The Prairie Livestock Expo held every other year in Winnipeg, MB saw over 140 exhibits and hundreds of producer/consumers visiting the booths of choice and need.

Laurie Brandly who hails from Leduc, AB owner/publisher of the Prairie Hog Country, a great supporter of the hog industry in Western Canada had her booth on Dec 12.

As hog producers know Laurie gives privilege to various writers across the west to contribute to her publication, and she talked about how the PHC started.

“Well, that’s rewinding the clock. That would be back into 1996, which is, I guess, almost 23 years ago. And a lady that I used to work with on another publication, or at a local media, wanted to start something new,” she said. “She wanted to start something based and focused entirely on the hog industry that would be something similar to something that we had done together in the past for the dairy industry. So she gave me a call one day, and she said, ‘Hey, I want to launch this, and I need your help.’ And I guess the rest we could say is history. I’m very proud to say that its 23 years next year, and we still go to all the colonies and all the producers in Western Canada six times a year.”

Laurie and Susan started the PHC but Laurie bought it outright from Susan former owner and publisher in 2003. “So now I get to, I guess, dot the I’s and cross the T’s and sign the cheques.”

The hog industry has seen many changes over the years, yet the PHC continues strong despite the highest peaks and lowest valleys, but it hasn’t always been easy.

“You’re right; there were highs and lows over the industry and the years. Those of us (in the hog industry) have been around having seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows, and you do have to adapt,” said Brandly. “Being based on advertising revenue to cover production costs and salaries for writers like yourself, you do sometimes have to tweak things a little bit because the first thing that sometimes does get cut when times are tough is the advertising budget. So you have to make sure that you still have an excellent product that people want to get their information out there with. So yes, sometimes we’ve had to change things along the way, but we think it’s working, because again, next year will be 23 years, so we’re very proud of that.” Laurie describes the focus of the Prairie Hog Country.

“My mini infomercial I say, ‘It’s your direct connection to the Western Canadian hog industry written with a grassroots style.’

It’s something that everybody can understand, comprehend, information and news that’s very important to them, very time sensitive. That’s maybe not done in a format of all charts and graphs, that’s maybe a little bit more interesting, a little bit more informative, interactive as much as a print media can be, but just, again, to try and keep them (the hog industry) informed and interested in what’s happening out there.”

Deviating a little from the norm, I know, and I get a chance to send in articles, and you don’t print everything, but you sure do a great job of printing as much as you possibly can, and I appreciate that. And I told somebody just a few minutes ago when we talked about Prairie Hog Country; I said, ‘When I write in the Prairie Hog Country, I always find out that people read the articles from end to end.’

“Yes, thank you. And that’s one of the best compliments that we can have, is when people say that they do read it from cover to cover, and it is in all the barn offices. And I couldn’t do this without a phenomenal writing team like yourself, Harry,” she said. “You’ve been with me since day one in ’96 and some others, and some that have come and gone along the way, but we couldn’t do it without you. It is very much a team effort, and we’re only as good as the stories, so I do thank you as well.” •

— By Harry Siemens