World Pork Expo A Go
Despite all trade show, seminars, meetings and symposiums either being cancelled or being held virtually in Canada, World Pork Expo is a go. The show will be held in Des Moines at the Iowa State Fairgrounds from June 9 – 11.•

Alberta Pork Congress Cancelled
Due to the Covid 19 situation and uncertainties with the virus, and current Alberta restrictions the Board of Directors has cancelled the 2021 Alberta Pork Congress.
Save the date for 2022 June 15 & 16, 2022, check the Alberta Pork Congress website albertaporkcongress.com for updates. Contact Kate Kelly at ConventionALL Management for more details and information. PH: 403.244.7821
E: kate@albertaporkcongress.com •

Alberta Livestock Expo
Plans are underway for the Alberta Livestock Expo to take place in Lethbridge October 6 & 7, 2021.
Booth bookings now open on the expanded floor space. As of press time booths are 60% sold, so do not delay book today online at albertalivestockexpo.com. Subject to restrictions, hope to have a hot lunch buffet on Thursday plus have the returning Pork Quality Competition, will be confirmed closer to the show.
Should the show not be able to proceed due to restrictions because of COVID 19, all exhibition and sponsor fees will be refunded. For details or more information please contact Kaite at 431.337.8726 or
E: katie@albertalivestockexpo.com or
W: albertalivestockexpo.com •

Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
Mark your calendars for the annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, which is scheduled for Wednesday October 20, 2021.
As of press time final decision had not been made whether to host RDSTW in person or plan for a virtual event.
Check the swine tech tab on teh albertapork.com website for latest details.
More information will be included in the August edition of Prairie Hog Country •

Saskatchewan Pork Symposium
The date has been selected for Saskatchewan Industry Pork Symposium at the Saskatoon Inn November 16 & 17, 2021. Check out our website for latest updates saskpork.com
More details to come in the next issue. •

Brandon Hog & Livestock Expo
The Brandon Hog & Livestock Expo will take place, if Provincial restrictions allow, Wednesday December 8, 2021.
More details to come in future editions. •

Banff Pork Seminar
We all truly hope we can be back in person at the Castle in the Rockies for the next Banff Pork Seminar, scheduled for January 11 – 13, 2022.
As of press time the final decision had not been made whether to host Banff Pork Seminar in person or plan for a virtual event.•

Saskatchewan Livestock Expo
Formally known as Cramer Livestock Expo, the rebranded trade show will take place in Swift Current on February 17, 2022
Details on pre registration will be available in future editions.
In mean time you can check out their website cramereventmanagment.com or call Kelly at 306.737.6262 or email her at kelly_turcotte@hotmail.com •

Olymel, Alberta, Offers Vaccination Bonus
Olymel is offering a $50 bonus to employees at its plant at Red Deer, Alta., to get Moderna vaccinations against COVID-19.
They get $25 for the first shot and another $25 for the second.
About 500 Olymel workers have already signed up to receive their first dose and the company expects more of the 1,800 employees to participate with the introduction of the bonus offer.
About 500 Olymel workers have been infected by the virus since November and four have died. The plant at Red Deer was temporarily closed in February. •
— By Jim Romahn

Swine Flu Detected in Two Manitobans
Public health officials in Manitoba say two people were sickened with different strains of swine flu, but neither presents any risk to the public.
Their infections were detected when they went for COVID-19 testing because they were experiencing symptoms.
The cases were found in early April and there have been none since. One was the HiN2 strain, the other H1N1. Both are rare.
“It’s an isolated case,” said Dr. Scott Zaari, Manitoba’s chief veterinary officer. The pigs were not sick.
One of the people had direct interaction with pigs, while the other had only indirect contact.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, said the cases were probably caught because of increased public concerns over flu-like symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both people recovered after mild symptoms. •
— By Jim Romahn

China’s Hog Recovery Slowed
China’s hog production recovery still faces uncertainties and the risk of African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks remains “relatively great”, the country’s agriculture ministry said this week.
The sow herd is now at 98 per cent of 2017 levels before African Swine Fever wiped out about half of China’s hog population, but sow reproduction rates are lower than normal, the ministry said.
There have been 10 outbreaks of African Swine Fever this year.
“The work to stabilise hog production shall not be relaxed,” the ministry said, based on information gathered in a meeting with 14 large-scale hog breeding companies. •
— By Jim Romahn

