Hog Feed Additive Approved For Variable Dose

Elanco Canada has gained approval for what it describes as a more flexible range of doses for its swine feed additive Paylean. Paylean was already approved for doses of five parts per million (ppm) to improve hogs’ weight gain and feed efficiency, and 10 ppm for increased carcass leanness and dressing per cent. The new

USDA Finds More Show Pigs With H1N1 Flu Virus

Six pigs shown at the Minnesota State Fair last month have been confirmed as having had the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, the U. S. Agriculture Department said Oct. 29. The USDA said it is running confirmatory tests on samples from another six pigs that tested positive for the virus during preliminary tests. Some of those


Swine Fever May Impede Growth In Russia Herd

The spread of African swine fever, a deadly hog disease, to near St. Petersburg could threaten Russia’s attempts to become self-sufficient in pork production, the U. S. Meat Export Federation said Oct. 28 in a note to members. “If recent ASF outbreaks in Russia are as widespread as available information indicates, they could represent a

Financially Strapped Hog Farmers Seeking Tax Relief

Manitoba’s financially stressed hog farmers are asking the provincial government for tax relief as barns shut down and producers leave the industry at an accelerating rate. The Manitoba Pork Council wants the province to waive municipal taxes on hog barns this year, saying many producers just can’t afford to pay. MPC made its appeal in


Hog Transition Tender Delayed

“A lot of the barns that take this will never open up again.” – KARL KYNOCH, MPC Hog producers have had to wait an extra week to learn if they qualify for the $75-million Hog Farm Transition Program. The first tender for the federal program was originally scheduled for October 28. But the Canadian Pork

Briefs continued – for Nov. 5, 2009

New members: The Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council (MCEC) has appointed three new members to its council. Barry Todd, deputy minister of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives is the new chair. Other newcomers include, Charles Gall, of Moosehorn and David Wiens of Grunthal. They join current members Gaylene Dutchyshen, of Gilbert Plains, Albert Todosichuk, of


Letters – for Oct. 29, 2009

Consumer and producer disconnect growing While I appreciate and share Laura Rance’s concern for the world’s needy “Stuffed and starved,” Manitoba Co-operator Oct. 15, 2009, I can’t help but feel her editorial is, in itself, a prime example of the growing consumer/ producer disconnect that Rance refers to and which many fellow producers wish to

Get Your H1N1 Flu Shot

Turkeys on a farm in Ontario have become infected with the H1N1 flu virus, but no birds or eggs from the farm entered the food supply, provincial government officials said Oct. 20. The infection poses minimal risk to human health, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said in a news conference in


“Managing Supply” An Option For Battered Hog Farmers

“The nice thing about managing supply is it actually gives producers the tools to get it (returns) from the marketplace and we don’t keep going back to government with our hands out.” – IAN WISHART Canadian hog farmers should consider managing supplies, as American potato growers do, to avoid excess production and depressed prices, says

Manure Management Initiative Expands Its Board

The Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative (“Manure Initiative”) board of directors recently welcomed seven new members to the board. “Since its inception, the Manure Initiative has made every effort to form a board with a good cross-section of government (Agriculture, Conservation), academic (University of Manitoba), and agri-industry (Manitoba Pork Council, Maple Leaf Foods) expertise,” it