Alberta Livestock Expo
The date the 2nd annual Alberta Livestock Expo will take place in Lethbridge at Exhibition Park October 10th & 11th.
This year the trade show has expanded to two days. In addition on Wednesday October 10th there will be a Beef Rib BBQ Competition. Then on Thursday October 11th a Hog Carcass Competition.
Booths are sold out. Full details are available on the website albertalivestockexpo.com or by contacting Lisa Doyle Exhibition Manager at 403.305.1563 or at lisa@vibrabteventmanagement.ca •
Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
The annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop will be held in Red Deer Wednesday October 24th at a NEW location in the Parkland Pavillion at Westerner Park.
Plans are well underway for speakers and agenda. A few highlights include: Risk Management & Contract Forwarding, Loose Sow Housing – Pro’s & Cons, Farm Safety, Understanding Boars and Semen Quality, Farrowing Management, Water Line Cleaners and Audit Results just to name a few.
Registration is now open along with complete agenda details at:
www.albertapork.com/red-deer-swine-technology-workshop/
Prices remain $90/ person or $400 for 5 people. I
f you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact Sara Parton at 780.491.3525 or sara.parton@albertapork.com . •
Alberta Pork Congress AGM
The Alberta Pork Congress Annual General Meeting will be held in conjunction with Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, as a meeting prior to start of Swine Tech.
As of press time final details are yet to be confirmed. However we know will be Wednesday October 24th at Western Park in the Parkland Pavillion. This will be the first opportunity to book your booth for the 2019 Alberta Pork Congress. Watch your inbox for more information. •
Aherne Awards
Do you know of an innovator who should be recognized? Someone who has developed an original solution to answer a pork production challenge? Or found a creative use of a known technology?
The Banff Pork Seminar is proud to offer a chance for you to “strut your stuff” as a technology innovator and show the rest of us how to put it into practice!
The Dr. FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production recognizes innovators involved in the pork industry who are making a difference by applying new technologies or management techniques.
Innovators can win valuable prizes and free registration to the 2019 Banff Pork Seminar, January 8-10; you’ll be recognized by your peers and the pork industry and have a chance to present your solution at the 2018 Banff Pork Seminar.
Please nominate yourself, or apply on behalf of an innovator that deserves to be recognized. Help us to find these innovators and encourage them to apply for the Dr. FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production.
Specifically, we are looking for innovators who are capable of taking a new research concept, a technology, or even a management concept and apply it successfully in the production of pork. Innovations may be related to, but are not limited to, one of the following areas: Productivity, Profitability, Working Conditions, Animal Well Being, Reduced Environmental Impact, Pork Quality and Safety.
Anyone who has developed a solution to a pork production challenge may enter. Innovations must be relevant to North American pork production but do not necessarily have to be currently in use in Canada at the time of application.
Application and more information will be available online at www.banffpork.ca. Applications must be received by October 31, 2018. Apply today!
Please contact Conference Coordinator Ashely Steele at pork@ualberta.ca with questions. •
Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium
The annual Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium will take place November 14 & 15 at the Saskatoon Inn.
The Saskatoon Inn & Conference Centre, is offering a reduced conference rate. The room block is now if effect when reserving mention the Symposium to receive the reduced rate 306.242.1440.
For additional information on Symposium contact the Symposium Co ordinator at 306.343.3506 or email info@saskpork.com.
Full program registration ad sponsorship will be available is available at www.saskpork.com•
Alberta Pork AGM
The Alberta Pork Annual General Meeting will take place in Calgary at the Calgary Airport – Marriott In-Terminal Hotel, 2008 Airport Rd NE on Tuesday November 20. Watch your inbox for complete details including agenda and times and RSVP details. •
Prairie Livestock Expo
Mark your calendars for Prairie Livestock Expo, which will be held at the Victoria Inn and Conference Centre Wednesday December 12th in Winnipeg 9am – 6pm. The one day show features the largest pork quality competition along with New & Evolving Technologies presentations. Free admission, free parking.
Online registration is now open at prairielivestockexpo.ca.
A block of rooms are available onsite at the Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre located adjacent to the James Armstrong Richardson Airport in Winnipeg. For reservations call 204.786.4801 mention group # 823267 for special rate.
For information on and about the show contact Dallas Balance from GoodwinBallance Communications at 204.475.8585 or email info@prairielivestockexpo.ca •
Banff Pork Seminar
Banff Pork Seminar will take place at the Banff Springs Hotel January 8 – 10th , 2019.
The committee is already working hard on finalizing the speakers for the next installment at the Castle in the Rockies. Some of the featured breakout sessions will be: Meat Quality, Animal Welfare & Transport, Feed Efficiency, Human Resources, Sow Longevity and Innovators just to name some of them. There will be two key note speakers each morning covering current important topics.
