The 51st annual Banff Pork Seminar heralded a year of profound change. Profit margins should have been comfortable but were not; independent producers in Western Canada have continued to leave an industry that cannot pay their bills, and everyone has continued to adjust to realities of a pandemic now entering its third year.

Held against the rich natural wonders of the Rocky Mountains at the Fairmont Banff Springs, a hotel and conference centre known around the world for its style and grandeur, BPS 2022 drew 203 live delegates and an additional 417 who joined the sessions online. Deep concerns about economics and the potential impact of foreign animal disease could not burst an infectious bubble of optimism that permeated the conference centre during the three days of the seminar, based on the theme: 50 Years of Knowledge and Sharing.

Back in June, when the organizing committee was weighing its options for the 2022 seminar, it appeared that COVID was under control and that there should be no obstacles to hosting a live event, Chair Dan Bussières said in his address to the gathering. The 2021 conference, which had originally been planned to celebrate BPS’s 50th Anniversary, had been held online only because of COVID restrictions.

The organizing committee decided in June to plan for a live conference, but kept the option open to hold a hybrid event in case some form of COVID restrictions were still in place. That turned out to be a good call. When the fifth wave of COVID hit just before Christmas, there was renewed concern about whether a live conference was possible. Some companies decided against sending their staff and some speakers took the option to make their presentations online rather than risk COVID-related travel tangles.

Idaho-based economist Brett Stuart from Global AgriTrends said he had planned to bring his son with him and go skiing but changed his mind because he didn’t want to end up isolating in a Calgary hotel room before returning home.

“A lot of people decided not to come to Banff this year for good reason,” Bussières said in his address at the opening session. “We respect that, but we are really happy to have you on board with us, even though we didn’t see everybody today.”

By December, there was considerable concern that a fourth wave of the virus would affect the committee’s ability to hold the conference

as planned. Provincial restrictions in place during the week before the seminar would still allow a hybrid event, but with tight biosecurity controls to prevent any spread of the virus.

The committee decided in discussions to move ahead with the hybrid conference as planned. “We want to keep Banff alive,” said Bussières. “There’s a significant financial implication if we cancel Banff.

There’s no Alberta government restriction to cancel Banff, so to cancel our contract with the conventional center, all the suppliers we have . . . we would have been in big trouble, which may have meant the end of Banff.”

GEORGE FOXCROFT: “BRINGING RESEARCH TO REALITY” 
There was a haunting moment during the opening presentation, when a video presentation included recorded comments from retired professor George Foxcroft. Internationally renowned for his work in swine reproduction and a stalwart for years in putting the Banff Pork Seminar together, Foxcroft suffered a fatal heart attack on December 6 while cross-country skiing at the Blackfoot Recreation Area, east of Edmonton. 
Foxcroft had come to the University of Alberta in 1988 to follow a career path that had started at the University of Nottingham, near his hometown of Leeds, England. 
In a tribute published with his newspaper obituary, fellow professor Michael Dyck, who shares BPS programing duties with Prof. Ruurd Zijlstra, wrote: “I was always amazed at how many people from both academia and industry knew and respected him. I have spoken to many friends and colleagues since learning of George’s passing, and we all agree that having him in our life changed us for the better.”

In a tribute published by Alberta Pork, Zijlstra writes: “George was a global leader in the field of regulation of ovarian function and early pregnancy loss, and he was the Canadian authority in understanding reproductive physiology of the pig. Throughout his research career, George focused on maintaining a two-way dialogue with the global and regional swine industry to understand their problems and success. His goal was always to ‘bring research to reality’.” 
Upon his retirement in 2012, organizers of the Banff Pork Seminar created the George Foxcroft Lectureship, bringing a high-calibre speaker to lead one of the break-out sessions. Fittingly, the 2022 Foxcroft Lectureship was awarded to Foxcroft’s first graduate student at U of A, Eduardo Beltranena, who recently returned to the university as a research scientist in the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. 
Foxcroft was born in Leeds on Dec. 8, 1944. As a young man, he worked on farms in the Norfolk area and completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture at the University of Nottingham, where he also earned a PhD. In pursuit of higher goals, he completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Illinois and then returned to England as a researcher and lecturer at Nottingham’s Sut ton Bonington Campus, where he remained until emigrating to Canada in 1988. 
Foxcroft is survived by his wife, Margaret, their three children and nine grandchildren.