African Swine Fever Declared a Calamity
The Philippines president has declared a national calamity after African Swine Fever has broken out in 12 districts with 46 provinces.
Acting on advice from the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a nationwide “state of calamity” that will last until the end of the year.
“The ASF is responsible for the significant reduction in the country’s swine population by around three million hogs, resulting in more than PHP100 billion ($2.08 billion US) in losses due to the local hog sector and allied industries, and leading to increased retail prices of pork products,” the proclamation said. •
— By Jim Romahn

EU Says Feed Not Too Risky for ASF
The European Food Safety Authority said the risk of spreading African Swine Fever via feed is relatively low.
The biggest risks are moving infected pigs or coming into contact with infected wild pigs.
Three independent groups assessed various risks for spreading the deadly, contagious disease and said compound feed (mash, pellets), feed additives and contaminated vehicles were the highest ranked in the EKE model.
While the concluded that the potential for transmission through these three pathways is lower than for several others, the risk cannot be completely excluded. •
— By Jim Romahn

China Focuses on Genetic Gains
China is focusing attention on genetic gains to improve productivity and quality, reports Bloomberg news.
In the short term it will continue to import hogs, dairy cattle and chicken genetics, the report said, but in the longer term plans to have its own genetic-improvement programs.
As examples, Bloomberg cited government sources that estimate sow productivity is about 30 per cent short of Western-country performance and milk production about 20 per cent lower.
Pig performance is a prime candidate for improvement because the country lost about half of its breeding herd to African Swine Fever and many new and large operations are being built to start from scratch.
There the focus is on pigs that are ready for market at a heavier weight and have improved feed conversion. Both have been part of genetic-improvement programs implemented by Canadian swine breeders for decades.
Canadian swine and dairy genetics have been world leaders for almost a century. •
— By Jim Romahn

Friesen Livestock Ltd Canada Announces Reorganization of Family Business
We are pleased to announce the reorganization of Friesen Livestock Ltd Canada.  After 20 years in business, CEO of Friesen Livestock Canada, Dennis Friesen, will lead his executive team into the future of this dynamic micro/macro blending livestock nutrition business.
Original founders Dick and Barb Friesen, Dennis Friesen, and Ed Friesen made up the ownership group this first 20 exciting years.  Since 2010, Dick and Barb Friesen have enjoyed retirement in southern Manitoba.  As a result of this reorganization, Ed Friesen retains ownership of Friesen Nutrition USA.
Friesen Livestock Ltd Canada is pleased to announce its new ownership group and executive team.  Gema Friesen (events planning), along with Michael Schalm (head of Nutrition), Mrs. Edna P. Friesen will carry on the Friesen ownership legacy and lead Friesen Livestock Ltd Canada as Chief Operations Officer.
Thank you so much to all our customers over the past 20 years; we look forward to much more success in the future.
“Traditional Values Embracing Modern Innovation” •

Farmer-friendly Promotions Merge
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity is taking over a farmer-promotion program from Farm Credit Canada (FCC).

FCC helped launch Agriculture More Than Ever to tell the public what a great job Canadian farmers are doing.
“It is important to acknowledge the excellent work FCC has done to promote public trust in the Canadian food system through Ag More Than Ever,” said John Jamieson, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity.
“This shift complements the work we’ve been doing since 2016, when CCFI was formed to help earn public trust in Canada’s food system. The synergies with Ag More Than Ever will support our activities in sustaining public trust for decades to come,” he said. •
— By Jim Romahn

Check Out All Pig Deaths
The Swine Health Information Center is encouraging pork producers to question every death, to have each one investigated to make sure it wasn’t caused by African Swine Fever.
If that disease ever shows up in Canada, it would have devastating consequences for exports and for any herds that get infected.
It is a deadly disease that took out about half of the pigs in China which had more pigs than any nation in the world.
The Swine Health Information Center is warning that African Swine Fever variants have shown up in China and that some vaccines used there have resulted in chronic infection and vaccine virus shedding.
Dr. Dan Rock at the University of Illinois conducted a review for the Swine Health Information Centre which resulted in its advice for pork producers.
Rock said the variants may make it more difficult to detect the disease.
Dr. Paul Sundberg, director of the centre, said the level of risk the variants pose to North America’s pork industry is difficult to quantify, but they are reason for increased vigilance.
Our biggest opportunity to prevent a problem is to do everything we can to question the health status of our herds when something looks out of line, he said.
These different variants and the original virus can look very much like salmonellosis, he said, or like hot PRRS or other things that we deal with as endemic disease in North America, he said.
Even if it’s one mortality and you think that looks just like it was before, question that and get a professional diagnosis , he advised. •
— By Jim Romahn

