Alberta Pork Industry Loses a Legend and Friend

Doug Maschmeyer passed away at the age of 88 years young in January. I will always fondly remember the day I spent with Gerald and Doug at Hillview Acres sharing stories of the “old” days as Doug would say, a few years ago. One of my favourite stories was when a guy came to pick up a boar he had purchased in a cab – he even had a picture, (not really clear but awesome). Doug was instrumental in promoting both Alberta and Canadian pork world wide. During his time with Canadian Swine Breeders plus others, he participated in numerous trips. In addition hosting delegations at his farm for foreign visitors, some even bought stock while visiting. Doug and Gerald retired from producing purebreds in 2012. •

CPI Continues to Promote Canadian Pork World Wide

Canadian Pork International was established in 1991, Canada Pork International is the export promotion agency of the Canadian pork industry. It is a joint initiative of the Canadian Meat Council, representing the pork packers and trading companies, and of the Canadian Pork Council, which is the national hog producer organization. The Canadian pork industry is committed to customer satisfaction and a desire to diversify and expand export markets through Canada Pork International which has been specifically established to:

• provide foreign customers with information on Canadian pork products and on the Canadian pork industry;

• work with the Canadian Government and our trading partners to resolve specific foreign market access issues impacting on Canadian pork exports;

• develop, coordinate and implement the generic international promotional efforts of the Canadian pork industry; and

• keep the Canadian industry appraised of changes taking place in export markets.

Accordingly, the activities of Canada Pork International are primarily focused on organizing promotional activities in our priority markets, developing promotional material, investigating and reporting on export market opportunities and finally, but not least, on informing our foreign customers on the availability of Canadian pork products and on potential suppliers. Represented by a strong board CPI works hard at getting the news out that Canadian Pork is a superior product. •

Canada-West Swine Health Intelligence Network Welcomes Dr. Jette Christensen

The Chair of the Canada-West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN) and Executive Director of Alberta Pork, Darcy Fitzgerald, is pleased to announce that Dr. Jette Christensen, DVM, PhD, has accepted the position of manager for the organization, taking over the helm from Dr. Chris Byra, who is retiring at the end of April.

On behalf of the CWSHIN board and the western Canadian hog sector, Fitzgerald expressed his gratitude to Dr. Byra for his pioneering role in launching CWSHIN. “Dr. Byra has been key in helping CWSHIN make significant progress toward our goals for swine health and disease surveillance in Western Canada,” Fitzgerald said. “We thank him for his commitment and contribution, and wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Dr. Christensen is a veterinary epidemiologist with more than 30 years’ experience in all phases of national animal health monitoring, surveillance and disease control programs in Denmark and Canada. She brings with her extensive skills in swine practice and epidemiological surveillance, along with a thorough understanding of the role of animal health in international trade. “I look forward to continuing Dr. Byra’s extensive work at CWSHIN, and providing veterinarians and hog farmers with readily useful and valid information on the health of their swine herds,” said Dr. Christensen.

Dr. Glen Duizer, Animal Health Surveillance Veterinarian with Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Office, noted that surveillance is all about communications. “CWSHIN’s team approach to swine health and disease surveillance in Western Canada, drawing together local and regional information and flowing it into the larger national framework, is excellent,” he said. “It was a pleasure working with Dr. Byra and we look forward to continued collaboration with Dr. Christensen.” •