ECONOMICS; THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM 
Industry leaders in Western Canada, asked by Prairie Hog Country to address the most pressing issue facing independent producers during the coming year, said attention needs to be focused on economic factors. 
Alberta Pork Chair Brent Moen and Brent Bushell, executive director of the Western Hog Exchange both tackled an unfair pricing model coupled with exceptionally high feed costs as the issue where the industry and its players need to focus their attention. 
Bushell says his business lost a number of producers in the past year because they were no longer able to operate under the crush of high feed costs without a significant change in the prices they were being paid for their hogs. 
The industry in Western Canada is shrinking, producers are emptying their barns, processors are desperate for more hogs to fill their shackles, and yet no one seems to want to address the elephant in the room, said Bushell. 
“The elephant in the room for the Canadian hog industry is that you go back over a period of time, the sharing of the value of pork has never been there and still isn’t today,” he said. 
“So shouldn’t you get all of the stakeholders, whether that’s packers and retail stores and producers and all the suppliers . . . get those people aligned to have an open, honest discussion while leaving their baggage at the door, about how we build an industry together,” he said.

Looking at trends in recent years, Bushell pointed out that pig prices are typically lower during the winter months, when it is more costly to feed animals and operate barns. If producers can’t raise a profitable pig year round, perhaps there needs to be a reduction in production during those months, he said. 
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, where you’re simply not given the opportunity to win, because you have to ship hogs every week, regardless of prices,” he said. 
The impact is that independent producers are quitting the industry, no new barns are being built, no existing barns are expanding, and those factors are creating a ripple among the suppliers who serve those farms, said Bushell. 
Moen acknowledged that discussion has been ongoing for years about pressing packers and retailers to collaborate with producers on a pricing model that shares profits and losses across the value chain. But the will among those groups to work together has been lacking and there is no will within government to force the kinds of changes that were enacted to create a fairer pricing model in Quebec, he said. 
Alberta continues to see producers exiting the industry or consolidating with packers who have integrated their operations so they can keep their shackles moving, said Moen. 
“At the end of the day, we had a net loss of production in Alberta and in Western Canada (during 2021). That, to me, is extremely concerning not only from the standpoint of being a hog producer, but from a standpoint of creating a competitive global industry where we can compete with the US or Brazil. We have to be running our packing plants at maximum capacity,” said Moen. 
Plants in Western Canada are currently running at 75 per cent because they don’t have enough pigs. Over time, Canada will lose its competitive advantage in global markets unless this trend reverses. 
Looking at futures markets, Moen said all the indicators point to very strong prices. However, the price of feed is outpacing those prices with no potential for relief until the 2022 crops start coming off the fields – and assuming an abatement in the supply chain and drought issues that have driven feed prices through the roof. 
“We’re at a tipping point in the industry where, if we continue to lose production and pigs across Western Canada, it will lead to the demise in the long term, for a lack of profitability, of the packing plants as well as the producers. 
“It’s a double-edge sword from a standpoint of, if we don’t work together as partners in this industry, to stabilize it and grow it, then the opposite will happen where it’s just not going to be long-term sustainable.” 
Canadian consumers, whose votes have the power to set government agendas, must be shown that their food security is at risk as this trend continues, said Moen.