Sollio Agriculture Announces a Strategic Partnership with METOS® Canada
Sollio Agriculture, the Agribusiness Division of Sollio Cooperative Group, is proud to announce that it has signed a partnership agreement with METOS® Canada that will supply stations & data loggers, agricultural weather sensors, software and related services to its customers across Canada. These leading-edge innovative products and services will provide farmers with the data they need to make the big decisions on their farm.
“This strategic partnership with METOS® Canada strengthens our existing technology offering through the AgConnexion integrated digital platform that optimizes farmers’ operations by bringing together all their digital tools. The tools available through METOS® Canada work in synergy with our portfolio of digital products and are closely aligned with our own goals of providing our customers access to unbiased information while also improving their bottom line. We are very excited to use the METOS® Canada technology and offer it to our customers,” says Saad-Chafki, Vice-President Digital, technology & projects, Sollio Agriculture.
“We are excited to partner with Sollio Agriculture,” says Marty Cook, Vice President – Premium Services, METOS® Canada. “Developing this partnership is essential to ensure that across Canada farmers have access to leading-edge in-field weather monitoring solutions.
METOS® Canada is a digital agricultural solutions provider dispensing remote field monitoring, weather monitoring and forecasting, water management, disease modelling, insect monitoring and nutrition management data that helps Canadian farmers lower their costs and increase yields. 
Today, more than ever, technology and data are essential to increasing productivity. METOS® Canada and Sollio Agriculture will work together to offer the remote monitoring tools farmers need to have targeted up-to-date information from their fields. •

Koreans Generate Ersatz Pork
Researchers at South Korea’s Sejong University have cultured pork from a sample of muscle cells, reports Korea Economic Daily.
The team was led by Professor Park Sungkwon at the University of Sejong’s food science department and began the project in 2018.
“We can open up the possibility of securing the fundamental technology for cultured meat production,” Professor Park said in a statement. “We are aiming to advance this technology for commercialization through further research and optimization.”
The team has also working towards culturing beef and is expected to publish results from their research later this year.
Research and development are proceeding at a rapid pace, mainly in the United States and Singapore. Memphis Meats, now named Upside Foods, has said it plans to have cell-cultured chicken nuggets on the market before the end of this year. •
— By Jim Romahn

Bait Kills Wild Pigs
Scientists at the Louisiana State University AgCenter and the university’s chemistry department are developing a bait and delivery system to help reduce the population of feral pigs.

Glen Gentry, LSU AgCenter feral hog specialist, and John Pojman, a chemistry professor, have been working for years to create a bait and delivery system that minimizes the risk to off-target animals, the reports.
Scientists had to choose a formula that was more attractive to hogs based on features such as smell and texture than other animals such as deer or raccoons.
“It took us two years to determine what we were going to use in our matrix,” Gentry said in the release. “We landed on dehydrated fish. But that’s not before we went through things such as maple syrup or marshmallows.”
They will use sodium nitrite, as the poison. While it is a common food additive in products such as bacon, it is lethal to pigs at fairly low levels.
The challenge with sodium nitrite is that it breaks when it becomes moist; then it gives off a chlorine-like odour that repels pigs.
Their first thought was to encapsulate the sodium nitrite, similar to a gel cap. But Pojman and his doctoral students came up with an alternative idea.
“All we had to do was raise the pH (acidity),” Pojman said in the article. “Using some basic general chemistry and putting some additives to keep the pH high enough, we can make it so it is stable.”
Doctoral students Anthony Mai and Anowar Khan helped develop the bait, which has a round and soft texture. When dropped from a height of approximately four feet, it will bounce nearly a foot, the researchers said.
The soft texture allows the pigs to swallow it whole, leaving no remains of the bait for any other animals that might come along.
Feral hogs have a unique metabolism, the report said, so sodium nitrite is more effective and poses a low risk to humans.
Even if the hogs ate a sublethal dose and a hunter were to kill it and eat it later, researchers said there is no danger to them.
Scavengers could also safely feed on a carcass. •
— By Jim Romahn

