A domestic technical obstacle has been cleared out of Canadian pork’s export path to the European Union, the Canadian Pork Council said Friday. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week made changes to its Manual of Procedures, which will allow pork packers to apply health mark labels after pork has been frozen, the council said. […] Read more

Canada untangles pork label rule for EU export

If NAFTA ain’t broke, don’t fix it, pork sector says
CNS Canada — As talks begin toward reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement, John Ross of the Canadian Pork Council repeats what many in the pork and beef industries in Canada and the U.S. have been saying all along: First, do no harm. “The worst thing that could happen to us was if we […] Read more

Bill to tighten cruelty laws downed in Commons
A federal private member’s bill meant to tighten animal cruelty laws in Canada — alarming farm organizations and energizing animal welfare groups en route — has gone the way of most private members’ bills. Bill C-246, introduced in February by Toronto Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and given first reading, died Wednesday in the House of […] Read more

Fines now an option for pig traceability enforcement
Canadian hog producers who don’t follow the federal requirements for animal identification and tracking of animal movements could now be fined for non-compliance, though it’s expected such fines would be a “last resort.” The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday announced new amendments to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations, allowing CFIA-designated officials […] Read more

Manitoba hog producers worry as PED continues spread
CNS Canada — Hog industry officials are increasingly concerned how Manitoba producers will be impacted after another hog farm in southeastern Manitoba confirmed a case of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) on Saturday. The province, which until last week hadn’t reported any new on-farm cases since January 2015, logged new cases in the southeast on May […] Read more

National hedging plan weighed for hog farmers
If there’s a way for a national-level hedging program to help Canadian hog farmers limit their exposure to hog price volatility, the national hog industry body aims to find it. The Canadian Pork Council on Friday announced it had picked up $169,530 in federal funding for a feasibility study on developing such a hedging program. […] Read more

Pork producers will soon need to use pain medication in routine swine procedures
Pork producers will need to use pain medications for procedures such as castration and tail docking starting in July 2016
Reading Time: 3 minutes Change is coming, but it won’t be huge change nor difficult for pork producers to adopt. Effective July 1, 2016, producers will have to use pain mitigation medication when performing procedures like castration and tail docking. “There are a number of these elective husbandry procedures in the code, and these are painful procedures for pigs, […] Read more