World Pork Expo

The dates are set for the 2016 World Pork Expo — June 8-10 — at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. World Pork Expo is brought to you by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and presents a wide range of activities, including the world’s largest pork-specific trade show, educational seminars, and swine shows and sales. The newest products, services and technologies for producing pork are on display in more than 310,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Last year, 23,085 attendees from 48 countries participated in this three-day exposition, including more than 1,100 international guests. Looking ahead, NPPC organizers expect a similar showing in 2016. Check out www.worldpork.org for the details and information.

Alberta Pork Regional Meetings

This year Alberta Pork will once again be hosting regional meetings in various locations throughout the province. Eash of these meetings will be held from 3 – 6 pm with speakers followed by a delicious pork dinner.

First of the four meetings will be held Tuesday May 24th in Vegreville at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites. Second Wednesday May 25th in Red Deer at the Raddison. Third Tuesday May 31st in Lethbridge at the Coast Lethbridge Hotel and Conference Centre. Forth Thursday June 2nd in Grande Prairie at the Pomeroy Hotel & Conference Centre.

Please RSVP to Loreen Riley at Alberta Pork by calling 1.877.247.PORK(7675) or email loreen.riley@albertapork.com. Any questions or concerns contact Darcy Fitzgerald, Executive Director, at 1.877.247.7675 or direct 780.491.3529 or email darcy.fitzgerald@albertapork.com.

Porkapalooza

Alberta Pork is happy to be the title sponsor for the 3rd instalment of Porkapalooza.

This year the festival weekend is expanding to encompass a concert series. What is Porkapalooza you might ask ?  Porkapalooza BBQ Festival is a FREE community event organized by Alberta Pork, Passion for Pork (the domestic marketing arm of Alberta & BC Pork) and our event team, Mison Consulting, that offers Edmontonians the art and culture of BBQ.

At its heart, it is a BBQ competition but encompasses all the components of a festival with local food trucks, beer gardens, a Kids Zone playground, food demonstration stage, and plenty of entertainment. Taking place June 17 - 19 at Clark Park and Stadium in Edmonton. This is a great way that Alberta Pork is promoting pork with the urban population. Check out www.porkapalooza.ca for complete details and information

Alberta Pork Congress

The dates for the 42nd annual Alberta Pork Congress are June 15 & 16, 2016 at Westerner Park in Red Deer. Online registration in now open at albertaporkcongress.com Trade show booths 77% sold out. Book yours today.

Swine & Cheese will take place on trade show floor following set up Tuesday June 14th 6 – 8 pm. Be sure to order your lunch, BBQ and banquet tickets today at the earlybird prices.

For details, information and to order your banquet and BBQ tickets contact Kate Cheney or Kimberly Nield at 403.244.7821 or email kate@conventionall.com or kimberly@conventionall.com

Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop

Planning has begun on the annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, which will be held in Red Deer, AB this fall. Date and location yet to be confirmed, stay tuned to the June-July edition of Prairie Hog Country for complete details.

SASK Pork Symposium

Mark your calendars for the annual Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium which will take place in Saskatoon November 15 & 16th. More details will be available in future issues.

Prairie Livestock Expo

The second annual Prairie Livestock Expo will be held Wednesday December 14th in Winnipeg, MB. Similar to 2014 the Expo will welcome all areas of the livestock industry, however hogs seems to continue to be the largest represented sector.

This one day show will be at the Victoria Inn and Conference Centre adjacent the airport. Exhibitor package information will be sent out in the months to come. For details and information contact Dallas Balance at 204.475.8585 or email dallas@goodwinballance.ca

Soleterra d’Italia: Sunterra’s New Brand for Italian-style Meats

Locally owned and operated for more than 40 years, Sunterra is known for its fresh and natural food products. It is not common for a company to operate from gate-to-plate, but with Sunterra Meats, Sunterra Farms and Sunterra Markets operating under the Sunterra brand, this family-run business is a true pork authority.

