RMs near halfway mark on hog barn rule revisit

RMs near halfway mark on hog barn rule revisit

The clock is ticking for municipalities to set their own size limits when it comes to conditional use for hog barns

Municipalities have a little over half a year left to review their policy on how big a new hog barn has to be before it sparks a conditional use hearing. The province rolled back its own conditional use requirements in June, part of a list of changes made to the Planning Act around large-scale livestock

Manitoba is experiencing growing interest in hog barn construction. 

Pork industry chalking up wins

While poor prices have grabbed the headlines the long-term trends are more positive

The Manitoba Pork Council is quietly celebrating a string of low-key wins during its fall producer meetings. From falling numbers of PED cases to a modest barn-building boom and new trade deals that will stabilize and expand markets, long-term trends look positive, the group says. Why it matters: The industry needs to stay focused on


Hog Watch is arguing that animal units should be based on barn capacity, not the physical number of pigs.

Hog barn expansion poses questions

Hog Watch says the approval should have been subject to different rules

A hog barn near Strathclair has come under scrutiny after critics say it failed to meet the proper approvals prior to construction. The wrangle over the facility has revealed grey areas in the regulations which some feel are open to interpretation. Capacity in question In a September submission to the RM of Yellowhead council, advocacy

Proposed changes would give municipalities more say over development decisions.

Province proposes changes to approval process for livestock operations

Bill 19 is ‘a balanced approach’ that will reduce red tape for municipalities, 
says Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton

A bill introduced in the Manitoba legislature March 19 will make it easier for livestock producers to rebuild or renovate existing barns. Bill 19, The Planning Amendment Act (Improving Efficiency in Planning) proposes changes to how livestock operations are approved by municipalities, and other matters related to zoning bylaws and appeals. Under the bill, owners

Pork sector mixed victories and challenges in 2017

Pork sector mixed victories and challenges in 2017

Policy changes positive war with the worst PEDv outbreak on record and renewed criticism from Hog Watch as pork producers look back on 2017

Manitoba’s pork sector has racked up victories on paper, but challenges on the ground during 2017. In perhaps one of the biggest wins for the industry, 2017 ended the freeze on new barns, something industry has fought for since a rule requiring anaerobic digesters in new barns was first introduced in 2006 and expanded province-wide


Western pork producers gather at one of two Manitoba Pork Council Membership meetings Nov. 9 in Portage la Prairie. The incoming Swine Development Corporation was one of the items on the agenda.

Development corporation to assist hog barn builders

With Bill 24 passed, hog barns expansion is once again a possibility, 
but Manitoba Pork Council says the approval process still frequently 
leaves producers looking for help navigating it

The Manitoba Pork Council hopes its new Swine Development Corporation will help farmers navigate the waters of building new barns. Chair George Matheson says the service is about halfway ready for its launch. The pork council has allocated $60,000 for the new program, which Matheson says will be run primarily by the pork council’s general

Door opens to hog expansion

Door opens to hog expansion

Anaerobic digesters out, new barns in

New hog barns will be built Manitoba. After an all-night session at the Manitoba Legislature, Bill 24 has passed its final reading and received royal assent. Better known as the Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, Bill 24 covers legislation ranging from consumer protection and labour relations, to residential tenancies and transportation of dangerous

Legislative Affairs sign

Bill 24 to allow new hog barns

A diverse group of individuals and organizations spend two nights making the case for and against the hog industry

Untreated manure is good for the soil, anaerobic digesters are ineffective, hogs will poison Lake Winnipeg, farm expansion has ignored Treaty Land Entitlements and immigration relies on the pork industry. Those are just a sampling of the varied opinions heard by an all-party committee of the provincial legislature last week during two days of public


Manitoba’s pork producers say building code changes recognize what barns are, rather than treating them as factories occupied by humans.

Barn building code changes under fire after blaze

Hog Watch Manitoba is concerned that proposed building code changes will decrease fire safety; 
the province and pork industry don’t agree

Manitoba Pork is standing by the province’s proposed building code changes, even as advocacy group Hog Watch Manitoba argues they might increase the risk of hog barn fires. In January 2017, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced plans to repeal the Farm Building Code and instead roll farm structures into the provincial building code. The changes

Editorial: Pigs and protests

Any changes to the rules governing the operation, permitting or construction of hog barns in Manitoba are always going to be controversial. This is a well-worn debate with both sides set to battle over perceived risks to the environment or the industry, depending on the advocate’s point of view. What is a little surprising is