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5 02, 2025

Finding the Right Fit: Navigating Group Sow Housing Choices

Mark Fynn

The Canadian hog industry’s Code of Practice requires all farms to transition to group sow housing by 2029, with steady progress already being made toward this objective.Mark Fynn, director of Quality Assurance and Animal Care at Manitoba Pork, shared insights during the recent Prairie Livestock Expo seminar section. Speaking on a topic he

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5 02, 2025

The Pork Quality Competition:Celebrating Excellence in Pork Production

Jason Care inCarcass Cooler at PLE

The popular Pork Quality Competition returned to this year’s Prairie Livestock Expo in mid-December in Winnipeg, MB, with record participation – 46 carcasses from 23 entrants across Manitoba.The Pork Quality Competition is a premier event that celebrates excellence in pork production, recognizing the “Best of the Best” in the

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5 02, 2025

Exploring Affordable Solutions for Loose Housing at Prairie Livestock Expo

Rick Bergmann

Rick Bergmann, AGvocate, past chair of the Canadian Pork Council, vice-chair of the Manitoba Pork Council, and president of Buckingham Ag in Steinbach, MB, highlighted innovative solutions for producers transitioning to loose housing.“Canadian producers have to find a way to go to loose housing,” Bergmann explained at Prairie Livestock Expo. While electronic sow

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5 02, 2025

Raising the Bar: Precision Pork Hits the Mark at Prairie Livestock Expo, Plus Feeding the Hungry

Top place honours a repeat of 2022 to Starlite Colony.

The popular Pork Quality Competition returned to this year’s Prairie Livestock Expo in mid-December in Winnipeg, MB, with record participation—46 carcasses from 23 entrants across Manitoba. The event combines friendly competition with meaningful support for causes like Siloam Mission, Harvest Manitoba, and other charities backed

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5 02, 2025

Prairie Swine Centre Continues to Prepare Hog Farmers for the Pig Code Updates

Dr. Jen Yun Chou

The Prairie Swine Centre is prioritizing more research to help Canadian pork producers adapt to upcoming changes to the Pig Code of Practice. Dr. Jen-Yun Chou, appointed Research Scientist in Ethology at the centre in March 2024, is building on the foundational work of Drs. Yolande Seddon, Jenifer Brown, and Harold

5 02, 2025

Germany Reports First Case of Foot and Mouth Disease in Over 40 Years

The National Hog Farmer recently broke the news that Germany has confirmed its first Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in over four decades, detected in a herd of water buffalo. Although pigs are not currently affected, FMD is a highly contagious disease that spreads rapidly among cloven-hoofed animals, often leading to widespread culling. The

5 02, 2025

Manitoba Pork Urges Action on Trade Access Challenges

Manitoba Pork’s General Manager, Cam Dahl, called on federal and provincial governments to collaborate with the pork sector to develop a strategy addressing critical trade access issues as the industry looks ahead to 2025.For Manitoba’s hog industry, 2024 marked a significant improvement over the preceding years. More substantial prices for hogs, notable gains in

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5 02, 2025

Revolutionizing Barn Hygiene: The Robotic Solution to a Gruelling Task

Paul de Rond, with washer

Washing pig barns is one of barn workers’ most demanding and strenuous jobs. From scrubbing pens and stalls to cleaning walls and floors, this essential task is physically exhausting and critical for maintaining bio-security and keeping diseases out. Despite its importance in ensuring animal health and welfare, the repetitive and

5 02, 2025

Broad stakeholder input key as pork sector prepares for Pig Code of Practice update

The Canadian hog industry Code of Practice requires all producers to convert all farms to group sow housing by 2029, and progress is being steadily made toward this goal.Canadian Pork Council executive director Stephen Heckbert said as the sector prepares, the main priority is long-term economic viability and the best way to ensure no

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5 02, 2025

Five More Years for the NSERC Industrial Chair in Swine Welfare

(L-R)Kathleen Long, Maple Leaf Foods; Karolina Steinerova, Sask Pork & also a PhD student in the NSERC IRC research Chair program, Yvan Fréchette, Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec; Javier Bahamon, Alberta Pork; Yolande Seddon, Chair, WCVM; Blaine Tully, PremierSHP, member of Swine Veterinary Partners; Gillian Muir, Dean, WCVM; Grant Melynchuck, Manitoba Pork; René