Alberta pork producers, groups and retailers celebrated the provincial pork industry during the evening banquet at the Alberta Pork Congress. A tradition of the congress is that at each banquet table a person is designated to carve the pork loin roast and serve it to the rest of the guests around the table. The pork roasts were provided by Olymel.
Producers and industry were recognized during the banquet June 10.
Industry Innovation Award –
Charlotte Shipp
The winner of the Industry Innovation Award was Charlotte Shipp, Industry Program Manager with Alberta Pork.
Shipp said she began her career with Alberta Pork in 2007 when pork was 98 cents a kilogram and there were 841 producers in the province. With no agricultural background, she was looking to switch from her job at the University of Alberta with one with a “different future.”
“I wanted one that could impact people. I discovered Alberta Pork and came to this incredibly vibrant industry which is exactly what it is all about, people. I fell absolutely in love and never left.”
During her time with Alberta Pork, Shipp developed the Alberta Swine Traceability System, the animal health and food safety system designed to track the path of the animal from birth to slaughter. Shipp said they took the system from implementation to printing and it’s a program producers use every day.
She also helped initiate the Wild Boar program in 2020 off the side of her desk. It is now a stand-alone program that works to monitor and reduce the number of wild boar in the province.
Shipp felt Swine Tech was an important industry conference and a place for workers in the barn to connect with each other and learn new skills. She has helped guide the conference each year.
Shipp said one of the best parts of the job is working with the 250 remaining producers, helping them apply for grants, work through projects, while admiring their resilience in a tough industry.
“It is absolutely the producers in this industry that make coming to work every day incredibly rewarding.”
Shipp said she does not want to look backward at what was, but keep her eyes firmly forward focused on the future and the opportunities ahead.
“We have a $300 pig, a growing consumer market and more diversification. A profitable pig is really nice to see in the industry.”
Farm Team Awards –
New Rockport Colony
One of the keys to the success and team work of the New Rockport Colony is the connection the three main workers have, said hog manager, Steven Waldner.
The trio includes Waldner, Joe Wipf, who works in the farrowing barn, and John Waldner, who works in the nursery to finisher barn. The trio grew up together on the colony. They played sports together and were in the same class at school.
“I don’t have to babysit them. They know what they have to do and I know what I have to do. It makes it easy to be the manager of the barn,” said Steven, who became manager in 2017 when the previous managers retired.
Steven said at age six the colony children help out with the garden and other light chores. A couple years later he was helping out in the hog barn, a job he has never tired of.
“I loved working in the farrowing barn. To see those little pigs grow up and follow them out the door and as they go through the barn is very rewarding to see that process. To see how small the piglets were and then when they left, out the door, how big they were. It is nice to see. It is a rewarding process.”
John Waldner said one of the keys to teamwork is to let each worker do their own thing. The other team member may not do it the way others would do it, but as long as it works, that’s ok.
“If it is good for the operation let them do it. Respect each other.”
Joe Wipf has been manager of the farrow barn for 10 years and said he learned from those around him. “It has been quite a process. I have learned a lot from other people. I help John throughout the barn wherever help is needed. We go to work together and look at things that can be improved and work at it together. If there is a problem, fix it before it becomes a big problem.”
While not every day is rosy, Steven said working with the other two is one of the reasons he loves his job and coming to work each day. “If any of us three have a problem we just talk about it. I love my job. I love pigs. I like to see the pigs grow. To me it is a good job. I love working,” he said.
“We trust in each other to make the right decisions. If you align yourself with good people in the industry, it will work out.”
Farm Team Awards – Spruit Farms
Edwin and Sandra Spruit moved to Canada in 2002 from the Netherlands because they wanted to be hog farmers. The couple worked on a few farms in the area, eventually settling in the Red Deer area.
“To be successful in the hog industry, I think it is important to get experience. I have worked on several larger and smaller farmers to get experience before we bought this. It really helped us know the different ways of management,” said Edwin.
