ECONOMICS
Alberta Pork has asked its shareholders to reconsider a 2018 resolution asking packers for a $7 premium on hogs that meet standards for validation with the Canadian Pork Excellence program. Fifty four of 56 delegates attending the 2018 annual general meeting had voted in favour of the motion, with two abstaining. The feeling in the room was that Alberta producers already facing an out-dated pricing system were being asked to put in yet more work without being properly recognized. Their feeling was echoed across the country as producers from other jurisdictions made similar demands.
Now, the board of Alberta Pork is asking its members to repeal the resolution, falling in line with measures other provinces have taken in order line up with CPE goals.
“Here’s our dilemma,” Chair Brent Moen said in his address to producers at a regional meeting with shareholders in Sherwood Park on March 10.
“The Canadian Pork Council will only support the existing CQA program until December 31, 2021. So, we’re 20 months away from that program being dust. The CPC has negotiated with Canada Meat Council for $2 per 100 kilos for producers to be paid for pigs that are marketed with the new CPE validation. The $2 premium reflects the amount that Quebec negotiated for their program and would be rolled out across the country.
“At present, we can’t roll out the program because we’ve been told by our shareholders not to,” said Moen.
“We know now that, by then end of 2021, the old program is null and void. We know that every packer contract that’s out there states ‘CQA or equivalent,’ so when CQA is done, the equivalent is going to be CPE.”
Moen explained that, with the current resolution in place, Alberta Pork cannot put the wheels in motion to get its producers into the CPE program, which can take about a year to roll out. He was therefore asking to have that obstacle removed now so Alberta producers can see the $2 premium as a line item on their packer contracts.
While details of the vote were not released, Executive Director Darcy Fitzgerald said late in March that producers have expressed support for the CPE program.
“We know that pork producers are feeling that they have not received fair value for their pigs for a number of years and the current pricing system is the problem that needs to be fixed. We also heard that producers are not against the CPE program,” said Fitzgerald
“However, while we are happy to see that Canadian packers are profitable, it’s time for the packers adequately compensate pig producers for the great work they do.”
He said the Alberta Pork Board of Directors will discuss options for Alberta producers at its next meeting.
Moen said producers and packers should have a goal of working together for Alberta’s pork industry to continue.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
While economic conditions were prominent at the semi-annual meetings, the imminent threat of both human and porcine viruses set the tenor for the semi-annual meetings, held in Grande Prairie, Sherwood Park, Red Deer and Lethbridge. Producers were given an opportunity to arrive early for an Animal Health Emergency Management Workshop, a project of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition.
Awareness Activity Lead Gina Teel walked producers through the steps the AHEM project has created to help producers understand the risks, and then prepare themselves, their families and their workers for an outbreak.
Teel then outlined the six steps of an emergency response as described in a workbook tailored specifically to pork producers in Alberta. Similar protocols and workbooks have been created for beef, dairy and poultry producers Alberta as well as other provinces, including British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
“We’re presenting for pork here, but we have created these resources for all the commodities,” said Teel.
“By the time we’re done, we should have 75 per cent or more of the industry covered. What that means is, if there is a disease outbreak like foot and mouth that impacts all of those species, there will be a co-ordinated response from all of the organizations and governments across Canada,” she said.
The AHEM resources were created to fill in gaps in preparation and management in the event of an outbreak, said Teel, who then put up a map showing the clusters of African Swine Fever around the globe.
“These things do happen, and when they do, they have an impact of spreading and clustering due to regional conditions. What’s really important in the Canadian context is that we do know that we’re more than 50 per cent export dependent . . . and we also have the significant factors that can lead to a cluster like this,” she said, pointing back to the map.
High concentrations of animals and long distance transport are among those factors, said Teel, adding that at zoonotic disease can spread around the globe in only 24 hours.
A staff handbook was created with Alberta Pork specifically to cover preparation and response here, including the process for setting up and operating an Incident Command Centre.
Additional resources are available to help veterinarians stay current and understand the protocols in place for an emergency response, she said.
A workbook created for hog producers provides detailed information on how the program works, what they can expect from Alberta Pork, veterinarians and government agencies and their role in assessing and responding to an outbreak.

At the close of her presentation, Javier Bahamon, quality assurance and production manager for Alberta Pork, brought producers up to speed on what has been happening within the province.
Bahamon opened his talk by reminding producers that porcine endemic diarrhea (PEDv) is now endemic in the United States, and that this can happen with other diseases as well.
As of mid-February, Ontario is the only province reporting new cases of PEDv in 2020. Across Canada, there have been 218 in Manitoba, 135 in Ontario, 18 in Quebec and four in Alberta. All four of those Alberta farms are now considered to be at negative status, said Bahamon.
Since January 14, 2014, when the first case of PEDv was reported in Canada, Alberta has conducted 25,692 tests and found only six weak positives, he said.
“Thanks to the people in our industry who have been doing a good job. We have been doing a very good job in Alberta,” said Bahamon.
That doesn’t mean people can relax. Rather, Bahamon and other officials are calling for continual review and improvement in biosecurity protocols. The threat remains real and there is always potential for new viruses making their way into the herd, along with the very real potential for people to become infected with other viruses – the global spread of covid-19 being a stark and frightening example.
In response to producer requests for more information about the locations of barns that have had PED, Alberta Pork has set up a protected site on its web page for producers who sign a waiver, agreeing to the release of details from their own operations. Those who have signed the waiver are now able to see a map showing those locations.
Producers are asked to report any signs of virus to their veterinarians. Signs and symptoms are described in the producer pages of the Alberta Pork website. Please refer to the Swine Health Toolbox for pertinent details: https://www.albertapork.com/our-producer-services/biosecurity/pedv-toolbox
Details of the AHEM project can be found on the Canadian Animal Health Coalition website, www.animalhealth.ca •
— By Brenda Kossowan

The Alberta Pork Board of Directors welcomes its latest members, following an election for two available Director-at-Large positions.
On Mar. 16, a representative from the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council visited Alberta Pork’s office in Edmonton to witness the unsealing of the ballot envelopes and boxes, and to verify the count performed by Alberta Pork staff. Of the 821 registered producers eligible to cast their vote for the two positions, 170 voted by mail-in ballot or in-person at one of four semi-annual meetings held last week.
Marcel Rupert of Rupert Lansink Farms, near Three Hills, rejoins the board after having previously served between 2012 and 2016. Martin Waldner of Hartland Colony, near Bashaw, returns for an extended term after joining the board for the first time in 2017.
Alberta Pork would like to congratulate the winners and looks forward to their participation. Thank you also to Ruben Waldner and Jonathan Klok for running in the election, those who nominated their fellow producers and everyone who cast a vote. •
— Alberta Pork