From its facilities in Trochu and Balzac, Sunterra Meats processes and produces fresh pork products for customers throughout Alberta, Japan, China, Mexico and the U.S. Recently, Sunterra identified an opportunity to supply these markets with a full line of sliced and packaged fermented dried and semi-dried meat products. Under a new brand, Soleterra d’Italia, Sunterra partnered with an Italian prosciutto and salami connoisseur, Simonini. Phase one of the project includes importing blocked meats from Simonini. With support from the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), Sunterra purchased new equipment to slice and package the meats in their Balzac location. The products will launch in Sunterra Markets in late February and other retailers shortly after. Phase two, set to begin in 2016 with product available in 2017, will include a partner-constructed large scale production plant near Calgary. Once the plant is complete, this facility will process Sunterra Farms pork to enhance the company’s capacity to make the value-added prosciutto and salami products. This plant is also expected to be the largest dry cured meat plant in Western Canada, marketing thousands of kilograms of finished product to markets in North America and Asia.

Innovative New E. Coli Solution for Nursery Pigs Now Available

Developed for animal use only, Surmax® 200 is a first-in-class antibiotic Recently Surmax® 200, a new swine product from Elanco Animal Health, represents a first-in-class, animal-use only antibiotic for reduction in the incidence and severity of diarrhea in the presence of pathogenic Escherichia coli in groups of weaned pigs. Surmax® 200 is an orthosomycin antibiotic, a new class of antibiotics now on the market for animal use only. Administered solely under the direction of a veterinary feed prescription, Surmax® 200 is a solution for pigs up to 14 weeks of age. Fed continuously for 21 days based on clinical assessment, Surmax® 200 is administered in feed to pigs at risk of developing, but not yet showing clinical signs of, diarrhea. Surmax® 200 features a zero-day withdrawal period. A 2011 efficacy trial compared diarrhea incidence rates* among newly weaned pigs who received Surmax® 200 (80 g/tonne) and a non-medicated control group. The trial found a 31.2% reduction1 (p<0.01) in diarrhea incidence rate in pigs that received Surmax® 200 compared to the non-medicated control group1. Surmax® 200 Important Safety Information Caution: As Surmax® 200 Premix is only indicated for use in weaned pigs, responsible antimicrobial use limits its use to pigs less than 14 weeks of age. The effectiveness of Surmax® 200 Premix has only been demonstrated when avilamycin-medicated feed was offered before the onset of diarrhea. Use of Surmax® 200 Premix for the treatment of established cases of clinical diarrhea in weanling pigs has not been demonstrated.

Merck Animal Health Introduces First Injectable Ileitis Vaccine

Provides 20-weeks Duration of lmmunity Merck Animal Heath is pleased to introduce PORCILIS™ ILEITIS, the first injectable vaccine that offers a 20-week duration of immunity (DOI) to aid in the control of ileitis caused by Lawsonia intracellularis, on the Canadian market. Ileitis can significantly impact the health and performance of finishing pigs, curbing average daily gain by 38 percent and feed efficiency by 27 percent. Given as a single, intramuscular vaccination to pigs as young as 3 weeks of age, PORCILIS ILEITIS provides substantially longer protection – 13 additional weeks – compared to the wateradministered vaccine on the market.2 PORCILIS ILEITIS aids in ileitis control, aids in reduction of colonization of L. intracellularis and aids in reduction of duration of fecal shedding.

Unique Import in Chile:

38 Topigs Norsvin Boars from Norway Topigs Norsvin distributor Alimundo recently received 38 breeding boars from Norway. This is a unique importation because it is the first time that genetics from Norway are entering the Chilean market. The boars, 30 Norsvin Landrace and 8 Norsvin Duroc, are the third import of Topigs Norsvin genetics to Chile in the second half of 2015. Earlier imports were Z-line breeding gilts, Talent and Tempo boars from Canada. The combination of Norsvin Landrace and Z-line results in highly productive and efficient sows that when inseminated with the Norsvin Duroc produce finishers with high gain, low feed conversion and high, top-quality carcass yield. This unique combination is new for the Chilean market. ‘’Chilean producers can directly benefit from top genetics from our nucleus farms in Canada and Norway,” says Peter van Kemenade, Director North and South America.

