Schippers Canada Expands
A plan over two years in the making came to reality at the Schippers Canada location near Lacombe Alberta. A fully automated plant to process, bag and label Dry Care Plus®. The parts arrived from the Netherlands ready to be assembled locally.
With assistance from Schippers in the Netherlands the plant came on line in January of this year. With capabilities of up to 300 25kg bags per hour, the sky is the limit. David Coffey, operations manager, mentioned they are currently producing 150 an hour.
Joost van Asten, GM added, they were grateful for the support and previous tecnology from HO in the Netherlands .
Luke Solomon, marketing co ordinator, explained with being manufactured in Canada, they are able to keep price lower as much less shipping costs. •

Red Meat Industry Donates to Red Cross Efforts in China
The Canadian Red Meat Industry has made a $50,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross to support their work with the Red Cross Society of China and its efforts in responding to the Novel-Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak.
“We see daily what an impact this virus has had on our customers in China and are aware of all the efforts made on the part of the Chinese to address it. We felt compelled to assist” said Chris White, President of the Canadian Meat Council.
The Canadian Red Meat industry has a long-standing relationship with China and has been hearing directly about the devastating impacts the virus has had on families and communities. The industry has been monitoring the situation and wanted to do more to help. This contribution is a recognition of that show of support.
“Our industry has many business and personal friendships with the people of China and we have all been touched by the scale of this outbreak. We want to strategically assist our friends over the next few months to recover from the outbreak and return to normalcy,” said Canada Pork President, Trevor Sears.
The Government of Canada is working with the Canadian Red Cross and their partnership with the Chinese Red Cross to provide medical supplies and support towards the efforts to prevent and control the spread of the infection and support the work of local hospitals. The Red Cross Society of China is best situated to direct the funds to the people who need it most in the areas that are affected by the Novel-Corona Virus (COVID-19). The Red Cross’s local staff will ensure the support can be effectively directed to assist impacted communities.
The donation by industry was from; Donald’s Fine Foods, Conestoga Meats, Hylife, Maple Leaf, Olymel, Sunterra, Canada Beef, Canadian Pork Council, Canada Pork and the Canadian Meat Council. •

AFAC Award of Distinction
At the recent Livestock Care virtual Conference, hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC), March 19, awards were presented.
The Award of Distinction for Communication was awarded to Barbara Duckworth of the Western Producer. Duckworth joined the Western Producer editorial team in 1988 and has focused primarily on livestock coverage for the past 32 years, including reporting on developments in animal care. Known for her professionalism, integrity and devotion to informing Canadian farmers and ranchers on a broad range of important livestock issues and developments, she is a recognized and respected figure at the provincial, national and international levels.
“As Barbara’s colleague, I have always relied on her integrity and honesty in the field of journalism in general and livestock-related reporting in particular,” says Barb Glen, Livestock Editor of the Western Producer. “With her extensive contributions to the livestock industry including coverage of animal care she is a very deserving recipient of this award.” •