Watch for December issue for further information.
Online registration now open.
If planning to attend the 2019 BPS a limited number of rooms are available at a drastically reduced rate on site at Banff Springs Hotel. Check out the website banffpork.ca or call direct reservation line 403.762.6866 mention the Banff Pork Seminar to get the rate.
For more information contact Ashley Steeple, Conference Coordinator, PH: 780.492.3651 or Email: pork@ualberta.ca •
Cramer Ag Expo
Thursday February 21st with be the 9th annual Cramer Expo in Swift Current, SK.
The largest multispecies show in Southern Saskatchewan always attracts a full house.
A huge draw is the Cramer Cup series including awards for feed grain, eggs, a baking competition and the coveted Cramer Cup Hog Carcass competition. With a silent and live auction as well, copious amounts of meat and monies are donated to local charities.
Exhibitor packages will be available soon. In the mean time any questions please contact Kelly Turcotte trade show co ordinator at 306. 737.6262 or email kelly_turcotte@hotmail.com. For questions about Cramer Cup Series contact Doug Cramer at 306.520.3553 or email cramerexpomgmt@gmail.com •
CFIA Delighted by Veterinary Report
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has issued a report saying Canada has one of the best veterinary services in the world.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency asked the OIE to conduct a review and now says the report “highlights Canada’s strengths as a world leader in the safe trade of animals and animal products, and shows our strong commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. The results were among the best in the world.”
The evaluation involved federal, provincial and territorial governments and representatives from the private veterinary sector, academia and veterinary regulators.
The OIE evaluated 45 critical veterinary competencies to measure Canada against the OIE’s standards.
“Canada met the highest level in 35 of these areas, with a rating of 5/5, which indicates high capacity and capability, and full compliance with international standard,” the CFIA says on its website.
“The remainder were rated 3 or 4, many in areas where regulatory changes are already in progress.
“The expert OIE evaluators commended Canada’s veterinary services in several areas, including the following:
• excellent staffing, physical resources and funding
• strong systems of management, auditing, review and revision well-established functional programs
• high capability in laboratory diagnostics and research, risk analysis, border control, disease surveillance and control, and emergency preparedness and response
• well-developed interaction with stakeholders, with excellent communication and consultation on numerous joint programs
• excellent international harmonization and representation “Some opportunities to further strengthen veterinary services include:
• working to improve information management and develop integrated databases
• completing regulatory reforms already in progress, including regulations related to animal welfare, feed, veterinary drugs and food safety
• working toward electronic, life-long, animal traceability capability
• engaging with industry to identify opportunities for cost sharing in managing animal health
• improving the management of food safety at some provincial/territorial abattoirs.” •
Florence Shuts Down Farming, Food Processing
Hurricane Florence has shut down most farming and food processing in North and South Carolina. Hog-packing and chicken-processing plants closed before the rains and flooding began.
Farmers have little choice but to watch the devastation, which includes flooding manure lagoons and in some cases flooded barns resulting in drowned herds and flocks. There is a large coastal plain where rivers drop only two feet over a 40-kilometre stretch to the ocean. Those areas are flooding from two sources – an ocean surge of six to 10 feet, then persistent torrential rain that is going to last several days.
It will be weeks before fields will be dry enough to support equipment.
Despite the obvious disaster that’s unfolding, Andy Curliss, chief executive officer for the North Carolina Pork Council, said things are fine.
He said many hogs have been moved out and that manure lagoons have more capacity than usual because of a dry summer.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services updated the number of swine lagoons affected by Florence to four suffering structural damage and 13 discharging material as floodwater seeped in.
A total of 55 of the state’s 3,300 swine lagoons were at three inches or less from overtopping from floodwater as of Sept. 18, the council said. •
— By Jim Romahn
Update:
Hurricane Florence in North Carolina reportedly has led to around 4 million chickens dying. The pig losses are reported to be in the 5,500 head range. We expect the collateral damage of the flooding (lack of labor on farms, electricity, feed delivery) to lead to a much bigger impact than 5,500 dead pigs.
North Carolina packing plants harvested next to no hogs for a week – a reflection of the logistics that the Hurricane affected. North Carolina Packers are at 60,000 head per day capacity. •
As per Jim Long 9/24/18
Global Trade Disputes Impacting Canadian Producers
Ongoing uncertainty in global pork markets has resulted in Canadian pigs being sold at prices that are 30% lower than this time last year. Canadian farmers are in an extraordinarily difficult financial position.
Canadian pork producers are integrated into the much larger US market and the prices they receive are based directly on those negotiated by their American counterparts. Unfortunately, the fallout from trade disputes between the United States and key pork markets such as China, Mexico and Canada has intensified the normal seasonal decline in prices.