MS Schippers “Pig Farmers Strongly Committed to Animal Welfare”

Interest in visits to the research farm, the “Raamloop”, is very high, according to Mart Smolders, divisional manager for pigs at MS Shippers. And interest in the concept is increasing in leaps and bounds. That is not restricted to interest within the Netherlands. Farming entrepreneurs from almost all Western European countries are visiting Bladel to learn about the concept. While some famers have already built Hy-Care housing, including Rick Buckle (winner of the UK Pig Producer of the Year Award in 2015) and the Spanish Vall Companys Group (with 200,000 sows). Animal welfare Mart Smolders and Victor van Wagenberg (Hy-Care project leader) are noticing that many entrepreneurs now focus their reasoning on the animal welfare perspective. The generally prevailing view is that improved animal health not only increases welfare – it does not stand in the way of healthy returns either. Conversations often reveal that farmers find this type of housing and the research very appealing because the results are so clear. Visitors regularly comment on the exceptional condition of the pigs. Both Victor and Mart say that they have many conversations with pig farmers about the other results of the approach. Victor: “Although it is of little concern to us, pig farmers are very interested in the housing system’s contribution to keeping feed costs down.” First round, completed The first round of pigs already left the research farm at 86 days. The second collection date was at 101 days On average, there is a 10 kg difference between Hy-Care and the reference housing. Now we have already started a new round. We expect that the difference will increase, because now there is no question of the “new-housing effect” in the reference unit. By that, we mean the effect that arises when housing has stood empty for a period and the pathogen pressure reduces to less than the normal level at the start of a new round.

 Pork Production Sets Record

Pork production in the United States set a record for February this year – two billion pounds, which is three per cent more than last year. But this year had four Saturdays and an extra day for leap year. Beef production, at 1.89 billion pounds, was seven per cent more than the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.29 million head, up by five per cent from February 2015. The average live weight was up 17 pounds from the previous year, at 1,372 pounds. Hog slaughter totaled 9.43 million head, up by four per cent from February 2015. The average live weight was down by two pounds from the previous year, at 283 pounds. Veal production totaled 6.1 million pounds, three per cent less than last February. Calf slaughter totaled 36,500 head, down by one per cent from February 2015. The average live weight was down by six pounds from last year, at 287 pounds.

• — By Jim Romahn

Olymel Deal Gets Feds’ Approval

The federal Competition Bureau has granted approval for a deal struck two years ago between Olymel and ATRAHAN Transformation Inc. Both companies are Quebec-based hog slaughtering and processing businesses, ATRAHAN has about 350 employees and exports to about 50 countries. • — By Jim Romahn

Hog Industry Supports New Levy

The general manager of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board says there is support from producer groups across Canada for a national agency such as the one serving the beef industry. Hearings were held by the national Farm Products Council last week into proposal the hog industry has made to set up a national agency with a mandatory checkoff on all market hogs. The money would be used for research and market development. • — By Jim Romahn

Farmers want more workers

Farmers and meat packers both want the federal government to make it easier for them to hire temporary farm workers. Resolutions passed at the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture this week calling for an increase in the total allowed entry and to allow them to accumulate more than the maximum of 48 months. This comes in the context of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees flooding into Canada, plus promises that more refugees will be welcomed from other camps, such as Africans waiting for decades in one of the world’s worst camps in Kenya. “There are some jobs that we can’t get Canadians to do,” Norm Hall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said Wednesday. “Having enough employees to get the job done in a timely matter makes more money for agriculture.” The federal Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program already allows foreign workers to be hired in Canada for up to eight months each year in specific industries such as the tobacco, livestock, fruit & vegetable sectors. The program is open to workers from Mexico and some Caribbean countries. Hall’s group and other farm organizations such as the Union des Producteurs Agricoles want Ottawa to expand the program to include other commodities such as grain, oilseeds and maple syrup. Hall said there is a growing shortage of farm hands as older producers retire and younger people leave rural areas or seek other jobs. But farmers who remain on the land are hoping to expand production. “There are just not enough farm boys left,” Hall said. “It would mean getting the crop in on time, getting it sprayed in time and then getting it harvested on time.” Foreign workers hired under the program are limited to basic jobs such as running farm machinery, looking after animals, planting and harvesting. They can come back to Canada year after year until they reach the program’s cumulative limit of 48 months. • — By Jim Romahn

