Greetings on a bright and sunny afternoon, on the day I am typing this.

We have for sure had unique weather this spring and are reminded how we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. All you have to do is think of the over 85,000 that had to flee their homes, some with almost no notice at all, from Fort McMurray. The rain that so many were praying for has started to come, while the fire still burns out of control. It has shifted and residents get to return starting this week. Many have their homes with only smoke damage to go back to while others have nothing. It is times like these which encourages us to be grateful for how blessed we are.

So many producers and fellow industry people are scratching their heads with the decision of CFIA on May 2, ending the protocol of allowing swine transports returning from U.S. farms to be washed and disinfected in Canada, now requiring disinfection and cleaning to be done in the U.S. With many of the washes in the U.S. using recycled water, the risk of carrying disease increases tenfold. So now the transports are getting washed twice, once south of the 49th and once north at double the time and double the cost. It is even scarier with the recent case of PEDv in Manitoba, although there is no evidence (as of press time) that it came from a transport. See extensive coverage in this issue. I

n a couple weeks I will be in my usual corner at Alberta Pork Congress so be sure to stop by and say Hi. Arlene, Brenda and I will be on site. With being on the board of directors for APC I was lucky enough to participate in the videos or should I say the filming one of the videos. It is fun to see how the raw interview turns into the smooth finished product. A huge thank you to Duane from Red Deer who did a terrific job. As in past years the awards will be handed out during the banquet on Wednesday night, along with the Olymel Reach For the Top Awards.

At the recent Manitoba Pork AGM two awards were presented. The recip- ients were Steve’s Livestock Transport and Scott Dick of Agra-Gold Consulting. Congratulations!

The annual photo contest is here so start grabbing your cameras or cell phones. Remember to only send images that share a positive reflection of our industry. Winners will be announced in the August-September edition, and like in previous years we will keep all entries for a chance to be included in the 2017 Prairie Hog Country Calendar. You can email them to (please ensure high resolution) hogcountry@shaw.ca or mail them to Box 5536 Leduc AB T9E 2A1.

Thanks to all those who took the time to fill out our readership survey, although we have not yet tabulated all the results many positive comments are noted. The complete results will be published in the August-September issue. I will have the binder with me at Alberta Pork Congress with all the copies, if anybody wants to look through them. We will stay with our roots exclusively serving the Western Canadian Hog producers. As I have said many times your opinion does count and helps Prairie Hog Country continue to serve you the best we can.

Organizers of the Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop are finalizing the topics which will be covered at the one day seminar. Mark down Wednesday, October 19th on your calendars.

As always I am only a phone call or email away. Prairie Hog Country, Box 5536, Leduc, Alberta T9E 2A1, 780.986.0962, fax 780.980.9640 or email: hogcountry@shaw.ca

Talk to you in August.