Happy 2026! Welcome to the first edition in 2026 and the 30th, yes 30th year, for Prairie Hog Country. I continue to be humbled with the continued support for PHC, through readership, encouragement and financial support through advertising which enables me to print and mail out the six editions every year.
In a recent conversation at the Banff Pork Seminar, it was suggested to me that I should toot my horn, share my story and be proud of what I have accomplished. See page 49 for the back story on myself and Prairie Hog Country.
Speaking of Banff Pork Seminar there were 804 registered attendees at this years installment. Some very solid speakers and interesting topics covered in the breakout sessions. Thanks to Gerry Friesen for sharing his story about anxiety and depression during the closing session. Congratulations to the recipients of awards handed out during BPS. The George Foxcroft Lectureship was presented to John Harding from WCVM at the U of S. The FX Aherne Award for Innovative Pork Production was given to Tom Patenaude of Blue Water Wash for his Automated Livestock Trailer Wash System. After presenting their research during the Innovators session on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday the RO Ball Young Scientists Award was presented to Lingjun Zhu, from the U of A, for her study on Acid binding capacity changes. See full coverage on the following pages. Huge Kudos to Ashley and her team for another smooth running Banff Pork Seminar, mark your calendars for January 5 – 7th, 2027.
Back on December 9th was the Brandon Hog &Poultry Show. The one day show was well attended despite some nasty area roads. Thanks to Doug Cramer and his team for taking over the organization of the show. Of course the highlight of the day is always the Pork Quality Competition. Fifty-two hogs were entered, translating to over 10,000lbs (4677kgs) of pork being donated to local food banks. Thanks to Jason Care for judging, East 40 for processing and Jesse Campbell from Fraser Auctions. First place was awarded to Sprucewoods, Northern Breeze took 2nd, Starlight 3rd, Cascade 4th and Waldheim completed the top five. Charity was the biggest winners of the day following the sale of Champions auction and the receiving Charities were: Brandon Hospital, Heart of Truth, HEART Team, Neepawa Hospital, Portage General Hospital and STARS.
February 10, 2026, is Canada’s Agriculture Day. Join the celebration by using #CdnAgDay on social media, posting a photo of your favourite Canadian-grown meal, or sharing a story about a farmer or agriculture hero who inspires you. This year is the tenth anniversary of this national celebration.
Congratulations to former Sask Pork Board Chair Joe Kleinsasser as he is included in the 2026 Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame class.
The contest from the December/January edition was to count all the times the word Prairie appeared in the entire issue, editorial, ads throughout whole publication. Of all the entries there were only seven correct ones, 85 was the answer. A random draw was done from the seven entries.
As always, I am only a phone call or email away. Prairie Hog Country, Box 5536, Leduc, Alberta T9E 2A1, 780.986.0962, fax 780.980.9640 or email: hogcountry@shaw.ca
Talk to you in April. •