A piglet in the grass

Pigs among the poplars: a peek inside a unique Danish hog farm

With saturated markets at home, most of this Danish hog farm’s organic pork fills American appetites

A sow lounges on her side in a dusty hollow she’s dug for herself. A few piglets nestle up to her belly for a quick snack while the rest of her litter capers around her. She and her neighbour sows are too big to escape their electric-fenced pastures, but the piglets are not. Gangs of

“This is the time of year where we traditionally see an uptick in cases and I’m concerned that that’s going to happen again and we’ll see a new wave.” – Cam Dahl, Manitoba Pork.

PED cases still on the rise

Cases in the current outbreak had reached 114 by mid-June

Manitoba is not on the right track when it comes to porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). That was the unfortunate news from Manitoba Pork general manager Cam Dahl in the third week of June, with the province still embroiled in its most serious outbreak of the disease to date. “This is the time of year where


U.K. pork producers are facing unprecedented losses as costs of production soar.

Struggling British pig industry calls for grocer Tesco to step up

Reuters – The trade body for Britain’s pig industry on May 5 told Tesco, the country’s biggest supermarket group, it needs to do more to support struggling producers or risk losing its U.K. pork supply base. In an open letter to Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy, the chairman of the National Pig Association (NPA), Rob

“Perfect storm” power outage results in 2,000 pig deaths

“Perfect storm” power outage results in 2,000 pig deaths

Backup generators and phone notification systems failed during April 24 foul weather

About 2,000 pigs perished in a storm-fueled power outage at a HyLife farm site near Kola on April 24, the company confirmed. “During extremely challenging and lengthy weather conditions, which resulted in highway closures, travel advisories and dangerous driving conditions, our employees were not able to access one of our sites,” said Dave Penner, HyLife’s


Cam Dahl speaks at the Manitoba Pork Council annual meeting in Winnipeg, April 6.

Pork producers eye antimicrobial use benchmark

Pork council leaders imply they anticipate future regulations, but said their sector isn’t being singled out

A study to get a bead on antibiotic use in Manitoba’s swine herd is less about appearances, more about dialing in management practices before antibiotic resistance becomes an issue, Manitoba Pork Council (MPC) leaders said during their annual general meeting April 6. “It’s not just about PR, it’s actually, ‘We’re going to have to do

Both the hog and poultry sectors are faced with disease issues that are about to test the province's ability to crisis manage.

Managing Manitoba’s growing animal disease watch list

Is Manitoba ready for an animal disease fight with multiple fronts?

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) may not be the only battle in the near future for the province’s already busy top veterinary authority. Manitoba’s office of the chief veterinary officer (CVO) is already occupied with the latest, and worst ever, eruption of PED—a virulent neonatal pig disease that, although no threat to humans, is well known


Are Manitoba hog producers on the verge of viral spring? As the seasons turn, the risk of livestock disease is climbing in the province.

PED outbreak hits record levels

An atypical, and ongoing, fall-winter outbreak has experts worried about what spring will bring

Ordinarily the risk of PED infections in Manitoba hog herds rises with the temperatures in the spring. But for the first time, this year the sector is heading into the usual risk season with an epidemic outbreak already raging. As of March 30, Manitoba’s office of the chief veterinary officer (CVO) had confirmed 88 cases




Comment: Manufacturing human organs… with farm animals

Animal production could someday be saving human lives

In an unprecedented surgery, a 57-year-old American with serious heart disease had a heart transplant with a genetically modified pig’s heart. The operation took place on January 7. A few weeks later, the patient is still doing well, reports suggest. This surgery, a first in the world, performed by a team from the University of