Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop
Mark your calendars for Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, which will take place Wednesday October 19th at the Cambridge Red Deer Hotel & Conference Centre (formally the Sheraton) in Red Deer.
With doors opening, registration and booth visits starting at 8am, then a full one day agenda.
Some featured topics: Knowing your cost of production & managing it, Sow nutrition, Internal biosecurity, AI and effective breeding, Sow behaviour and much much more.
See ad on page 27 for more details on speakers and topics. Early registration cost remains the same at $90/person or $400/5 people, (until October 2nd), then $110/person.
Online registration now open, booth bookings and sponsorship opportunities, and all the latest details will be under swine tech tab on the albertapork.com website.
For more information contact Charlotte Shipp at Alberta Pork 780.491.3528 or email charlotte.shipp@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 breakfast meeting at 7:30am,prior to start of Swine Tech, Wednesday October 19th. Located at the Cambridge Hotel & Conference Centre in Red Deer, AB.
This will be the first opportunity to book your booth for the 2023 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 will be recognized by their peers and the pork industry and have a chance to present your solution at the 2023 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: Production, Transportation, 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, 2022. Apply today! Please contact Conference Coordinator Ashely Steeple at pork@ualberta.ca with any questions. •

Saskatchewan Pork Symposium
If marking your calendars another date to pencil in is for Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium. The 2 day event is planned for November 15th & 16th at the Saskatoon Inn & Conference Centre.
A couple featured speakers are Lesley Kelly and Dr. Steve Meyer. See ad on page 34 for more information.
Full details, agenda, sponsors and registration can be found on the Saskpork website saskpork.com. •

Alberta Pork AGM
Mark your calendars for the Alberta Pork Annual General Meeting November 24th. The meeting will once again be held at the Calgary Marriott In-terminal Hotel. Agenda will be finalized and sent to producers and industry members. In mean time any questions can be directed to Janice Brown at
PH: 780.474.8288 or
E: janice.brown@albertapork.com •

Prairie Livestock Expo
The Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre will be host for the Prairie Livestock Expo Wednesday December 14th. The one day show will run from 9am – 6pm.
Online registration is now open at prairielivestockexpo.ca.
For details and information on or about the Pork Quality Competition contact Darren Bates PH: 204.799.8888 or Email:
dbates@pestell.com
A block of rooms will be held until November 18th for special rate of $129 plus tax, when booking indicate you are attending Prairie Livestock Expo (Group 176296) reservation line 204.786.4801.
For information on and about the show contact Dallas Ballance from GoodwinBallance Communications at 204.475.8585 or email info@prairielivestockexpo.ca •

Banff Pork Seminar
Banff Pork Seminar will return to the Castle in the Rockies January 10 – 12, 2023.
The committee has worked hard to once again bring forth a very solid agends of breakouts sessions and keynote speakers.
Some of the breakout topic sessions will be: Swine Health – Circovirus, Strep & E Coli; Sow Management – Feeding the Sow & the Farrowing Enviroment, Semen Quality; Technology- Digital Farm, Evaluation & Application; Piglet Management – Colostrum, Economics, Fostering Strategies; Grow/Finish Management – Late Finishers, Wean/Finish, Feeding Costs, Practice Tips; Feed & Nutrition – Reducing Feed Costs, Feed Mills; Building Engineering – Barn Efficiency, Future of Pig Housing, Manure Management and of course the ever popular Innovators.
A few of the feature keynote topics are: Pork Markets and Pork Economics on Wednesday morning, followed by Sustainable Food Production and Carbon Neutral on Thursday morning. The closing plenary session is titled Your Story Matters.
Watch future issues for further information. Online registration now open.
A block of rooms are available at the Banff Springs Hotel for BPS2023 starting at $159/night plus taxes and fees for single occupancy. Space is limited so book early. Must book by December 1, 2022 to receive the special conference rates (while space is available). Reservations can be made through the Banff Pork Seminar website.
Latest updates are found on the website, banffpork.ca
For more information contact Ashley Steeple, Conference Coordinator, PH: 780.492.3651or Email: pork@ualberta.ca •

Saskatchewan Livestock Expo
Saskatchewan Livestock Expo will return to its regular time of year in February in 2023. Mark Thursday February 9th, 2023 down for the 13th annual show in Swift Current, SK. The one day show will be held at the Kinetic Exhibition Park, featuring a trade show, door prizes, silent and live auction and of course the Cramer Cup series.
Registration will be open later this fall.
For details and information contact Doug Cramer at 306.520.3553 •

269 Alberta Wild Boar Eradicated
According to the quartely report released on September 2nd by Alberta Pork and the Alberta Invasive Species Council.
Since the inception of the Wild Boar at Large Eradication Program between Alberta Pork and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, a total of 269 wild boar have been eradicated to date! 
Wild boar are incredibly smart and when only a few individuals are hunted from a larger group (called a sounder), the remaining boar quickly learn to evade future hunting efforts by dispersing, changing movement patterns, and becoming nocturnal. They pass these tricks on to following generations. The only way to effectively eliminate wild boar at large in an area is by eradicating the entire sounder simultaneously.
This program involves coordinated and strategic removal of entire sounders. If you spot wild boar at large or suspect wild boar at large damage, submit a report using the free EDDMapS app, email AF.wildboar@gov.ab.ca, call 310-FARM, or contact your local municipality. All reports are provided to the Wild Boar At Large Eradication Team who work with local stakeholders to come up with solutions. This program relies on Albertans to report observations of wild boar at large. •

