Manitoba Pork AGM
Thursday April 11th is the 59th Manitoba Pork Annual General Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Fairmont in Winnipeg. Producers, delegates, observers, and media are welcome to attend.
Registration must be done in advance, watch your inboxes for upcoming details. •
Montana Livestock Expo
The sold out 4th annual Montana Livestock Expo will take place in Great Falls MT Wednesday April 17th.
For details contact Doug Cramer at 306.520.3553 or see the website
www.cramereventmanagement.com for more information •
Prairie Swine Centre Spring Producer Meetings
Prairie Swine Centre along with Zoetis and PIC are sharing the dates and locations for the upcoming 2024 spring meetings.
This years topics include:
“Insights into mycotoxins in swine diets”, Dan Columbus, Ph.D. – Prairie Swine Centre
“Seek and you shall find” …The value of post mortem, in pigs?” Jeff Bergermann, DVM. – Zoetis
“Advances in nutrition for pig health” Dan Columbus, Ph.D. – Prairie Swine Centre
“Moving forward with improved sow housing: why, what and how?” Jen-Yun Chou, Ph.D. – Prairie Swine Centre
“P1 development strategies for peak performance” Kendall Weger, B.Sc. – PIC
“Advancing swine welfare practices to empower your industry: what the Chair in Swine Welfare is doing for you” Martyna Lagoda, Ph.D. – Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Alberta meeting is Tuesday, April 30th – Strathmore, AB. at Travelodge Hotel, 1150 – 350 Ridge Road.
Saskatchewan meeting is Wednesday, May 1st – Swift Current, SK. at Coast Hotel, 905 North Service Rd. E.
Manitoba meeting is Friday, May 3rd – Niverville, MB. – Niverville Heritage Centre on 100 Heritage Trail.
Registration for all meetings opens at 9:30am program from 10am – 3pm, lunch is provided.
You must pre register for this meeting, please contact one of the following:
Donna.VanGorp@zoetis.com
Steffen.Klenk@genusplc.com or
Ken.Engele@usask.ca •
Alberta Pork Congress
The 50th annual Alberta Pork Congress will be held at Westerner Park in Red Deer June 12th & 13th.
In addition to the two day trade show Alberta Pork Congress is happy host the awards banquet dinner Wednesday June 12th and a special lunch celebration on Thursday June 13th.
As part of the awards banquet dinner all past presidents of the Alberta Pork Congress are invited to attend.
There will be memorabilia on site from previous installments of Alberta Pork Congress. A chance for some great door prizes too.
As of press time booths are 70% sold. The online registration is now open for booths, purchase Wednesday lunch and banquet tickets plus Thursdays lunch celebration in honour of 50th Alberta Pork Congress. Sponsorship opportunities are also listed online check out the website at
albertaporkcongress.com
If anyone is interested in receiving postcards or posters to promote the show please reach out to Kate.
For more details and information contact Kate Kelly, at 403.542.7906 or email her at kate@albertaporkcongress.com •
RDSTW
Initial plans are underway for Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, which will take place Wednesday October 9th .
More details will be available in the June edition. •
Alberta Livestock Expo
Keep October 16th and 17th open for the Alberta Livestock Expo in Lethbridge. Booth registration will start in April for previous exhibitors, watch your inbox. In May registration will open for all.
Check out albertalivestockexpo.com for more details, or contact Chris at 204.509.4941 or email
chris@albertalivestockexpo.com
Watch future editions for more information on Pork Quality Competition, session series, sponsorship opportunities and more. •
Saskatchewan Pork Symposium
If marking your calendars for all the events in 2024, another one to pencil in is Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium. The two day event is planned for November 5th & 6th. More details will be available in the months and issues to come. •
Alberta Pork AGM
Save the date, the Alberta Pork Annual General Meeting will take place Thursday November 28th. Details will be available once closer. •
Prairie Livestock Expo
Save the date, Prairie Livestock Expo will be held Wednesday December 11th at the Victoria Inn & Conference Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
New U.S. COOL Regs Announced
United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said new regulations on country of origin labelling for meats and poultry products are now in effect.