If Canada’s packers disappear, the cheap pork currently being dumped in Canada will also disappear, as will the high health standards that ensure Canadian’s are buying a safe and high-quality product, he said. 
The historically adversarial relationship between the various players in the industry needs to be changed to a collaboration in which producers, packers and retailers share both the risks and the benefits to ensure the industry’s long-term viability, he said. 
“As producers, we need to do a better job of educating consumers and also educating politicians on what we actually do and contribute.” 
Elected officials who could push for change have no interest in entering the fray because their agenda is based on seeking votes, and the five per cent or fewer of voters who make their living in agriculture do not represent enough votes to fight for, said Moen. 
Therefore, there is a lack of political will to bring people to the table and most consumers are unaware or unconcerned about the future of Canada’s pork industry, he said. 
“We have to become more outspoken and provide more information on what these decisions (such as carbon taxes) are costing. 
“Consumers will start to speak out as food prices escalate. They’ll eventually start to rebel . . . but that’s going to take time.” 
Hog producers in 2022 have the potential to make a small return on their investment, as hog prices improve and feed prices soften, said Moen. 
“I’m a long-term believer that we can be competitive as an industry and as producers. The eternal optimist in me says we have some opportunities out here. The pessimist in me says if we don’t fix our challenges in the next year or two, it will continue to lower our odds of being long-term successful as an industry,” he said. 

In his presentation to Banff Pork Seminar, Brett Stuart said the pork industry has never been boring. 
“There has never been a year in the last 15 years in my business like this year and last year. It’s not over yet. There are a lot of big moving parts. There are some major risks in the market.” 
Globally, COVID has created a macro-economy in which governments are using money as a fire retardant, said Stuart. Worldwide spending on COVID stimulus has not reached $10 trillion, of which $6 trillion was spent in the US. Increased demand and overloaded supply chains have created multiple issues relating to storage, transport and labour. 
“The question is, when does this end?” said Stuart. 
“I would suggest, look further down the road than most people think. Barring some significant move by the US Federal Reserve, I think it’s a soft landing.” 
Drilling down to the pork industry, he discussed a number of overarching factors, including the economic impact of COVID, rising feed costs and the impact African Swine Fever has had on global markets. 
Hog prices dropped by 70 per cent in China, which has stockpiled massive amounts of pork and is rebuilding its herd, buying US feed corn at $10.90 per bushel, said Stuart. 
So, from China come two lessons: 
First, since reporting its first case of ASF in 2018, China has imported five million tons of pork, just enough to keep from driving up prices in North American markets. Pork consumption in China has been replaced to some extent with beef and poultry and, as a nation, they are also willing to do without if necessary. 
“Even when they have 300 per cent inflation, they’re fine with that. They’ll sit on their heels and eat less pork,” said Stuart. 
He reminded delegates that, in China, politicians do not have to worry about consumer opinion because they are not struggling to be reelected. They can focus on what is best for their country in the long term. 
Secondly, the Chinese governments is committed to a high level of self-sufficiency in pork. Stuart estimates that China will produce 90 per cent of its needs, importing the balance.

He sees China having a big impact in corn imports to support its massive investment in swine infrastructure 
Trevor Sears, President and CEO of Canada Pork, emphasized a need to put more focus on Canadian consumers. 
“The competition is really fierce. We have limited resources for pork for what we do here in Canada, and we have big competitors in the beef world and the poultry world and the dairy world, with deep pockets. So, it’s really important that we continue these efforts on behalf of industry to continue to maintain and grow the demand for pork here in Canada.” 
Sears emphasized the need to be prepared for potential trade disruptions that could pose a significant risk for an industry that exports such a large share of its production. 
“We just want to provide protection, prosperity and peace of mind. Our high standards for global pork buyers do provide these . . . and it is important to markets like Japan that they feel confident that the pork supply will continue and that it’s safe and it’s traceable,” he said

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER 
Canada continues to build its defences against African Swine Fever while preparing for the eventuality that it does break here. 
Producers have been offered a series of updates on those efforts, including seminars at the Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop followed by a full afternoon dedicated to the discussion during Alberta Pork’s Annual General Meeting in November. 
New cases continue to crop up across Asia and Europe and the virus has now been discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and Dominican Republic. 
That poses an immediate threat to other islands in the Caribbean and brings the virus perilously close to the US mainland, said Stuart. Mapping provided by speaker Vincent ter Beek, editor of the Dutch magazine Pig Progress, shows the high speed at which ASF has reached around the world and leaves no doubt that human beings are its primary means of transport, said Stuart. 
As an example, he showed how the virus had jumped 1100 kilometres from Poland to Italy. No wild boar could have carried it that far, he said. 
Given the tourist and family connections between Hispaniola and US, there is now an increased risk of someone carrying ASF to the mainland. 
What happens next will depend on whether it is found on a farm or in a herd of wild pigs, said Stuart. 
Regardless, all hog movement stops for 72 hours and both sales and prices collapse. 
“We have 25 per cent too much pork overnight. Cross your fingers . . . that we don’t deal with this in North America this year.” 
Addressing a question from the floor, Sears said Canada has developed zoning agreements with some countries and is negotiating with others.
Some agreements will allow continued trade if an outbreak is discovered among feral pigs and not on a farm, he said. 
“We’re in discussion with Japan on zoning and have agreements with Viet Nam and Singapore, so if that happened, we’d keep a lot of markets open,” said Sears. 

