Reading Time: 6 minutes There’s a growing realization that wild pigs are becoming a major threat to Prairie agriculture — but also concern that a new provincial bounty could worsen the problem. “Wild pigs are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet,” said Ryan Brook, a USask associate professor of animal sciences and the country’s leading expert on […] Read more
Alarm bells are finally ringing as wild pig numbers soar
Spread of planet’s ‘worst invasive large mammal’ is prompting action — including a controversial bounty
U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures hit two week lows on robust supplies
Chicago | Reuters – CME Group live cattle and hog futures fell to two-week lows on Monday, pressured by bearish government supply reports released late on Friday. “There’s no shortage of market supplies or beef production until the fourth quarter at the earliest,” brokerage StoneX wrote in a note to clients. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on […] Read more
McDonald’s calls Icahn demands on sourcing pigs ‘unfeasible’
Investor cites company's 10-year-old pledge
Boston | Reuters — McDonald’s Corp on Thursday said Carl Icahn’s call for the fast food chain to stop buying pork from suppliers that house the animals in crates would be logistically unfeasible and prohibitively expensive. The billionaire investor, who owns roughly US$50,000 worth of McDonald’s stock, is pushing the company to change how it […] Read more
China’s hog output recovers, drags on Brazil pork exports
China's total Q1 pork imports down 64 per cent
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian pork exporters are grappling with a drop in volumes shipped to their main buyer, China, which has increased its pork meat production after an outbreak of African swine fever in 2018. ASF forced China to cull millions of hogs and increase imports. China continued to be Brazil’s top pork […] Read more
Alberta looks into ‘isolated’ case of PED
Feed, other objects considered possible sources
The source of what’s believed to have been an “isolated” recent case of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in southern Alberta was likely either feed or some object brought into the barn, veterinary officials say. The chief provincial veterinarian’s office said it was informed by a private veterinarian on Feb. 24 of a suspected case of […] Read more
Saskatchewan to license, limit wild boar farming
Moratorium placed on any new farms
Saskatchewan is tightening its rules on wild boar farming, including a moratorium on any new farms, in a renewed bid to keep the province’s feral pig population in check. The provincial ag ministry announced the moratorium Wednesday and said it’s “developing regulations for licensing existing commercial wild boar farms.” Regulations for wild boar and feral […] Read more
U.S. man with transplanted GM pig heart dies, hospital says
Reuters — A 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease who made history as the first person to receive a genetically modified pig’s heart died Tuesday afternoon at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the hospital said. David Bennett received the transplant on Jan 7. His condition began deteriorating several days ago, the hospital said […] Read more
Slammed by a huge jump in costs, pork producers are ‘just hanging on’
It’s not just sky-high feed costs — rising bills for heat, freight, and medication have eaten up a hike in prices
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beleaguered hog farmers are finally getting paid more but the extra cash — and then some — is blowing out the door as costs soar. A year ago, it cost about $140 per month to house and feed a pig, said Mark Wipf, hog and feed manager for Lakeside Colony Farming Company, located east of […] Read more
Hog producer ‘profitability plunges,’ says Alberta Pork
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s been one blow after another for the province’s hog producers, says Alberta Pork. “The past year has presented quite a few disruptions at every stage of the value chain,” Bijon Brown, the organization’s production economist, said in a release. The sharp rise in feed costs have been the biggest blow, but transportation disruptions, labour […] Read more
Pork industry looks ahead from turbulent 2021
Pork prices expected to stay elevated in 2022
MarketsFarm — Labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, high feed costs and lower prices posed constant threats to Canada’s hog industry in 2021. Nevertheless, pork appears to be in a good spot entering 2022, according to two analysts. “2021 was not the best, but not the worst,” said Tyler Fulton, director of risk management […] Read more