Last week, we announced that a 400-head hog operation in Alberta has contracted the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. Environmental surveillance performed at high-traffic pig sites in the province—including assembly yards, abattoirs and truck washes—have all tested negative for PED. The investigation into the source of this virus is ongoing. Animal trace backs have been…
A 400-head hog operation in Alberta has contracted the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus, a disease that causes diarrhea and vomiting in pigs. Alberta Pork is working closely with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry to fully investigate this outbreak and prevent the disease from spreading further. This is the first-ever reported case of PED in Alberta.…
Access to medically important antimicrobials has changed due to new federal regulations. The responsible use of antimicrobials contributes greatly to animal welfare and public trust—a top priority for Alberta’s pork producers. While Alberta Pork supports the new requirements, our producers are concerned with continuing to easily access these products. We are surveying producers to find…
The Government of Alberta has released new technical rules governing farm and ranch occupational health and safety. In 2016, the government introduced Bills 6 and 17, now known as the Enhancement of Protection of Farm and Ranch Workers Act and the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act. These acts—covering only waged, non-family farm workers—have applied OHS…
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) has just released its 2018 Public Trust Research. For the third year in a row, the rising cost of food tops the list of concerns for Canadians, beating out health care, energy and the economy. It has been suggested that meat prices are expected to decline for consumers…
ManureTracker is an Alberta-based manure record keeping application that will improve your farm management and move you away from those paper records. This app will help keep track of what is still left to do – be it for a new soil test for your land, finishing incorporation or completing a transfer to another farm.…
With Christmas quickly approaching, are you headed back home for the holidays? How about a vacation overseas? If “back home” or your vacation destination is in a known African Swine Fever (ASF) source country, it’s important to be mindful of what you bring back to Canada with you, to prevent the spread of ASF. It…
Hog farmers, industry partners and members of the public have a new tool to educate and inform them on the latest issues of pork production: the Alberta Pork app, now available for Apple iOS and Android devices. Both Apple and Android users can download the app by searching “Alberta Pork” using their respective device application…
Alberta Pork is pleased to announce its support for the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences’ (ALES) Work-Integrated Learning: Animal Science Mini-Internships program, taking place in February 2019. The Alberta Pork board of directors has approved a $25,000 endowment donation to the program, which takes place twice annually to provide students…
An abundance of supply in over-saturated markets has producers feeling the pinch more than ever as two-decade pricing lows have hammered away at the industry recently. As Canadian pork looks to break into markets across the Pacific and Atlantic, we must confront the growing trend toward imports of U.S. pork into our domestic market. While…