PED May Have Come From China

Speculation that Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus hitchhiked from China to the United States got a boost from research by Dr. Scott Dee of Pipestone Veterinary Services at Ottumwa, Iowa. Dee found that conventional soybean meal, organic soybean meal, lysine, Vitamin D, and choline chloride all created a PED-friendly environment, while in the other ingredients the virus died. Dee’s work was published Saturday in BMC Veterinary Research. “In the presence of certain feed ingredients, under conditions that simulate a trans-Pacific journey,” Dee said, “contaminated feed ingredients, if they’re the right ones, could have certainly supported virus survival throughout this entire 37 day trip. Brian McCluskey, executive director for science, technology and analysis services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Dee’s work supports the government’s findings on possible ways the virus could have entered the country, but that it has not yet convinced the agency of PED’s root cause. About seven million piglets have died in the United States since the virus arrived. The epidemic has waned this winter and may now be under reasonable control. It entered Ontario via plasma from dead pigs that was supposed to be safe to use as a feed ingredient. It is still showing up in some herds this winter, but Ontario has a strategy to eliminate the disease and it appears to be working. There have been 93 outbreaks in the province, far more than any other part of Canada. “It is evident from [Dee’s] research and some of ours that the PED virus can survive in feedstuffs and the containers that deliver the feedstuffs for the time it takes to transit from Asia to the U.S.,” McCluskey said in a statement. “This is still not conclusive evidence that PED virus arrived in the U.S. by one of these pathways.” Dee’s study also tested two treatments and found that each of them could kill the PED virus if applied to a contaminated ingredient. Dee said he hopes his findings will lead to more research on animal diseases that have not yet made the leap here from other continents, such as foot and mouth disease and African swine fever. • — By Jim Romahn

Livestock Exonerated From Antibiotic Concerns

Livestock are responsible for only a miniscule percentage of cases of antibiotic resistance in humans and the environment, according to a new study from Sweden. People account for almost all the antibiotic resistance found in a five-year study by Sweden’s National Veterinary Institute. They analyzed samples of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), a type of enzyme known to confer resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillin and cephalosporins. The samples were obtained from domestic and imported foods, farm animals, healthy volunteers, severely ill patients, the environment and sewage water. From these 5,300 samples, researchers identified three separate populations of ESBL: one in Swedish food and farm animals, one in imported foods and one in humans and the environment. Six per cent of isolates were ESBLa, which are attributed to farm animals, while the majority of isolates were ESBLm, which are found only in humans. The ESBL genes in the general community population, sewage water and the environment have an approximately 90 per cent similarity. The data also show that animals are associated with a human infection rate of 0.00022 per cent on a population basis, or 85 people in a population of 100,000. Based on these findings, the SVA, together with Sweden’s Public Health Agency and National Food Agency, concluded that food is a limited contributor to antibiotic-resistant E. coli infections in humans. In fact, the potential overlap between clinical human isolates and isolates from healthy farm animals was found to be extremely unlikely, according to SVARM 2014, a report responsible for measuring the consumption of antibiotics and occurrence of antibiotic resistance in Sweden. • — By Jim Romahn

Pork Quality Class

The Royal Winter Fair is currently talking place in Brandon MB at the Keystone Centre. Stay tuned to the next edition for list of complete winners. Carcasses will be judged on weight and quality by an independent expert. Again for 2016 – Prizes will be awarded to the top five (5) Carcasses. Prize Money will be paid out on a percentage basis as follows: 1st – 25%; 2nd – 20%; 3rd – 15%; 4th – 10%; 5th – 6% 50% of the prize money must be donated to a charity designated by the producer and the winning hog carcass will be donated to the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts for teaching purposes. The 2nd – 4th place winning hog carcasses will be donated to food banks.