Christa Arsenault, national ASF coordinator for Animal Health Canada (formerly the National Farm Animal Health and Welfare Council) updated BPS delegates on progress that has been made in developing national and regional strategies to protect against ASF and to deal with it if an infection is confirmed. 
Alongside all the work that is being done nationally, she advised producers to be as prepared as they can in the event of an outbreak. 
“Be ready with your own emergency response plan. What would you do today if your pigs couldn’t move?” said Arsenault. 
Within the Executive Management Board struck to develop the Pan-Canadian ASF Action Plan, a number of working groups have been assigned specific task relevant to its strategies, said Arsenault. They include a feral pig working group, a movement control working group and a depopulation and disposal working group. 
Strong and effective communication within the EMB and externally are a key factor in its level of success, said Arsenault. 
Steps have been taken to stop ASF at international borders including the “Don’t Pack Pork” series of posters at key international airports, set up to advise travelers on the risk they may be carrying in their luggage and carry-ons. 
While a “huge amount of work” has been done to prevent the spread of ASF in Canada, there is still more work to be done, said Arsenault. The gift of time has been a blessing in allowing partners in the EMB to organize national and regional strategies, she said. 
While the planning has been focused on ASF, it could be useful in preparing for similar emergencies, including foreign animal diseases, she said. 
“Interestingly enough, we have already used some of this planning with COVID-19. An example is, when we did see surplus hog issues in the eastern area of the country due to staff shortages because of COVID-19 infection, we were able to implement some of our ASF planning into that. 
“The collaborative model with the African Swine Fever Executive Management Board could be used as a model for other species groups that are working on foreign animal disease planning and preparedness,” said Arsenault. 
Details of the national strategy are laid out on pages 42 to 52 of the proceedings, which can be downloaded from the banffpork.ca website. Printed copies were not prepared this year. 

CONTRADICTING THE CONTRARIANS 
A man who once faced gigantic fishing vessels from the bow of a rubber boat offered BPS delegates his theories on how to understand and deal myths and misinformation that distort current debate about our environment. 
Patrick Moore, founding member of Greenpeace and author Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist tore down the tactics used by groups that ride environmental activism as a source of income. 
He calls it the Unified Theory of Scare Stories, where tacticians present evidence that is either invisible or so remote that no one can observe the claims. 
As an example, he showed a well-known photo of an emaciated polar bear, used by activists to support claims that the species is dying off through climate change caused by human activities. 
Polar bears, said Moore, are a genetic branch of the European brown bear, evolved to survive in winter conditions on a diet of mammals. 
The infamous photo is misleading in that the bear is starving because it is elderly and nearing the end of its life, said Moore. 
Polar bears are a top predator – nothing kills them and there are “no nursing homes for polar bears.” He went on to shoot down “science porn” concerning huge islands of plastic floating in the oceans and bleaching on Great Barrier Reef as a result of global warming. He contradicted the claims with photos of a recently discovered reef in good health and full of colour. 
Some of the evidence offered is misleading while photos are staged in a deliberate lie, created to solicit donations. 
Moore put up timelines indicating that, while Earth may have warmed up in recent times, it is still much cooler than it has been in the past and continues to trend downward.

