Reading Time: 4 minutes The Western Hog Exchange has one message for the pork industry in the wake of animal abuse allegations at its Red Deer facility. “What we saw is not acceptable,” said Brent Moen, chairman of the farmer-owned exchange. “We’re introducing changes, and we’re taking responsibility for this. And we will make improvements to our process.” An […] Read more
Officials at Red Deer hog facility vow animal abuse won’t happen again
Western Hog Exchange chair says he doesn’t like animal rights group’s tactics but says its undercover video will result in ‘very positive changes’
Pork producers urged to remain vigilant for PED virus over the fall and winter
New cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea in Manitoba have Alberta producers being warned not to drop their guard
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta pork producers are being warned to remain vigilant about a deadly pig virus, but may face another threat — falling prices if the U.S. herd rebounds from the PEDv crisis. The province’s pork sector has been successful in keeping porcine epidemic diarrhea out of Alberta, but new cases in Manitoba in the past month […] Read more
Pot-bellied pigs, Shetland ponies and rabbits, oh my!
Lloydminster Rare and Exotic Fall Sale, Saturday, Sept. 27
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pssst… Do you want to buy a duck? Or sell a goat? How about a donkey? Then the annual Lloydminster Rare and Exotic Fall Sale on Sept. 27 is for you. The sale, which has been running for 31 years, is popular with hobby farmers and attracts about 800 people from Alberta and Saskatchewan each […] Read more
Don’t take a chance on porcine plasma
Reading Time: < 1 minute Some Canadian pork veterinarians do not recommend feeding porcine plasma to nursery pigs, because pigs that have ingested it have the risk of developing porcine epidemic diarrhea. “We know that the porcine plasma found in the initial cases in Ontario was PCR positive for PEDv,” said veterinarian Egan Brockhoff. When those positive samples were fed […] Read more
Officials hopeful in PEDv battle
The number of new cases of the deadly pig virus is falling, but experts fear it could soar again
Reading Time: 3 minutes The number of new cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea is falling, but it’s too soon to say if the corner has been turned, says Alberta veterinarian Egan Brockhoff. “One of the key things for all of us as we move into the summer will be what happens in the U.S. this fall,” the owner of […] Read more
Hog industry braces for PED re-infection
A farm in Indiana has suffered a second outbreak of the deadly PED virus, and Canadian hog producers can expect the same risk in their own herds
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian hog producers could see increased mortality in their herds as the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus begins to re-infect hog herds, says an Alberta livestock veterinarian. “We have to be prepared to live in a world where this infection and this disease is going to continue to recycle throughout herds in the United States, […] Read more
Local food movement continues to soar
Visitors spent an estimated $878 million at farmers’ markets in Alberta in 2012, a jump of more than 50 per cent from four years earlier
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jered Serben never planned to become part of the local food scene, but is glad he is. The fourth-generation farmer grew up on a traditional hog operation, which transitioned to grain and then exited pork production when hog prices plummeted in the early 2000s. But his heart was never in it. “We got into more […] Read more
PED has a bright side if virus kept off Canadian farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Canadian hog producers who have been hit hard by the U.S. country-of-origin labelling law — if they can keep the disease off their farms. “With the PED situation, there is a temporary reduction in the COOL impact,” said Martin Rice, executive […] Read more
Pork industry successful at preventing PEDv
Funding from Growing Forward 2 helps pork industry to increase programs to prevent porcine epidemic diarrhea virus
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s pork industry is getting another $1.35 million to improve biosecurity and thwart the arrival of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). “The funding comes at a critical time for our industry,” said Alberta Pork chair Frank Novak. “There’s a sense of guarded optimism for the future after a series of very challenging years.” Alberta […] Read more
Iowa company develops vaccine for PEDv
Harrisvaccines working with USDA to obtain a conditional licence
Reading Time: 2 minutes An Iowa animal pharmaceutical company has shipped about 770,000 doses of a new vaccine that treats a deadly swine virus first detected in U.S. herds this year and has spread to 20 states, a company official said in an interview. Harrisvaccines, based in Ames, Iowa, developed the vaccine called “iPED” in August to fight porcine […] Read more
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