
Early in March, concern over the appearance in China of a novel virus evolved into a global effort to save human lives from a pandemic identified as COVID-19.
“I think we were all taken aback by how quickly it became such a big thing. It was a shock,” said Donna Van Gorp, President of Alberta Pork Congress. The annual trade show was cancelled in March, just before the province placed restrictions on gatherings.
Few people would have believed, at this time last year, that major concerns would evolve around social distancing and quarantine of farmers and staff; shortages of personal protection equipment; shutdowns at processing plants with the resulting crash in hog prices, and the unprecedented cancellation of key annual events, said Van Gorp.
Walking through his yard while crews and equipment load manure for spreading on his fields, farrow-to-finish operator Arnold Van Ginkle of the Rocky Mountain House area says the biggest impact for him have been the crash in prices and the cancellation of the Pork Congress, originally scheduled for Red Deer in mid-June.
Van Ginkle and his wife, Alida have soldiered through some major disasters in the 17 years since they set up their farm, and they’re confident that they will make it through the price drop that that was just starting to recover in mid-March.
The pricing impact on Western Canadian farmers of pandemic-related closures at major plants in the United States clearly shows the folly in a system that is based on US markets, said Van Ginkle, whose entire production is marketed to the Olymel plant in Red Deer.
“For four weeks or (so), the prices were really low. The futures, they don’t look good at all. Now you can see in Quebec, where their price is based on the cut-out, they’re getting $100 more,” he said.
While he and his family are prepared to shoulder losses for a short while, they have mixed feelings about the social impacts of COVID-19 on their farm. Of their three oldest kids, who were all in university over the past winter, two came home early to complete their studies, while the eldest has finished his program and found work on a dairy farm in British Columbia. The rest of the family is together on the farm and pitching in with the work. There is no staff in the barn, so the Van Ginkles do not have the human resources concerns that affect bigger farms.
However, Arnold said he misses the social outings that have been cancelled because of provincial restrictions against group activities as a means of checking the spread of the disease.
He said that, while he is not a person who enjoys attending meetings, he does enjoy church and he will miss attending Alberta Pork Congress. He described the annual trade show as an important social outing, allowing him to reconnect with fellow producers and suppliers.
Ralph Tuck, treasurer for the Pork Congress board of directors, said in an online chat organized by Prairie Hog Country, that the decision to cancel the 2020 event was made just a day or two before the province ordered cancellation of all large gatherings.
Tuck said the board had decided to cancel rather than postpone until fall because of the competition with other events already scheduled and because there was no way of knowing at the time whether the restrictions would still be in place. Rather than keeping their exhibitors guessing, the board agreed to cancel outright for 2020 and started laying plans for 2021.
There is still potential that 2021 may not go ahead, said Van Gorp.
“We have no choice but to be smart about it,” she said.

“Who knows what the future will look like? I look at Banff Pork – will that even happen? I just got an invitation to participate in a livestock show in October. Unless something changes drastically, I can’t see that they’re going to allow it.”
Van Gorp said planning will continue for 2021, but whether it can proceed will depend largely on whether a vaccine has been developed to help protect people from catching COVID-19.
“I think there is a future (for Pork Congress). We want this to come back, but it’s hard to say. I would expect by June of next year we should see some sort of vaccine available . . . so we can all have fun again,” she said.
“We all look forward to the socialization. The uncertainty of our future, come next year and even in the fall, are we ever going to be able to get together in large groups again? It’s fun for people to see what’s happening in their industry and it’s a way of them connecting with other producers, and all of the companies are in one spot.”
Will Kingma, operator of Kingdom Farms at Bentley, said he has definitely felt the impact of COVID-19. However, a change three years ago in their production model has help soften the effects of the price crash that hit after Smithfield and other big plants in the mid-western US were shut down.

Early in 2017, Kingma started phasing out his growers and feeders and began shipping iso-weans to the Midwest for finishing and processing. He said the move dramatically reduced his costs and allowed him to expand his sow herd from 2,300 to 5,000. The barns were restructured for loose housing and the farm’s environmental footprint is now slightly over half of what it had been.
Kingma said the Smithfield plant, buys his hogs for processing. The plant had closed for two weeks and is now running at about 50 per cent of normal.
A separate plant had been set up to dispose of excess hogs, said Kingma. Smithfield had not turned any of his hogs away as of mid-May. Prices had dropped, but the farm well on pigs that had been sold on futures markets. While those prices are now softening, the supply of pigs is also reduced so that may indicate a price recovery as processes return to normal capacities.
Kingma said the 14 staff inside his Bentley barns have been doing an outstanding job of following protocol and, so far, they are all healthy. Although he has offered to continue paying wages for anyone who does fall ill, only two of his staff have taken sick time. One of them was tested for COVID-19 and was found negative.
Staff are split into two groups for coffee and lunch breaks so they can maintain their distance in the break room and disinfectants are provided so they can clean up after themselves, he said.
“Our staff have been unbelievable. They’ve been so good all the way through. I’ve been fortunate to have the crew that I have.”
Kingma said one thing the industry should have looked at is contingency plans in case people are unable to come to work. Unlike plants, which can shut down production if there is an issue with staff, animals must still be fed and looked after. Who slips into that role if regular staff are unable to work?
Kingma also said the Canadian government’s efforts to support agriculture have not been adequate, while hog farmers in the US are receiving significant subsidies to help cover their costs through this time of crisis. He said the president recognized that the pricing issues had been create through failed negotiations and was therefore willing to help farmers who felt those results.
Canada could match those subsidies without suffering any impact on trade agreements, because they US has already started subsidizing, said Kingma. His US animals do not qualify for the subsidies because they do not belong to a US citizen.
In a telephone meeting with producers late in April, Alberta Pork Chair Brent Moen said the provincial and national boards are lobbying government for a cash advance to help them pay their bills during the six-month period running May through October.
“We are living in unprecedented times. There is a serious threat to our industry,” Moen said in his address to producers.

“Farmers are bearing most of the risk in an increasingly volatile market. Time is of the essence in the pork industry. We need to feed our animals. The current cash crunch is affecting the ability of producers to pay bills and puts their farms at risk.”
Nationally, through the Canadian Pork Council, the boards are asking the federal government for an advance payment of $35 per hog through October to cover negative margins, based on an MNP estimate that places the average cost of production at $185 per hog against an average price of $150. They have asked federal and provincial agriculture ministers for additional support as well, including increased financial protection through Agri-Stability.
Moen encouraged producers to get in touch with their elected representatives to ensure that the message is heard as widely as possible.
“The hog industry definitely needs a lifeline. Producers are drowning in a sea of red ink, and we have our federal and provincial bureaucrats debating over what colour of life jacket to throw to us. We’re asking, give us a life jacket. Let’s figure out how we qualify and how this fits into the program over time.
“We need the money today so that we can pay our feed bills, our vets, our transporters, and our labour. Even at that, we know that we’re going to take a pretty significant financial loss over the 2020 business year.”
Moen said the discussions continue and he has no idea when there will be an answer to industry’s efforts. He anticipates futures will improve in fall.
In response to a question from the floor, Alberta Pork Executive Director Darcy Fitzgerald said the provincial boards and CPC have put all of their effort into seeking help from both levels of government and have not so far gone to the packers.
“We have some other ideas for them,” he said, but could not elaborate in an open meeting. •
— By Brenda Kossowan