He made the announcement in a speech to the annual conference of the National Farmers Union.
A key part of the new regulation says ‘‘Product of USA’’ and ‘‘Made in the USA’’ may be displayed on labels of (U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service)-regulated products only if the product is derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.
FSIS is also proposing that claims other than the two authorized claims ‘‘Product of USA’’ and ‘‘Made in the USA’’ may be displayed on labels to indicate the U.S.- origin component of a product’s preparation and processing.
All U.S.-origin label claims that are not authorized claims are known as ‘‘qualified claims.’’
Qualified claims would need to include a description on the package of how the product compares to the regulatory criteria for the two authorized claims, ‘‘Product of USA’’ and ‘‘Made in the USA,’’ including all preparation and processing steps that occurred in the United States upon which the claim is made.
For example, ‘‘Sliced and packaged in the United States using imported pork’’ could be a U.S.-origin qualified claim.
FSIS is proposing that companies using a voluntary claim of U.S. origin on labels of FSIS-regulated products must, as with the use of all origin claims, maintain documentation to demonstrate that the product complies with criteria of the proposed regulatory requirements,” that part of the lengthy document says.
Canada and Mexico have defeated two previous attempts to introduce country-of-origin labelling for meats.
When those previous regulations were in place, meat packers who wanted to use meat from animals born, raised or slaughtered outside of the U.S. had to be kept separate in the food chain which resulted in discounted prices for imports.
Canada and Mexico successfully argued that this created a trade barrier that violated the trade agreement among the three countries.
While the trade barriers were in place, the Canadian pork and beef industries lost hundreds of millions of dollars and had to hire expensive lawyers and consultants. •
— By Jim Romahn
Canada Pork Gets Message Out Globally
Canada Pork attends many events every year to promoting the Canadian pork industry. It was established back in 1991 by teh Canadian Meat Council and Canadian Pork Council representing both the processers and producers.
Just some of their upcoming trade shows: two times in Shanghai, China; Bogota, Colombia; Manila, Philippines; and Paris, France. •
Pork Outlook is For Improvement
Justin Shepherd, senior economist with Farm Credit Canada, told a number of pork producer meetings recently that the outlook is for improvement by spring, but that’s coming from a position of losses for both hog producers and pork packers.
Hog producers can anticipate a return to profits by May and continued slow improvements as the year unfolds.
Part of that is because feed costs are coming down because corn prices are declining. But soybean meal costs are holding steady as soybean prices hold up because of strong demand for vegetable oils for bio-fuels, he said.
He spoke recently to zone meetings for Huron, Perth, Waterloo, Wellington, Grey/Bruce and Simcoe/York.
He said the Canadian economy is weak and likely to stay that way while the United States is on the rebound.
He expects the Bank of Canada will begin to ease back interest rates in the summer, but about three million Canadians whose mortgages will come up for renewal this year and next will still be facing substantial increases when their five-year deals expire.
That will curb consumer spending and have an impact on inflation.
On the other hand, the labour market remains tight and wages are increasing which usually results in greater spending and pressure on inflation.
He said the Bank of Canada will be keeping a close watch on wage rates and the United States monetary policy.
He warned that if Donald Trump wins election in November, he is likely o follow through on his promise to increase tariffs on everything. That will directly impact Canadian hog and pork prices.
He said Canadians have been buying more pork, not because they prefer it, but because beef is too expensive. That’s why the technical demand for pork is running lower than actual consumption. Both pork and chicken inflation rates were lower than the overall inflation rate for food last year.
He said the food price index will be increasing at a lower pace, but not to expect a decline.
