A western Manitoba hog producer described as one of the industry’s “champions for free trade” died Wednesday of injuries from a fall at a former aircraft hangar building.
Larry Friesen, who owned the farrowing operation Hangar Farms near Rivers, about 40 km northwest of Brandon, was working on the rafters of a hangar building at Rivers’ decommissioned air force base when he fell about seven metres, according to the Brandon Sun on Friday.
The Sun quoted Brandon RCMP as saying Friesen was rushed by ambulance to hospital in Brandon but died of his injuries. Foul play is not suspected in his death, the newspaper said.
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Funeral services haven’t yet been announced for Friesen, who had been a director on the board of the Manitoba Pork Council since 2001. His at-large “district” represented the province’s weanling hog exporters.
According to the pork council in a statement Friday, Friesen was “particularly focused on maintaining the free flow of trade.”
He travelled to Ottawa to work with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on removing the service fee for weanlings crossing the U.S. border, the council noted.
“He was very dedicated to resolving issues facing the weanling industry,” council chairman Karl Kynoch said in a statement. “He was always very passionate about being involved in trade and keeping the border open for free trade.”
When the weanling exporters’ district was created, the council noted, about 1.4 million weanlings were being exported from Manitoba. “In 2009, that number was 3.5 million.”
Winnipeg hog feed firm East-Man Feeds, which the Friesen family started at Steinbach, Man. in 1970, said in a separate statement Thursday that the company “not only lost an industry leader but more importantly a member of its family.”
According to East-Man Feeds, Friesen’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his name to Autism Speaks, which funds research on autism spectrum disorders.
