Most, if not all participants at this year’s annual meeting of Manitoba Pork in Winnipeg, MB April 6, like felt it was a novelty to attend a public farm meeting in person in more than two years.  
As part of its 57th, AGM Manitoba Pork presented pork industry awards to Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) in the Innovation category and the founders of HyLife Ltd. in the Industry Builder category.  
 MPC recognized Don Janzen, Denis Vielfaure, and Claude Vielfaure as Industry Builders as the founders of HyLife Ltd. In 1994, the three Vielfaure brothers, Paul, Denis, and Claude partnered with Don Janzen to form Vielfaure-Janzen and build Tritek Sow, a 2,000-head barn. In 1997, the company converted the barn to house 6,000 head, the largest in Canada.  
Vielfaure-Janzen added many more barns and in 2003 combined all barns under the name Hytek. In 2005, Hytek became HyLife. HyLife’s reach spread across the province and around the world. In 2008, HyLife purchased a plant in Neepawa that staffed 350 people, processing 1,300 hogs a day. HyLife has grown to over 4500 employees across multiple countries, processing over 14,000 hogs a day. 
In 2019 HyLife sold half of its shares worth close to half a billion dollars to a company in Thailand. Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) operates in 17 countries and exports products worldwide. 
At that time, company president Claude Vielfaure said the company had looked to expand its business in Canada, and it made sense strategically to partner with them. 
Claude called it an excellent opportunity to get a strong shareholder and continue the booming growth in the last few years.  
Manitoba Pork and its producers donated $10,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support the Ukraine humanitarian crisis appeal. Chair Rick Préjet said the Canadian Red Cross is actively responding to humanitarian needs in Ukraine through immediate and ongoing relief efforts. 
Red Cross teams are on the ground in Ukraine offering support, including food, water, clothing, hygiene kits, first aid training, medical supplies, and around-the-clock physical and mental health care. 
The Canadian Red Cross has launched the Ukraine humanitarian crisis appeal to respond to those affected by the crisis. Canadians can donate online at redcross.ca or text UKRAINE to 20222 to donate $10. 
Manitoba Pork Council also launched its 2022 producer survey to gain vital feedback from producers across Manitoba.  
“This survey provides MPC with a snapshot of the industry’s current state to identify areas in which we can better serve producers.” 
Registered MPC producers need to fill out the survey for each of the premises’ land locations possessing a Provincial Premises Id #) on which they raise pigs.  
To take this survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPCPremises . This survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. •

— By Harry Siemens