CBS Bio Platforms Unveils Bio-Catalyst Technology
CBS Bio Platforms of Calgary is announcing the launch of Bio-Catalyst technology which is a suite of products to enhance diets for hogs, cattle, poultry and fish.
It enhances feed enzymes to make the most of rations. That reduces feed costs, extracts more nutrients from alternative or opportunity ingredients, protects health, reduces environmental impacts and minimizes antibiotic use, the company said.
“All advantages are amplified due to the dramatically increased precision, sophistication and synergy inherent to the new platform,” the company said.
“Bio-Catalyst technology represents the new future of feed enzymes – offering greater power and versatility than has ever been possible with this category of feed technology,” said Dr. Anna Rogiewicz of the novel feed enzyme program at the University of Manitoba.
“The science underlying this technology leverages what we have learned over more than 37 years of research and development, tailored specifically to provide today’s farmers with the best tools for the success of their farms,” she said.
What’s Your FSP Fingerprint? is an interactive tool available on the CBS Feed Science Platforms website that enables farmers to input information about their operation and obtain an analysis of the best unique combination of FSPs to improve results.
The CBS iNSPect tool, also available on the same website, is another interactive option that dives deeper on utilizing Bio-Catalyst technology to maximize dietary utilization. It allows farmers to input information on the type of diet they are feeding and receive instant analysis on dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) such as cellulose, arabinoxylan, beta-glucan, mannan, pectins and various other NSP components.
The tool then allows farmers to select and compare the best Bio-Catalyst options to address the NSPs in order to boost efficiency, nutrition capture and a range of related benefits spanning animal performance, health and reduced environmental footprint.
A base level is available for all users. Accessibility to a premium advanced version is available by contacting CBS. •
— By Jim Romahn

Hunger Increases During Pandemic
Nearly 20 million more people faced food crises last year amid armed conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic and weather extremes, and the outlook for this year is again grim, according to a report by the Global Network Against Food Crises.
The humanitarian agency, set up in 2016 by the European Union and United Nations, also warned that acute food insecurity has continued to worsen since 2017, the first year of its annual report into food crises.
“We must do everything we can to end this vicious cycle. There is no place for famine and starvation in the 21st century,” said United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
He said conflict and hunger need to be tackled jointly because they reinforce each other.
Acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse impacted at least 155 million people last year, the highest number in the report’s five-year existence.
It warned the situation is not expected to improve this year, driven first and foremost by conflict, but with containment measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic an exacerbating factor.
Two out of three people affected by food crises last year were in Africa, though other parts of the world were not spared, with Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and Haiti among the 10 worst hit locations. •
— By Jim Romahn

Rats, Mice Unlikely to Spread ASF
American swine researchers working in Vietnam have determined that rats and mice are not likely to spread African Swine Fever.
The work was done on behalf of Canada’s Swine Health Information Center and involved researchers from South Dakota State University and the Vietnam National University of Agriculture.
Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg says scientists spent about a month trapping rats and mice on farms across Vietnam which were then tested for ASF. They also tried, without success, to infect laboratory rats with ASF. •
— By Jim Romahn

Strep Showing up on Some Hog Farms
The Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network is warning pork producers that a new strain of Streptococcus zooepidemicus that can wipe out 10 to 20 per cent of the sows in a herd.
So far it has been identified in five barns in Canada but it’s also been identified in a couple of culled sow shipments going to the assembly yards or it’s been detected when they arrive at the slaughter plants.
A new clone of the disease has shown up in Indiana. The health experts are advising farmers to be careful about trucks returning from hog deliveries to the U.S.
It’s not only Streptococcus zooepidemicus that’s of concern, but also Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) that could come back with trucks. •
— By Jim Romahn

Pork Packers Face Line Speed Limit
A federal judge in Minnesota on Thursday denied Seaboard Foods’ motion to delay a return to pork line speed limits and three other processors’ requests for reinstatement of waivers.
The pork packers had gained waivers from the federal government allowing them to run line speeds as fast as they wished.
In March Judge Joan Ericksen threw the waiver provisions out and agreed with the United Food and Commercial Workers’ argument that the waivers violated the Administrative Procedure Act and potentially put workers at risk.
Seaboard calculated that reverting to a line speed limit of 1,106 head per hour would take about 126,000 market hogs out of its production pipeline, according to court documents.
Three other processors, Quality Pork Processors Inc., WholeStone Farms Cooperative Inc. and Clemens Food Group, asked the court to intervene to clarify that the judgment throwing out the USDA rule also reinstated waivers that had previously allowed them to increase their line speeds.
Ericksen denied all the motions, saying they were not timely, and the court had concluded its consideration of the merits of the case. •
— By Jim Romahn

Correction Notice
In the April/May edition of Prairie Hog Country on page 17, the story entitled Federal Government Protection for Temporary Foreign Workers, contained a error.
The story incorrectly refers to Janele Hamblin as the source from Manitoba Pork.
This was not accurate and should have reference Janice Goldsborough, Human Resources and Training Coordinator for Manitoba Pork.
Prairie Hog Country does apologize for this error and did not mean to misrepresent Janelle Hamblin or Manitoba Pork. •