Rather than banning use of fossil fuels, humankind should be looking at alternate sources where they are viable, such nuclear-powered ships and trains, said Moore. Fossil fuels could then be reserved for uses where alternative power is not viable, such as powering aircraft, he said. 
“This is my effort, after 50 years as a scientist and environmental activist, to expose the misinformation and outright lies used to scare us and our children about the future of the Earth,” Moore writes in his submission to the BPS book of proceedings. 
“Direct observation is the very basis of science. Without verified observation it is not possible to know the truth.” 
Moore, 74, had to cut his presentation short when he started to feel faint and needed to sit down. He perked up after having some juice and was later taken to hospital for a checkup.

HUMAN RESOURCES 
Economic strife and coping with COVID restrictions have placed additional stress on a population that is already under a great deal of pressure. Banff Pork Seminar dedicated one of its breakout sessions to labour and stress management issues, with presentations from Dennis Robles from Swine Health Professionals in Steinbach, Manitoba and Saskatchewan grain farmer Lesley Kelly, founder of High Heels and Canola Fields. 
Robles focused on the secrets of retaining good employees. 
He cited a Manitoba Pork article stating that 40 per cent of farm operations did not have sufficient staff in 2020, and that more than half of hog farms have been unable to fill positions in their operations. Additionally, labour shortages in 2017 cost almost $3 billion in lost revenues. 
Robles cited studies showing that a significant number of employees are not engaged in their work, a significant cost to their employers. People need to be trusted and they need to know that their work is valued and that they are progressing and developing. He went on to discuss the elements of engagement Gallup has developed for managers to help their employees reach their potential. 
1 – Create a culture of engagement. Provide employees with the tools they need and build meaningful relationships of trust and respect. 
2 – Develop a high well-being team. Authentic relationships between managers and their team helps the team work better. 
3 – Celebrate each person’s talents and strengths. Everyone has a gift. Start with talent and finish with strength. Gallup offers and online strength assessment that helps show people their super talents. 
The role of the manager is a major factor in keeping or losing employees, said Robles. Keeping employees engaged is the key to employee retention, he said. 

“You have really talented employees right now. There may be some shortage of labour, but you have to really find ways to keep those employees. They have the potential to be champions for you. Let’s work on those efforts.” 
Lesley Kelly offered the adult members of her own family as examples in a frank and energetic discussion on mental health and ways to help each other deal with stresses and trauma. She went on to describe the five defences her family has used to help weather the S.T.O.R.M. 
*Stress: Some stress is normal and helps us grow. Stress becomes harmful when it is overwhelming or prolonged. Signs and symptoms of harmful stress can be both physical and emotional, including headaches, chest pain, teeth clenching, irritability, diet and sleep changes and lack of ability to concentrate.
*Take action: Stress is real and people in its grip need a lifeline. 
*Open communications: Kelly’s family meets regularly and they talk about the things they are going through. Those talks have brought the family closer and has spilled over into other relationships, she said. One of the exercises they use is to rate their stress on a scale of one to 10, and then letting each other know their rating at the start of each day. 
*Relationships: Kelly said she and her family have learned to process conflict differently now as a win-win rather that a right-wrong. “For us, to have a win-win is to keep the dialogue open. So now, we process conflict with empathy, understanding and curiosity to help us get through conflict times.” 
*Management: These are the things you do to support yourself and those around you.

Kelly suggested that people visit domore.ag for more help with identifying and managing mental health challenges. Additional resources are posted on page 122 of the BPS proceedings.

AWARDS 
Every year, Banff Pork Seminar offers awards in the names of two former University of Alberta professors who played a big role in founding and managing the conference. The F.X. Aherne Award for Innovations is named for nutritionist Frank Aherne, who helped found the conference. It recognizes industry workers who have come up with creative solutions for common problems. The R.O. Ball Award was named in honour of Professor Emeritus Ron Ball who, with support from his wife Ruth and their very capable children, organized and led the conference for 10 years. The award selects four post graduate students from a poster competition to present their research at the conference, and then offers a cash prize to the first and second place winners. 
One of the four finalists for 2022 was not able to attend the conference and was therefore disqualified from the competition. 
U of A Associate Professor Ben Willing announced the winners on Thursday morning. 
The F.X. Aherne award was presented virtually to Veterinarian Jewel White, senior manager of animal health for Maple Leaf Agrifarms. 
Concerned for the safety of sows and staff during the difficult taking blood samples, White and her team developed a spacer that can be placed behind the animal to restrain her during the process. The Backspacer Device is made of an aluminum tubing, stainless steel and puck board at a cost of about $290 per unit, including materials and labour.   
White provided a slide show demonstrating how the device provides technicians with a sow that is safely and easily secured for collection. 
First place in the R.O. Ball competition was awarded to Allison Jeffery from the University of Montreal Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. 
Jeffery presented research evaluating autogenous vaccine of sows to protect piglets against streptococcus suis infections. She pointed to a lack of field studies evaluating the immunological response to autogenous vaccines against these bacteria, for which there is no commercial vaccine available in North America. Jeffery et al evaluated antibody response among piglets on a commercial farm.