While Canadian consumption of pork is good news, about 70 per cent is exported and a big customer, China, is producing so much of its own that it is in a sharp sow culling phase. It ramped up production capacity after African Swine Fever forced a sharp reduction in the national herd – some estimate as much as 50 per cent – and now has more production capacity than needed.
The United States remains Canada’s prime pork export market followed by Mexico which takes 12 per cent. Shepherd said the pork industry needs to seek more export markets and there’s potential to the west because of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
The Statistics Canada count of pigs shows a five per cent decrease in Quebec this January from a year ago, Ontario holding steady and Manitoba increasing. •
— By Jim Romahn
SIP Receives Funding
Government of Canada and industry investments in swine research will help drive competitiveness and sustainable growth in the Canadian pork sector
Recently, Swine Innovation Porc (SIP) welcomed the official launch of Swine Cluster 4. The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue, announced the Government of Canada’s investment of over $10.6 million in Swine Cluster 4 at the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre.
Over the next five years, Swine Cluster 4 will invest up to $20.1 million in combined industry-government funding, focused on fostering continued sustainability, resiliency, and growth in the Canadian pork sector.
The impacts of past Swine Cluster research investments are significant for our sector. SIP is proud of the outcomes resulting from the research undertaken through three successful Cluster programs, which have advanced science in the pork sector since 2010.
Likewise, the investment announced yesterday will have a positive impact on the bottom line of producers and processors across Canada by helping to sustain the sector’s long-term productivity and global competitiveness. •
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council Reports Massive Upcoming
Job Vacancies
At a time when Canadian agriculture continues to struggle with a chronic worker shortage, new data from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) has found that by the year 2030, there will be more than 100,000 vacant jobs to fill in the industry.
This labour market supply and demand forecast is a study conducted by The Conference Board of Canada, on behalf of CAHRC. CAHRC found a 15 per cent increase in job vacancies compared to the number of jobs in 2022 that could not be filled by Canadians and residents of Canada. The report, titled Sowing Seeds of Change, states this is due in part to Canada’s aging population as more than 85,300 people – 30 per cent of the workforce – are expected to retire over the same period. The labour market information report says temporary foreign workers (TFW) will play an important role in narrowing the domestic labour gap. However, even with a projected increase in TFW employment by 2030, an estimated 20 per cent or 22,200 positions will remain vacant.
“Labour shortages are one of the most serious issues in agriculture because they have a direct impact on local food security, economic development and the sustainability of the sector,” says Jennifer Wright, executive director of CAHRC. “CAHRC’s labour market data offers the necessary insight to inform how we will tackle current and future challenges so our industry and its workforce can reach their full potential.”
The report, which also offers an in-depth analysis by provinces and subsectors, makes a suite of recommendations to attract and retain more agriculture workers. This includes public education to improve perceptions of agriculture, developing and updating HR management practices, and adopting new technology and automation.
The labour market forecast is a key data source that informs CAHRC’s National Workforce Strategic Plan (NWSP). The NWSP exists as a national framework to address labour shortages and skill gaps throughout the sector. To date, more than 100 stakeholders, including primary producers, food and beverage manufacturers, educational institutions, producer groups, industry associations, and government officials, have participated in the development of this strategic plan. •
Animal Health Canada Receives Funding
Thanks to over $1.5 million of federal government funding, Animal Health Canada (AHC) will continue its collaborative work to enhance national preparedness for foreign animal disease outbreaks, especially for African swine fever (ASF) and foot and mouth disease (FMD).
AHC has been leading coordinated actions to prevent and control ASF in Canada since 2019 through working groups comprised of federal, provincial, and territorial governments and pig industry representatives. This model of collaboration will be extended into how to mitigate and handle a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Canada.
