After closing for 14 days due to a COVID-19 outbreak among employees, Olymel is resuming operations at its pork processing plant in Red Deer, Alberta starting on Thursday, March 4. With support from Alberta Health Services, the company says slaughter operations will resume on Thursday, with cutting room operations beginning on Friday. The company says… Read More
Category: Pork
Statistics Canada says that the cow herd and ewe flock have declined as of January 1, 2021, year-over-year, while hog numbers are up slightly. As of the first of the year, StatsCan says the hog herd increased by less than one per cent — just 0.4% year-over-year — while cattle numbers dropped one per cent… Read More
Olymel has temporarily closed its hog slaughtering, cutting, and deboning plant at Red Deer, Alberta. “Despite the testing protocols and sanitary measures already in place, as well as the close collaboration of Alberta Health Services to deal with a resurgence of positive cases of COVID-19 among plant employees, Olymel management believes that the conditions are… Read More
At least six commercial hog producers in Alberta are advocating for reducing pig production in the province to pressure processors to change how animals are priced. The group met with Alberta Pork’s board of directors and staff last week to discuss their proposal to cut production, and to determine where the provincial organization stands on… Read More
You’ve maybe heard of, or like our host Shaun Haney have had the chance to visit an anaerobic biodigester facility, but generally the information out there is few and far between. Coming at the livestock and manure management from another angle, our guest for today’s RealAg LIVE! is Jennifer Green of the Canadian Biogas Association…. Read More
The continued growth of wild pig populations in Western Canada has Ontario regulators working to identify the extent of the problem in the province, and root out the invasive animals before populations establish. Wild pigs are defined as pigs that are not contained and can be found outside fences, says Bree Walpole, a senior policy… Read More
There were no big surprises in the USDA’s February supply/demand report on Tuesday, although it had a slightly bearish tone thanks to a lower-than-expected corn export estimate. U.S. corn ending stocks for 2020-21 were reduced by 50 million bushels compared to the January report on a 50 million bushel increase in exports driven by China…. Read More
Olymel, the pork processing and export company, is planning to add a $9-million expansion to one of its Quebec processing facilities, formerly the F. Ménard plant, in advance of adding a second shift and 250 jobs. The added shift is set to begin in September 2021. Renovations include adding freezing capacity, expanding worker facilities, and… Read More
Not only is Tom Vilsack set to return as U.S. secretary of agriculture, he’s also open to bringing back U.S. country-of-origin labelling (COOL) for beef and pork; but only if it doesn’t lead to retaliation from trading partners, such as Canada, under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Vilsack, who was ag secretary when the Obama… Read More
The federal and Saskatchewan governments announced $7.5 million in funding for livestock and forage research in 2021 through the Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) on Wednesday. The $7.5 figure includes more than $4.1 million for 24 livestock and forage-related research projects, and nearly $3.5 million in operational funding for the Prairie Swine Centre and the Vaccine… Read More
The Manitoba Pork Council has announced the hiring of a new general manager. Cam Dahl, currently the chief strategy officer for Cereals Canada, will be joining the provincial pork organization as of February 22, 2021. Dahl served as the founding CEO of Cereals Canada for several years prior to its merger with the Canadian International… Read More
The federal government has announced $162.6 million in additional funding for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) over the next five years, and $40 million per year in added funding for the agency on an ongoing basis after that. The funding boost, announced by Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Friday, follows… Read More
Thingsfactory, an internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence product development company out of Montreal, Que., is launching the TF-400F, a rugged, weatherproof, portable body temperature sensor suitable for livestock. The TF-400F can detect, analyze, and classify body temperatures of pig, cow, and horse populations in crowded, queued, or individual situations, in real-time. The new… Read More
While the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been slower in Canada than in the U.S. and the UK, questions also still remain on how each province will decide who receives the vaccine and when. As previously reported by RealAgiculture, the Canadian Meat Council and other agri-food industry groups have been lobbying for meat workers to… Read More
In agriculture, we thrive off of competition. The buying and selling of commodities is what we do. However, there are many different markets out there that one can explore. Stewart Skinner, hog farmer from Listowel, Ont., raises his pigs for more of a niche market than many. There are three different markets that he and… Read More