The research team analyzed for responses to five of the 29 known s. suis serotypes (variants). They found evidence that the autogenous vaccine regimen as performed on the farm increased maternal antibody levels in piglets up to three to five weeks of age, depending on the serotype. Jeffery stated that further study is needed to fully characterize the effect of the vaccine during the complete nursery period. 
Second place went to Carley Camire of the University of Saskatchewan, who presented a study on effects of limiting dietary non-essential amino acids on the lysine requirement for protein deposition in growing pigs. 
Their study concluded that non-essential amino acids need to be supplemented when the total nitrogen in non-essential amino acids is low, stating that this formulation approach will improve the sustainability and profitability of pork production.

  
AND THAT’S A WRAP 
The 51st annual Banff Pork Seminar wound up with an address by Dutch journalist Vincent ter Beek, who defines himself as an agricultural immigrant, given that he joined the industry as a historian and journalist in search of a job. 
He now considers himself as one who stands on a bridge over the gap between urban consumers and rural producers. Addressing that gap, ter Beek said consumers demand more transparence from livestock producers.

“The logical question I have for visitors of the Banff Pork Seminar is this: Who is to blame for that gap between society and agriculture? And it is a rhetorical question as far as I’m concerned – there’s blame on both sides of the gap.” 
Getting to know the swine industry takes perseverance, he said, in part because there has been so much development since the 1950s. Modern farms are remote and meet all the right conditions for perfect production including decent ventilation, high-level biosecurity protocols and sophisticated feeding systems. So how does this look to urban outsiders? He calls it the Instagram test. 
Some farms in the Netherlands have set up view galleries complete with interpretive signs so people passing by can pop in for a look. 
“That is one step, but I think something else also needs to happen. Does the swine business want to show everything that is happening in the farm? Would (the producer) be able to share pictures of farrowing crates and get it explained in such a way that city people will understand and appreciate the fact that an animal cannot move for a month? And how about tail docking? Castration? 
“The Instagram test therefore is not hypothetical. For swine producers it holds the key to future production, because increasingly people will ask how their food was made,” said ter Beek. 
Zijlstra closed the conference with words of gratitude to all who played a role and an appeal among the delegates for new people to run for vacancies on the committee. 
He said the conference has two objectives. The first is to have a relevant program because the reason for its existence is to educate. The second is networking opportunities. 
“The heart and soul of our meeting in regular years are the pork producers. What they learned this week again about primary pork production was like any other industry that has a large amount of staff working in their facilities, staffing is a major industry any day in the industry and especially now with COVID. So I fully understand the reluctance of people that already are short staffed to bring staff to this meeting and potentially risk bringing COVID back home. 
“Regardless, I think that we still had a nice program . . . and I hope you picked up some nice things. That the next couple of months will be uncertain for a variety of reasons was one of the things that I got away with when Brett Stuart was speaking.” 
Banff Pork Seminar is a project of Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and the University of Alberta. Key personnel include the elected committee, program coordinators Ruurd Zijlstra and Michael Dyck and conference coordinator Ashley Steeple. 
Plans are now being laid out for the 2023 conference, scheduled for January 10-12. 
Recordings from the plenary and breakout sessions are available online for those who registered for the conference. Details of the presentations, breakout sessions and posters are published online in the proceedings, available online. Please visit  banffpork.ca and make your selection from the menu. Additional news and information from the conference, including the official Banff Pork Blog, can be found at  meristem.com or through the link on the BPS website. •