A new foreign animal disease surveillance effort will help speed up the detection of African Swine Fever in pigs should it arrive in Canada. CanSpotASF is part of a suite of African Swine Fever preparedness activities under the ASF Executive Management Board. Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network manager Dr. Jette Christensen explains CanSpotASF is a
Pork producers, swine transporters, and regulatory authorities will reap the benefits of research to assess the effects on pigs of long-distance versus short-distance transport. The Prairie Swine Center and the Universities of Saskatchewan and Guelph with support from Swine Innovation Porc and the Agriculture Development Fund Saskatchewan, said scientists are tracking the effects of stress
The community spread of COVID-19 in the Prairie Mountain Health Region since late July challenged the Manitoba, the Western Canadian, and even for that matter, the Eastern Canadian hog sectors in terms of processing capacity at the Maple Leaf Foods (MLF) plant in Brandon, MB. According to Andrew Dickson, general manager of Manitoba Pork, at
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure has taken on new meaning over the last six months. COVID-19 has taught Canadians that prevention, including social distancing, masks, and handwashing, are small steps that can make a big difference in the fight against a virus.Canada’s pork producers have been thinking a lot
With reports of multiple cases of COVID-19 at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon, MB, the pork processor voluntarily suspended pork exports to China temporarily. Chinese protocol requires any plant reporting a COVID-19 positive case to suspend exports to China temporarily. Worker absenteeism forced Maple Leaf to temporarily redirect some of the hog farmer live
Tyler Fulton, the director of risk management with h@ms Marketing Services, said a range of strategies helps minimize the impact of COVID-19 related slowdowns at the Maple Leaf plant in Brandon, MB. Uncertainty over the impact of COVID-19 on pork processing capacity continues to pressure live hog markets. Fulton said a number of the bigger plants
Manitoba Pork held its 2020 AGM by Zoom webinar on July 29, with several board members physically distancing in the Manitoba Pork boardroom in Winnipeg, MB, and other board members calling in via Zoom, joined by some Manitoba pork producers and interested observers. Manitoba Pork employee Grant Melnychuk acted as returning officer in the election
Bob Kleinsasser, hog boss with the Suncrest Colony near Steinbach, MB, said things are going reasonably well on the production side with no issues and lots of pigs. “But if the prices don’t improve, how much longer can you go on? It’s getting to be the point where at break-even, you can’t make a living,”
In a candid interview with Dr. John Carr, an international livestock consultant and veterinarian, right after Germany discovered its first wild boar infected with African Swine Fever, the Germans could be looking at flooding the European market with eight million pigs this year. Why, because Germany is the number one producer of pork. “But, the German
Recent pricing concessions negotiated with packers in Western Canada will make a difference, but not enough to stem the tide of losses that threatens to eliminate independent producers, says the Chair of Alberta Pork. Brent Moen took the time recently to describe for Prairie Hog Country the financial realities facing independent producers and the changes