The Government of the United States recognized the impact of these disputes and, as part of a larger $12 billion trade mitigation package, announced a series of pork specific initiatives that included an $8 per hog ad hoc payment.
Canadian farmers, facing exactly the same market conditions, need similar support from our federal and provincial governments. While we can compete and succeed in normal market conditions, we need immediate, short-term support to help weather this storm.
Manitoba producer and Chair of the Canadian Pork Council, Rick Bergmann, stated that “The financial stress on individual producers is increasing rapidly. We need to act and act quickly. I look forward to meeting with Minister MacAulay to discuss the situation as soon as possible.”
Canada is the third-largest supplier of pork to global markets. Approximately 70% of our production, valued at $4 billion, is sold to consumers around the world. Producers welcomed the conclusions of the 2017 Barton Report and looked forward to helping Canada reach its $75 billion export target. However, in the absence of immediate action, achieving this goal and the jobs associated with it, are in jeopardy. •
U.S. Farmers in Line for Big Trade Subsidies
The same day a trade deal with Mexico was announced, the Trump administration said it will pay subsidies of $8 a hog and $1.65 a bushel for soybeans as trade-action compensation.
The total package is worth about $12 billion and is designed to offset price declines resulting from tariffs imposed by China, Mexico, Canada and others in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and a long list of items from China.
The pork subsidy is $8 per hog based on 50 per cent of the animals owned as of Aug. 1.
The bulk of the payments, $3.6 billion, is for soybean farmers at $1.65 per bushel multiplied by 50 per cent of expected production, Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said on a conference call.
“China has traditionally bought about 60 per cent of U.S. soybean exports, but has stopped buying after Trump imposed more tariffs on Chinese goods. “An announcement about further payments will be made in the coming months if warranted,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Other crop payments are 86 cents a bushel for sorghum multiplied by 50 per cent of production, one cent per bushel of corn, 14 cents per bushel of wheat, and six cents per pound of cotton. The package includes a nearly $559 million purchase of pork for federal nutrition assistance and child nutrition programs, $200 million for developing foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products and some direct payments to farmers, including pork producers. Applications opened on Sept. 4. •
— By Jim Romahn
Open Letter to Canadian Political Leaders
This is a copy of a open letter that CAFTA: The Voice of Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Exporters, sent to the political leaders of Canada in mid September.
Dear Messrs Trudeau, Scheer, Singh and Ms. May:
As the voice of Canadian agri-food exporters, representing the 90 per cent of farmers, ranchers, producers, processors and agri-food exporters who depend on stable, predictable and preferential access to international markets for their livelihoods, I am writing about the urgent need for Canada to ratify and bring into force the Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
As you know, this vital and potentially transformative trade agreement will come into force 60 days after the first six countries ratify it. While we welcomed the introduction of legislation before the summer recess, other CPTPP countries are moving more swiftly to take the necessary steps to bring the agreement into force. In July, Singapore became the third country to ratify the pact after Mexico and Japan. Others including Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Peru are expected to follow suit shortly.
Given the unprecedented trade uncertainty facing Canada due to the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive protectionism, improved access to dynamic Pacific markets is now more important than ever. Canada’s economy depends on stable and open trade. As the second largest economy at the table after Japan, Canada has the opportunity to play a leadership role and show that we stand tall on the world stage in support of free, open, rules-based trade.
According to research commissioned by the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), this trade pact could increase Canadian agri-food exports by nearly $2 billion annually for a variety of agriculture products including beef, pork, grains, canola, pulses, soybeans, barley, sugar and processed foods.
The first-mover advantage is real in trade deals and Canada cannot afford to be left behind by our competitors. Thousands of Canadian jobs and billions of dollars are at stake. It’s imperative that Parliamentarians come together and act swiftly to ratify the CPTPP.
We urge all Parliamentarians in both Houses to take the steps necessary for Canada to be among the first six countries to bring the CPTPP into law. Implementing the CPTPP will help us diversify Canada’s trade and demonstrate how political leaders of all stripes can deliver results for Canadians.
I thank you for considering this urgent matter. I look forward to hearing from you and answering any questions you may have. •
Sincerely yours, Brian Innes, CAFTA President
Chinese, U.S. Tariffs Take Effect
The United States and China implemented a new round of tariffs on Monday after talks broke off on Saturday. Washington has placed a 10 percent tax on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China retaliated with tariffs of five to 10 percent on $60 billion worth U.S. products, including some meat products.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of Chinese imports if Beijing retaliated.
That would be a third round of U.S. tariffs on China, and, at a total of $517 billion, would cover all products that the U.S. imports from China. • — By Jim Romahn
