There is potential for thousands of people to attend the 50th-annual Banff Pork Seminar – virtually.  
Plans for a bang-up celebration during the week of January 6, 2021 slid off the road in July as realities of dealing with a pandemic forced organizers to step back and reload. In a style that is true to the tenacity of Alberta’s pork industry, the committee landed on its feet with a spanking new plan.  
On July 23, conference co-ordinator Ashley Steeple announced that the 2021 Banff Pork Seminar will be held online rather than in person, and that the program would be reduced to two days rather than three.  
The new program, now posted on the BPS website, runs on Tuesday, Jan. 5 and Thursday, Jan. 7. Registration opens in October and there will be no fee, with the costs covered by event sponsors, Steeple said in a recent interview with Prairie Hog Country. Instructions for connecting with the conference will be included in the registration package.  
Costs that would normally have been shared with sponsors and exhibitors, including hotel fees, travel and staffing, have been sharply curtailed or eliminated altogether. Because of that, there will be no charge for delegates who wish to attend part or all of the conference, and they will have the ability to organize their workday around the conference hours, she said.  
Swine consultant Marvin Salomons, who first attended BPS in 1974 as one of the late Frank Aherne’s graduate students, said he can see no reason why the 50th-annual seminar should not attract thousands of people from all over the world – a far cry from the day when delegates, speakers and organizers could gather in one room. The biggest technical issue of the day involved concerns about the lightbulb in the slide projector, said Salomons. At one point, the light bulb had failed, so speakers held their slides up to the overhead projector to share them with the audience.  
The original edition, held at Olds College in 1972, was organized by a group of swine breeders seeking ways to improve their genetics, said Salomons.  

In his presentation to the 40th-annual BPS, retired researcher Howard Fredeen – co-developer with John Stothart of the Lacombe pig – described the state of the industry at the time of that first seminar:  
No one spoke for the commercial hog producer; the pure breed associations and packers ruled the day  
Crossbreeding was derided as mongrelisation – and forbidding by law!  
The PEI hog, known in the West as the “gutless wonder,” was the peak of genetic perfection 
The carcass was defined by the “Wilshire side”  
Atrophic rhinitis was the newest (and yet to be named) affliction of hogs  
Meat meal was the primary product recommended as a protein supplement in pig diets  
Milt Bell and John Bowland were pioneering research with rape meal – Canola didn’t exist!  
Four firms dominated Canada’s hog industry – Canada Packers, Swift Canadian, Burns and Gainers.  
BPS grew in leaps and bounds, hitting a plateau at times, and then jumping to the next level as its reputation and acceptance grew across the continent and around the world, said Salomons. It is not unusual now to see delegates from other continents attending the conference, he said.  
“We got in really top notch, international speakers. I think that’s what really helped it become an internationally recognized conference. We piggybacked . . . on the Al Leman and Gary Dial swine conferences in the US.”  
Leman and Dial both spoke at BPS as well, attracting delegates from the United States and Australia.  
“I think we’re going to see a lot more international people register, in my opinion,” said Salomons.  
“They don’t have to fly; they save a lot of costs. They can sign in for a couple of mornings. If you’re sitting in Germany, there is no reason you couldn’t work for the day and watch the conference in the evening.”  
Steeple said the conference will be recorded, with breakout sessions available for view afterward by those who were unable to attend the live meeting. The biggest difference there will be that they will not be able to take part in the question-and-answer sessions.  

Whether the plenary sessions can be recorded and offered later is still under discussion because there are issues of proprietary rights and copyright on their presentations, she said.  
The conference format will include opportunities for networking among delegates and between sponsors and delegates, said Steeple.  
Most speakers have now been confirmed and are listed on the website.  
Speaker lineup:  
Plenary Sessions  
Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University, will provide an industry overview including food policy, consumer trends and the impacts of COVID-19.  
Joseph Kerns, president of Kerns and Associations, will discuss future directions for the swine industry  
Breakout Sessions:  
Scott Dee, Pipestone Veterinary Services, on feed biosecurity  
Chantal Farmer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, on the role of nutrition in mammary development  
Hyatt Frobose, JYGA Technologies, on precision feeding  
Volker Gerdts, VIDO-InterVac on pandemic preparation  
Andrea Jones-Bitton, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, on farmers’ mental health in Canada  
Marie-Pierre Létourneau-Montminy, Laval University, on sustainable animal protein  
Celebrations that had been planned for the 50th edition of BPS have been postponed, although there will be some virtual celebration during the 2021 conference, said Steeple. Please check out the new logo, designed to go with this major milestone.  
As always, Terry Hockaday and his team at Meristem Land & Science will be on the job, providing updates and insight for delegates and media.  
Please call 780.492.3651,  or visit  for updates. •
— By Brenda Kossowan