Meyer Foresees Hog Crunch This Fall

Hog market analyst Steve Meyer foresees an industry crunch this fall that could drive prices below $60 a hundredweight and last six to nine weeks. Packers will be running their plants into overtime and Saturdays, putting a strain on equipment and staff, he predicts in an interview with Meatingplace Magazine. He says the lack of slaughter capacity will probably prompt some farmers to keep their hogs longer, adding weight that will further pressure pork prices down. Three plants are under construction, but won’t be ready until next year and 2018. Prestage Farms plans to build a 650,000-square-foot hog processing facility in Iowa to process 10,000 hogs per day and produce 600 million pounds of pork annually starting in mid-2018. Two other state-of-the-art plants are currently under construction in Coldwater, Mich., and Sioux City, Iowa, but they will not be operating until summer 2017. • — By Jim Romahn

AFAC Hosts Annual Conference

Breaking down silos and pushing the pace of progress through enhanced collaboration and engagement was a central focus as speakers, farmers and a cross section of industry stakeholders gathered in Olds, Alta., March 22-23 for the Livestock Care Conference, hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC). AFAC provides a coordinated approach for all areas of livestock production to work together to advance and promote responsible livestock care, says Dr. Angela Greter, AFAC Executive Director. “Working in a spirit of collaboration is what AFAC has always been about. This is what we will continue with our increasingly broad and diverse membership. At the same time, we have taken important steps forward with an updated organizational structure and renewed approaches for the future. Part of our role is to provide a hub for two-way communication and engagement both within and outside the industry, including with consumers. There has been a lot of progress in a number of areas in farm animal care. We are looking forward to building on this foundation.” Thinking in broader terms about the positive environment required for a high level of farm animal care is essential, says international speaker and thought leader Brenda Schoepp, who highlighted the key inter-relationship between human and animal welfare, including the critical yet sometimes overlooked role of farm employees. “Welfare is closely tied to stewardship and we need to make sure we are empowering the people involved so they are able to best care for the animals, through education, training and encouraging a positive and rewarding experience.” This supports competent decision makers who are trustworthy and exemplify high levels of morality, who are able to reliably and consistently deliver responsible animal care, says Schoepp. “If we are to become the most trusted food source in the world — and I believe that’s really the goal of Canada in agriculture — we need to ask ourselves are we willing to create a cultural shift that honors both the people and the animals that are entrusted to our care.” Morality is the “cultural DNA” that links across animals, farm workers and the general public. The dynamics between politics, policy, profit and people can both help and hinder farm animal care progress, says Dr. Jennifer Walker of Dean Foods. Navigating those dynamics to support mutual understanding and advancement through common interests is a key challenge for the livestock industry, but one that can and must be met. “Animal welfare is foundational to sustainability. It’s the core of everything we do in the livestock industry. It’s absolutely wonderful to be here today and see everyone here so passionate about making this progress. We need to keep this always as a top priority.” The sharp rise in public awareness and interest of animal welfare issues makes it imperative that agriculture is both responsible and responsive, says Dr. Alexandra Harlander of the University of Guelph, who provided an overview of hot topics in the poultry industry — covering everything from advances in housing systems to insights from animal behavior studies. “No matter what specific changes industry implements, there are always pros and cons. The keys are to keep animal welfare at the centre of our decision-making.” Marion Popkin of Alberta Rabbit Producers Association reinforced this point while providing insights on the unique challenges for niche meat industries. Common values resonate from the farms of Alberta all the way around the world, says fourth-generation young farmer Leona Dargis, who provided global insights based on her broad experience internationally as an inspirational speaker. “Change is constant and change is necessary. Whether on the farm or internationally, communication is so important to make those positive changes. We need to keep having the conversations and telling our stories. Let’s not be afraid to be transparent and be accountable for what we do. We are only going to keep learning and keep getting better.” •