NFACC Ongoing Transportation Code Update
The National Farm Animal Care Council recently shared an update to the 2001 transportation Code has been underway since December 2018. This multi-species Code of Practice, covering animals from 14 national on-farm Codes, has been a massive undertaking. Additionally:
• It has had to take into consideration robust federal regulations governing the transportation of animals in Canada (Health of Animals Regulations (HAR) Part XII: Transport of Animals), the long-awaited update of which was published in February 2019 along with an “evergreen” Interpretive Guidance for Regulated Parties.
• The COVID 19 pandemic hit in 2020 halting all in-person meetings and requiring the nine Working Groups and the Code Development Committee to meet exclusively online. This was a huge learning curve for many and impeded the relationship-building opportunities and open dialogue that in-person meetings offer. 
• It is the first Code using NFACC’s Code development process that is not intended for on-farm use, and included the care of animals during transportation as well as when offloaded at specific types of intermediary sites.
• It was initiated by NFACC versus a national stakeholder group representing transporters and other primary stakeholders, which has led to additional challenges in following the Code development process.
It should also be noted that while updating the transportation Code by March 2023 is not possible, much has already been accomplished through this project. Aside from progress on various drafts of the transportation Code. •

New Mapping Tool Enables Rapid Animal Disease Response
Producer organizations and governments now have access to an animal disease mapping tool that enables rapid response to control spread. Farm Health Fastmaps is a new tool developed by Farm Health Guardian, a biosecurity management software provider, that allows mappers to quickly create control zones and communicate with farms that may be at risk.

“We know that early response and communication are key to preventing pathogen spread and limiting the negative impacts of an outbreak,” explains Rob Hannam, CEO of Farm Health Guardian. “This tool will help disease mappers within producer organizations or with governments to easily establish zones where heightened biosecurity and communication are needed.”
The mapping tool provides Farm Health FastMaps users with the ability to draw customized radius and polygon quarantine zones in an area and then instantly generate a list of all farm properties within the zone, including contact information. Wind speed and direction can easily be factored in to further identify properties that may be at risk from windborne pathogen transmission. These enhancements can assist in rerouting transportation to avoid hot zones and offer a communications tool to help at-risk farms take early action before a disease gets out of hand.  
“Anything that will make disease mapping and communications easier and faster will help in reducing the transmission of highly pathogenic diseases, like PRRS in swine or avian influenza in poultry,” says Hannam. “Developments like Farm Health FastMaps are so important to reduce the threat of devastating diseases, and are why we’re working to improve animal health and welfare through digital technology.” •

Canadian Pork Exports to U.S. Surge
The United States imports of pork surged by 43 per cent over the first half of this year, most of it from Canada.
But the strong U.S. dollar and pork demand also brought imports from Denmark, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain and Finland.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said pork imports are remaining high in July and August and forecasts the year will end with a 32 per cent increase over last year. •
—By Jim Romahn

Tax Relief for Prairie Livestock Producers Facing the Impacts of Extreme Weather
Canadian farmers are directly impacted by climate change and its effects can be detrimental to sustaining operations. To provide assurance for producers as they make difficult herd management decisions, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced recently an initial list of designated regions in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba where Livestock Tax Deferral has been authorized for 2022 due to extreme weather conditions.
The Livestock Tax Deferral provision allows livestock producers who are forced to sell a significant amount of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding to defer a portion of their income from sales until the following tax year. The income may be at least partially offset by the cost of reacquiring breeding animals, thereby reducing the potential tax burden associated with the original sale.
“Canada’s producers continue to show remarkable resilience as they face challenges and uncertainty due to extreme weather conditions. Designation of the Livestock Tax Deferral provision provides farmers with the resources needed to make informed decisions and focus on rebuilding their herd and their operations.”
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Eligible regions have been identified based on weather, climate and production data, in consultation with industry and provinces. The criteria for identifying regions for Livestock Tax Deferral includes forage shortfalls of 50% or more caused by drought or excess moisture. The Government of Canada will continue to monitor conditions across the country to determine whether the addition of other regions throughout the year are required.
In addition to the Livestock Tax Deferral provision, producers have access to a comprehensive suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs to help them manage significant risks that threaten the viability of their farm and are beyond their capacity to manage. BRM programs are often the first line of support for producers facing disasters and farmers are encouraged to make use of these programs to protect their farming operations.
To help farm families succeed in a changing climate, the Government of Canada will continue to support farmers with the tools they need to get through the challenges of today, while working to build a sustainable future for the agriculture sector in Canada. •