“Animal diseases are an ongoing threat to Canada’s livestock producers and prevention and preparedness initiatives from all orders of government and industry are vitally important,” stated the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Animal Health Canada’s coordination role with partners and stakeholders has been key to Canada’s animal disease prevention, and to ensuring our livestock sector is ready in the event of an outbreak. “
The $999,990 from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s African Swine Fever Industry Preparedness Program will support the continued ASF preparedness planning, such as the prevention and control of African swine fever through wild pigs, indigenous engagement, and communication plans.
The $697,950 from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Federal Assistance Program will support the production of a framework for an integrated emergency response plan for FMD, guidance and resources for FMD vaccine, and the testing of emergency response plans for both African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease through exercises and drills.
“We know that emergency preparedness never stops,” says Erica Charlton, AHC’s Emergency Management Division Director. “Thanks to contributions from our federal government partners, we will continue leading these collaborative networks to support the prevention and control of a foreign animal diseases outbreak.” •
CMC, COMECARNE & Meat Institute
Sign Joint Statement of Coordination
To deepen meat industry coordination and government collaboration in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the Canadian Meat Council (CMC), Consejo Mexicano de la Carne (COMECARNE), and the Meat Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that formalizes the three associations’ ongoing work to improve trade, reduce regulatory barriers and enhance information exchange within North America. The organizations also finalized a Joint Statement of Coordination that emphasizes their collective commitment to addressing foreign animal diseases, sustainability and non-tariff trade barriers
The MOU and Joint Statement were shared during COMECARNE’s Annual Convention in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. CMC, COMECARNE and the Meat Institute convened a trilateral meeting during the Convention, during which they discussed ways to begin taking action on the areas agreed to in the Joint Statement of Coordination. The information in the documents was also sent to government officials handling agriculture and trade in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and all three organizations intend to promote greater public-private collaboration moving forward.
The three organizations said in the document, “Because of the interconnected, complementary nature of the North American meat industry, and the attendant economic interdependence it has forged, each of our organizations commits, with renewed vigor, to deepening our already robust partnership on the foregoing issues, and on other concerns not reflected in this document. More frequent, formal exchanges among our organizations and between industry and government will benefit the communities and workers we serve, will augment regional and global food security, and will mitigate regulatory and legal barriers that undermine our industries’ integration. Our collective advocacy for science- and risk-based trade and our joint efforts to align sustainability messaging and actions will secure the North American meat industry’s position as the global leader in innovative, efficient, trade-facilitative practices and standards. Moreover, our commitment to producing the safest, most affordable, most abundant meat supply globally will underpin every collaborative endeavor we undertake.”
The groups commit to deepening coordination with the governments in three key areas by: Foreign Animal Disease, specifically African Swine Fever (ASF); Sustainability (social, economic, and environmental); Technical or other barriers to trade. •
Merck Animal Health Awards $50,000 in Scholarships to Future Swine Practitioners
Student scholarship program inspires students to further their veterinary education
Scholarships totaling $50,000 were awarded to 10 veterinary students for 2024. The recipients were announced at the 55th AASV Annual Meeting, held in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 24-27.
One recipient will be attending Western College of Veterinary Medicine at teh University of Saskatchewan. •
Vilsack Says Prop 12 Creates Chaos
There will be chaos in the North American meat market if the federal government fails to intervene on California’s Prop 12 animal welfare law, U.S.. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told a Congressional hearing Wednesday.
California’s voters approved the standards on housing space for animals in 2018 and the United States Supreme Court declined last year to throw it out.
The pork industry has said the law burdens pork producers and would not improve animal welfare. It has called on Congress to repeal Prop 12 through federal action.
“If we don’t take this issue seriously, we’re going to have chaos in the marketplace,” Vilsack said.
“When each state has the ability to define for itself and its consumers exactly what farming techniques or practices are appropriate, it does create the possibility of 50 different sets of rules and regulations,” he said.
Prop 12 was fully implemented as of Jan. 1, 2024.
