Alberta Pork’s board of directors, staff and producers regret to announce that long-time pork industry titan, Bernie Peet, passed away unexpectedly on Wed., Apr. 20, aged 72-years-old. Our sincere condolences to Peet’s loved ones and former colleagues.
Peet studied agriculture at Reading University, in Berkshire, U.K., from where he graduated, in 1974. After graduation, he took a position with the university as the manager of its swine research unit. A few years later, he took a position managing a commercial hog operation in Herefordshire, and eventually moved on to manage a pig demonstration unit in Warwickshire.
In 1986, Peet helped develop one of the industry’s first electronic feeding systems – a crowning achievement that helped him gain recognition around the world. In 1991, he founded a consultancy to help U.K. producers transition to group sow housing, which was growing in popularity at the time through legislative means. During his time in various roles in the U.K. hog industry, he asserted himself as an expert technical communicator.
Sensing the need for a change in scenery, and recognizing the benefits of western Canadian hog production, Peet made the move to Alberta to work with Rocky Mountain Pork, near Red Deer, in 2001. For several years, he also led the organizing committee for the Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, ensuring barn workers had access to recent research and technical advancements.
By 2007, he made a transition to agriculture journalism, leveraging more than three decades of experience and being named editor of the Western (now Canadian) Hog Journal – a position he held until 2013, when he retired. The following year, he was given a lifetime achievement award at Alberta Pork Congress.
Peet and his wife, Cathy, moved back home to England recently, where they settled in Warwick, not far from Birmingham. Earlier this year, Peet was hospitalized on account of COVID-19. Sadly, he did not recover.
A funeral service will be held at Oakley Wood Crematorium in Warwick on Thurs., May 12 at 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. MDT, in Alberta). The service will be livestreamed here, and the recording can be viewed any time for one week following. The PIN to access the livestream is 621-0680.
Though Peet is gone, his impact has left a permanent mark on our industry, and he will not be forgotten.