They now have 2,100 sows, plus grower and finisher barns in the Stettler and Ponoka area.
Managing the barns takes teamwork. Barn manager, Laura Meyer, grew up in Mexico on a small farm before studying animal science. After coming to the Spruit farm it took her only a year before being promoted to farrowing supervisor, then later barn manager.
“If employees are happy they will do their job in a better way,” said Meyer, adding it is important to take time to teach new employees the skills they need to do their jobs successfully.
Talking through and asking workers for their opinions is important to keeping workers happy and feeling like they are treated as equals, said Edwin, who said twice a year all the staff sit down for a two-way performance review where staff and the owners talk about what they all can do better.
“It is essential that it is a two-way conversation,” said Edwin.
Sandra said twice a year they hold employee parties that include all the workers’ families and it always leaves a “positive vibe.”
Throughout the year production goals are set and if they are met the staff are rewarded with pizza lunch parties or other activities.
“I think it is very valuable to arrive happy at the job,” said Sandra, who tries to keep up with the latest information and technology in the industry.
The hog industry can be a rewarding career, said Edwin. He recommends if someone wants to get into the business they take a job on a farm as well as some management and financial management courses to help progress to more senior management levels.
“We would like to thank Laura and the staff for their dedication and commitment to work towards our production goals and care about our animals,” said Sandra.
Lifetime Achievement Award –
Tony Rock
Tony Rock was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award after spending more than 25 years delivering nutrition services and expertise to hog producers.
Born in Saskatchewan in 1941, Rock lived in Manitoba before moving to Alberta eventually starting Western Ag Supply.
“We sold seed, we sold dog food, we sold cat food, we sold all kinds of things to help us make a little bit of money in the feed business. It was a tough job because there was very little money. Things were not rosy in the hog business, but we persevered as did all the producers. Little by little we gained some traction and got to where we could enjoy our company,” said Rock.
It was long days on the road selling and delivering feed that slowly secured the company’s place in the industry.
“We tried to save the producer as much money as possible.”
The company adjusted the sizes of products to make it affordable to farmers and gained business during the bad time because of their flexibility.
Rock said the staff and the company has grown into a successful business because of hard work, enjoying the people in the business and having a cohesive team.
“You also have to be lucky and have some people you deal with that recommend you to other people. That helped tremendously. That is success.”
Rock said he was also successful because of his supportive family. He said his wife was the bookkeeper and she worked hard throughout the business.
“The one thing you have to have is perseverance. It has a lot of ups and downs. If you can do that you will be successful.”
Rock also thanked the Summerland Colony which nominated him for the award and “a big shout out to all the pork producers who have persevered over the years and finally now they are reaping their rewards.”
Olymel Reach for the Top Awards 2026
Grand Champion -A & A Van Ginkel Pork Farm Ltd: 1st runner up, Neudorf Colony; 2nd runner up, Cloverleaf Colony; 3rd runner up, Britestone Colony; 4th runner up, Fairville Colony.
Awarded to the producer who scored the highest in all of the categories. The grand champion received $1,000.
Food Safety Category Champion,
Third time winner Britestone Hutterian Brethren
Awarded to the producer who has the highest clear tattoo percentage and scored the highest on load arrivals according to the plan which is critically important to low contamination rates within the plant.
Forecast Category Champion – Twilight Colony Farming Co. Ltd.
Awarded to the producer that delivered the closest number of hogs to their forecast volume over the entire year. We start with the contractual commitment and adjusted for NOTIFIED changes in production.
High Health Category Champion – VFA Pork Ltd.
Awarded to the producer who has the fewest carcass health concerns, viscera health concerns, carcass demerits, condemnations and low arrival mortality rate.
Logistic Category Champion – Holt Colony – Awarded to the producer with the most on time, in grace arrivals and fewest load cancellations.
2026 marked the 20th time the Olymel Reach for the Top awards were presented. Congratulations to all current and past winners. •
— By Mary MacArthur