It has an impact on Canadian hog and pork producers because any buyer who wants to market into California must demonstrate compliance with Prop. 12 standards. •
— By Jim Romahn
Olymel Fortunes Have Reversed
Sollio co-operative, owner of Olymel and a number of other major agriculture businesses, reports that drastic cut-backs at Olymel turned its financials around from a $446.1 million loss last year to a surplus of $138.3 million this year.
Last year Olymel closed plants at Vallee-Junction, Sainte-Hyacinthe and Princeville and shut down some hog farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Quebec also implemented a sharp reduction in hog production.
Sales were helped by exports to China from its operations in Western Canada, the company said. •
— By Jim Romahn
MacAulay Powerless on Advance Loans
Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay told the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture he’s powerless on restoring the interest-free portion of advance payments to $350,000.
It has been cut to $100,000, but the loan limit remains at $1 million.
When he was asked about restoring the interest-free portion, MacAulay answered “Perhaps the government can. I can’t.”
It was delegate Ethan Wallace who put MacAulay on the spot.
MacAulay did say he will push for restoring the benefit every chance he gets.
It seems it is the Finance Department that decides. •
— By Jim Romahn
U.S. Might Impose a Carbon Tax on Canadian Goods
The United States is talking with trade partners about enacting a carbon border tax, reporters in Washington say.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have proposed carbon border tax schemes to ensure fair competition for U.S. producers, focusing on issues such as taxing both domestic and foreign products and harmonizing carbon accounting methods.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and House of Representatives Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Washington State, have put forward the Clean Competition Act which compares the carbon intensity of imports with U.S. standards.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, has drafted a Foreign Pollution Fee to apply to imports with higher carbon intensity compared to domestic counterparts.
U.S. fertilizer producers, for example, support the proposals because they provide policy certainty for investments in decarbonization.
One of the big challenges is striking a balance between policy comprehensiveness and administrative feasibility.
The adoption of carbon accounting rules and mutual recognition across industries and trade partners globally is also important.
Carbon-reduction measures raise concerns about costs, which is Conservative Pierre Polievre’s issue with Canada’s carbon tax, but those who favour carbon reduction measures argue they provide long-term benefits by incentivizing greener production and making products more sustainable and valuable in global markets. •
— By Jim Romahn
Farm Profit Outlook Declines
A survey of 70 agricultural economists revealed consensus that incomes will dive to $117 billion this year from about $124 billion last year.
Their outlook is far more pessimistic than the United States Department of Agriculture’s figure of $121,7 billion.
The monthly monitor of the agriculture economists indicates they expect operating costs to stay high because of high interest rates.
The February monthly monitor shows more than 40 per cent expect interest rates to fall no more than one per cent this year, and 44 per cent are becoming more pessimistic about any interest rate cuts in 2024.
“It looks like corn prices will be below production costs for many producers. We have not had that for a long time, especially since the ethanol boom started almost 20 years ago. The struggles this time will be for corn farmers. Producers of other crops like cotton, wheat and rice have had difficult years,” said one economist.
The ripple effect of the sudden downturn, according to other economists, could be a slowdown in new equipment sales and a correction in land values.
“A slowdown in new equipment sales, slow upward creep in loan defaults, some leveling off of growth in land values,” said one economist.
“Moderation of land value gains on the one hand, and deteriorating financial conditions for farmers involved in U.S. wheat enterprises,” said another economist.
“Producers without significant cash reserves will start to get squeezed. I would expect rental rates to slow down or even fall,” said another. •
— By Jim Romahn
MPCC welcomes Changes to Advance Payments Program
Manitoba Pork Credit Corporation welcomed the recent announcement by Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay, increasing the interest-free limit of the Advanced Payments Program from $100,000 to $250,000, at a time when producers are coming out of an extended period of tight margins.
The Advance Payments Program is a vehicle that provides producers across commodities with access to low-cost advances of up to $1 million, based on the value of their product. This announcement allows for the first $250,000 to be interest free, which will help hog farmers with cash flow and savings on interest they would have otherwise paid. •
