Reuters – The Dominican Republic is restricting pig shipments and mobilizing the military to contain the spread of African swine fever (ASF), the agriculture ministry said July 29, as the United States and Mexico tightened border checks to avoid infections. In an official statement July 29, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) also said it was […] Read more
Dominican Republic restricts pig shipments after ASF confirmed
African swine fever confirmed in Dominican Republic pigs: USDA
Chicago | Reuters – The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the deadly hog virus African swine fever in samples from pigs in the Dominican Republic, the agency said on Wednesday, fuelling concerns about the disease creeping closer to the United States. The positive tests represent the first detection of the disease in the Americas in about 40 […] Read more
German hog market shrugs off swine fever discovery on farms
Hamburg | Reuters — German pig prices were unchanged this week despite the discovery of the disease African swine fever in farm animals, German animal farmers’ association VEZG said on Wednesday. German pig prices were the same as last week at 1.42 euros (C$2.10) per kilogram slaughter weight, the VEZG said. A third case of […] Read more
Another swine flu variant case appears in Manitoba
Variant of H3N2 confirmed in southern Manitoba resident
A single and apparently isolated case of another influenza variant normally seen in hogs has turned up in a Manitoba resident, the province announced Monday. Manitoba Public Health on Monday said the H3N2 influenza variant (H3N2v) seen in this case is related to flu viruses that circulate in pigs, noting that while such viruses don’t […] Read more
Swine fever containment plan agreed to
Reading Time: < 1 minute If African swine fever ever found its way into wild pigs in Canada, exports of pigs and pork would come to a screeching halt — even if commercial hog farms were totally free of infection. But food inspection agencies in Ottawa and Washington have come up with a plan to “minimize trade impacts while protecting […] Read more
Brent Moen stays on as Alberta Pork chair
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brent Moen is continuing on as chair of Alberta Pork. Moen and Craig Thompson were re-elected at the organization’s recent AGM along with new directors Ard Bonthuis and Andy Walter. They join four other board members: vice-chair Stan Vanessen, Martin Waldner, Hendrik Fourie and Marcel Rupert. Alberta pork producers have had a tumultuous year with […] Read more
Some beleaguered hog farmers want production cuts
In another sign of distress, six growers asked Alberta Pork to lead efforts to cut production
Reading Time: 2 minutes Some hog producers are urging Alberta Pork to lead a charge to cut pig production in the province. The unusual request is the latest instalment in an ongoing effort to staunch the flow of red ink in the province’s hog sector. But leading an effort to cut production in a bid to win higher prices […] Read more
Olymel closure due to COVID creates costly backlog for hog producers
Backlog of hogs tops 100,000 and it will take weeks to work through it when plant reopens
Reading Time: 2 minutes Red Deer’s Olymel plant remains closed following three deaths linked to the COVID-19 outbreak at the hog processing facility. The plant closed temporarily but indefinitely on Feb. 16, and as of press time, it remained closed, with more than 500 confirmed COVID cases linked to the facility by Alberta Health Services. That’s more than a […] Read more
Canada’s year-end cattle herd continues shrinking
Slaughter beat pre-pandemic pace in second half, StatsCan says
Year-over-year contraction continued for Canada’s cattle herd at the start of 2021, while newborn piglet counts kept Canada’s hog herd on the rise during the same period, according to Statistics Canada. StatsCan on Monday reported 11.2 million cattle on Canadian farms at Jan, 1, 2021 — down one per cent from the year-earlier date and […] Read more
Canada’s active PED case count dwindling
Affected Manitoba farms now all presumptive-negative
The number of active outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) on hog farms in Canada has shrunk to a few in Eastern Canada, with affected sites elsewhere now believed negative for the disease. Manitoba Pork announced Wednesday that the last of the premises to report a PED outbreak in that province in 2020 has now […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
