Thunder Creek Pork Awards and Open House
On July 16th about 40 people attended the 8th annual producers Open House for Thunder Creek Pork. Those in attendance represented both producers and members of the industry. A processing plant tour was followed by a delicious pork lunch, then a Q & A session and time to meet the Thunder Creek personal.
However the highlight of the day was the producers awards given in following categories.
Top Producer: Wymark /Willow Park; Top Color: Main Center, Runner Up: Southland; Top Index: Wymark, Runner Up Willow Park; Best Standard Deviation Weight: Willow Park, Runner Up: Wymark; Best Tattoo: Quill Lake
Thunder Creek would like to congratulate all their customers. •
Alberta Pork Continues to Engage Public
Alberta Pork has been busy this last few months publicly promoting Alberta Pork at both Porkapalooza and the Calgary Stampede.
First was the 6th Annual Porkapalooza BBQ Festival. A chance for BBQ teams from all over the US and Canada to compete for title and trophy. This year teams competed in four categories Pork Ribs, Chicken, Pork Butt and Beef Brisket. Watching the teams prepare is serious business. In addition many displays, live music, food stage displays, kid zone and vendors on hand to make it fun for whole family. All the while being a fundraiser for a few a local charities.
Was able to attend check out some of the displays, saw Darcy working on some BBQ and of course tasted some yummy ribs.
Kudos also to entire volunteer team at the Calgary Stampede, once again a large crowd would gather every day to watch the pigs. Thousand walk through the agriculture exhibits during the 10 day show, during the Stampede much focus is on Agriculture and how important it is to the local industry and economy. It is a great learning opportunity for the general public to see and understand pig production. Alberta Pork had some very informative displays on hand, of course the highlight for most are the live pigs themselves.
Sunday following the finals at the rodeo met up with a few more friends in the pig sector. Bob Brown (AP/GSI), Ralph Tuck (Penner Farm Systems plus member of swine volunteer group), Merv Rieger (Walbern Agri Systems) and Bill Mullen (Alberta Pork & member of swine volunteer group). •
TTT Hypor BBQ Battle
The 3rd annual TTT-Hypor BBQ Battle took place June 25, 2019. The forecast called for rain but all we got was ribs! 300 glorious racks of Maple Leaf ribs! Like previous years the competition was at Pavan Park in Lethbridge.
Two hundred plus people from across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Montana enjoying the contestant’s ribs and perfect weather. Our blind judging panel was made up of Jim Bourret from Maple Leaf, Ryan Riese from the Royal Bank of Canada, and Rob Lawrence from Maximus.
They sampled ribs from the seven different teams – Connect OnFarm, Standard Nutrition, Canadian Bio Systems, Nutrition Partners, Fortified Nutrition / Schippers, J&R Livestock, and Western Ag.
Chris Tokaruk, President of TTT personal favourite was the Connect OnFarm creation but the consensus from those in attendance was fairly consistent with the judges who ranked the top three ribs as… 1. Canadian Bio Systems, 2. Fortified Nutrition / Schippers, and 3. Western Ag. •
Topigs Norsvin Canada Inc. Welcomes New Team Member
Topigs Norsvin Canada announced recently that Sheldon Friesen has joined its staff as Alberta Business Development Representative, based out of the Central Alberta region. In his new role, Sheldon will be focused on Business Development and customer support in Alberta.
Sheldon has gained considerable experience in our nucleus farms in Manitoba including working at the new Delta Canada Research Centre & Boar testing facility. “He will be a valuable asset to the Topigs Norsvin Canada team and is eager to meet customers and prospects from the pork production sector” said John Sawatzky, Sales Manager for Canada.
In addition to pork production experience Sheldon was employed for seven years with Bayer Crop Science and holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Geography).
“Growing up in Alberta has given me a passion for the people, land and industry for this great province. I am excited about growing my career with Topigs Norsvin. In my spare time I enjoy camping, hiking and barbeques”, said Sheldon. •
Swine Industry Hands Out Honours
Rod de Wolde of Millbrook has been honoured with this year’s Merit Award presented during the annual meeting of the Canadian Swine Breeders Association recently in Ottawa.
He is president of Ontario Swine Improvement, has been a leading swine breeder and organization leader and is the second-generation de Wolde to hold CCSI (Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement) honours.
Lee Whittington, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was awarded the B.W. Kennedy Memorial Award for his work as president and chief executive officer of CCSI.
Brent Robinson of Vista Villa Farm was re-elected president of CCSI. He and his father, Bob, and brother, Jeff, run the breeding herd which is part of Alliance Genetics.
Other board directors are de Wolde, Jacques Faucher of Quebec, for Wim Van Berkel of Western Swine Testing Association, Colleen Roehrig of the Canadian Meat Council, Dave Vandenbroek of Alliance Genetics Canada, Marquis Roy of AlphaGene, Ken Hamoen of Sand Ridge Farm, Whittington and Audrey Cameron of the Canadian Pork Council. •
