In a year-end review, the outgoing chair of Manitoba Pork George Matheson said animal disease risks and ensuring fair returns to hog producers are the organization’s priority issues heading into 2021. 
Important issues confronting Manitoba’s pork producers in 2020 are dramatic market disruptions by COVID-19, increased awareness of the spread of African Swine Fever in Asia and Europe and changes in export patterns as the result of friction with China. 
Matheson said as the organization undergoes some significant changes over the next few months, matters related to animal health and profitability will top the agenda. Keeping disease from entering Manitoba hog farms is the number one priority and ensuring that producers get a fair financial return for their hog production. 
He said things would change because general manager Andrew Dickson will be retiring after 16 years with Manitoba Pork Council at the end of January. Matheson will retire as chair of MPC at the AGM on April 14, 2021, after six years so several significant changes.  
Manitoba producers suffered through a big problem with the PED virus for several years, diarrhea in young pigs, which devastated some producers. The province had over 80 cases in 2019 but brought it down this year to one positive barn. The industry keeps watch on Africa Swine Fever prevalent in Asian and European countries and keeps it out of Canada and the United States. The dreaded disease has destroyed producers worldwide, and very much would affect exports. So far so good in that regard. 
Matheson said, “hog prices got very low with abysmal returns in the middle of this year. A swine coalition group lead by the Prairie provinces meeting with producers across Canada. And also met with processors to make them aware of hog farms’ desperation in the middle of the year. Some of those processors came forward and, outside of the contracts, gave some assistance financially to the producers hurt by the low hog prices in the U.S., where bases its hog prices. COVID infections in processing plants where the workers either couldn’t work or delayed processing lines delayed because of distancing needed between the workers. It produced a slow-down on the lines and a backup of hogs on farms resulting in these low prices.” 
While some backlogs at the Canadian plants, yet processors stayed on top of the COVID and affected workers. They check their workers before they enter the plant, taking temperatures to make sure everyone is healthy and safely distancing each other at the plant, all wearing protective clothing. This protocol helped keep the lines moving in Canada because to stop; hogs would backup on the farms. And pigs aren’t like cattle, able to go on open ranges but confined to a barn, which could quickly give producers problems.  
The MP chair said trade continued with a few hiccups with China, a major importer of Canadian pork.  
“Maybe a few red herrings out there; they expect a little more from us than they should, just perhaps to protect their industry as much as anything.” 
But Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, and the U.S. kept up with their imports from Canada, and those markets continue to flow freely. Manitoba exports 90 per cent of pork, while the rest of Canada exports 70 per cent.  
Asia will continue to be Canada’s number one destination for pork. Canada Pork International continues to make inroads there, financed by Canada’s producers on a levy per hog basis, a few cents per hog, doing a fantastic job.  
The swine coalition group will continue to have discussions with the processors, good listeners so far. •
— By Harry Siemens