Dominican Republic Reports 20 New ASF Cases in August
In August, authorities confirmed by molecular diagnosis 20 new outbreaks, bringing the total of accumulated confirmed cases to 1,615 distributed in 31 provinces, according to a report from the Swine Health Information Centre (SHIC). Of those, 980 outbreaks have been resolved.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, samples from over 4,899 production sites have been taken and processed by Dominican veterinary services; 417 of them during the last month (the period between 7/24 and 8/21), from which 20 tested positive for ASF.
SHIC said it is important to note that the positive rate has changed since November 2021 (from over 40% to 17%), denoting the progressive efficacy of control efforts across the country. Still, they said, the active spread of the virus throughout the population is of great concern. •
— The Pig Site

U.S. Again Working on Meat Labeling
United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he is once again working on labeling foods as product of the USA.

Canada has twice challenged that meat labeling and won at the World Trade Organization, most recently in 2015 when the WTO granted Canada permission to punish the U.S. with $1 billion worth of tariffs.
Politicians backed down and scrapped the Country of Origin labeling legislation.
Now Vilsack told a meeting of the National Farmers Union that his department is making progress on introducing new labeling rules.
Farmers in the U.S. think the labels would prompt consumers to prefer their products, but processors say it requires expensive logistics and paperwork to keep U.S. products separate from imported, especially for meats.
The United States Department of Agriculture began to re-examine the issue a year ago. Vilsack said USDA’s efforts to better define the term include a recent survey of 4,000 consumers to determine whether they want the labeling and would be prepared to pay an extra nickel.
The secretary said the survey results will help determine how the USDA can strengthen the rule-making process behind such a claim on the label.
“Once we do that we are in a position to essentially utilize the power that we have at the USDA to avoid misrepresentation or false statements,” Vilsack said. •
—By Jim Romahn

Swine Flu Surprisingly High This Summer
Swine influenza cases are surprisingly plentiful this summer, prompting the Swine Health Information Center in Saskatoon to advise farmers to keep a close watch heading into the fall and winter seasons when swine flu is traditionally greater.
The center only recently began tracking swine influenza cases reported by veterinarians said the Swine Center’s executive director Paul Sundberg. The number of cases did decline in July from June.
The center has an advisory group that tracks data about Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS), Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and influenza leading to an analysis and a perspective that’s reported in the center’s monthly newsletter.• —By Jim Romahn

Inflation Rate Declines,
But Not Food
Canada’s inflation rate declined to 7.6 per cent in July, the first decline in a year, reports Statistics Canada.
But food inflation increased to 9.9 per cent, led by bakery products, non-alcoholic beverages, eggs and fresh fruit
In June, inflation hit a 39-year high of 8.1 per cent, with gasoline prices the single biggest contributor to the overall rate increase.
By contrast, gasoline prices declined by 9.2 per cent from June. •
—By Jim Romahn

Emergency Mental Help Number Coming
Canadians who need mental health rescue will be able to dial 9-8-8 for emergency help, beginning in November next year.
It’s particularly relevant in cases of suicide attempts.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission made the announcement recently, responding to federal legislation passed in December, 2020.
The United States has had national 9-8-8 service since July.
Canada’s fall 2023 target gives communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, northern Ontario and Yellowknife enough time to transition to 10-digit local dialing. These areas still use seven-digit dialing, the CRTC said.
“We are taking a significant step in making mental health and suicide prevention resources more accessible to everyone in Canada,” said Ian Scott, chairperson and chief executive officer of the CRTC.
“A single, easy to remember point of contact will provide much-needed help to those in crisis and will be crucial to saving lives. Although much work is left to be done to bring help to people who need it, we have set accelerated timelines to ensure that 9-8-8 is implemented as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”
Todd Doherty, the MP for Cariboo-Prince George, introduced a bill in December 2020 to establish 9-8-8 and it quickly received unanimous approval. •
—By Jim Romahn

Another Option to Squeal On Pigs
A new collaboration between the Manitoba Invasive Swine Eradication Project, Manitoba Pork, and Farm Health Guardian provides another easy way to report wild pig sightings. Wild pig sightings can now be easily collected and automatically reported to Squeal on Pigs using the free Farm Health Guardian app. 
Squeal on Pigs MB was launched earlier this year through the Manitoba Invasive Swine Eradication Project, a partnership between the Government of Canada, Province of Manitoba, and Manitoba Pork, to get a better understanding of the wild pig population in the province, and to concentrate eradication efforts in the right areas. Increased wild pig sightings are causing concern in the North American swine industry, including in Manitoba. It is suspected that the wild pig population in the province is growing, which is a real risk to agriculture because they can be very destructive to crops and are a potential reservoir for federally reportable diseases like African Swine Fever (ASF). Given the serious disease threat that wild pigs pose to farm raised pigs, producers and others in the industry are being asked to report sightings immediately.
“The Farm Health Guardian app is an innovative example of how the agriculture sector can work together to collect valuable information on wild pig movement,” said the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Capturing wild pig sightings quickly will help mitigate the risk and threat of African Swine Fever and the destruction of crops across Manitoba.” •