Articles in the Spring 2016 Western Hog Journal Include:
Hot Issues: “Humane” Pork Wanted in Eastern Canada
- There is more push for natural, humane, antibiotic-free meat and crate-free raised pigs.
Industry News: Alberta Goes to Bat for Producers, Olymel, ATRAHAN tickled pink with new pork partnership
- Alberta Pork’s interactions with producers, consumers, future consumers and government are described.
- Olymel has a new hog slaughtering partner ATRAHAN Transformation Inc.
Social Licence: Ag in the Classroom Cultivating Connections, Increasing Meat Enjoyment and Education in Albert Youth
- A national initiative involving teaching agriculture in the classroom in order to see agriculture as a viable career option and understanding where their food comes from.
- Nutrient requirements are low for meat and dairy in youth. Increasing awareness of the benefits to 11 – 18 year old students through cooking classes, recipe contests and educational materials may help.
Research and Innovation: Feeding Barley to Starter Pigs, PRRS Eradication Project Provides Benefits to Alberta’s Pork Industry, Research in Pigs Benefits Human Health, Sex Sorting Sperm, Portable Assay Could Deliver Faster PEDv Detection, Managing Sows in Groups from Weaning
- Low or high quality barley can replace wheat grain in starter pig diets when balanced properly for amino acids and energy while not affecting performance.
- Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome can have devastating effects and needs wo be mitigated. A project to fully eradicate it in North America is ongoing.
- Large animal models have many benefits on improving human health related research due to similarities with humans developmentally, anatomically and physiologically.
- Sexting Technologies has a new system using flow cytometric analysis and cell sorting. In the future, customers will be able to purchase gender-sorted semen.
- Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus is highly contagious and can cause huge losses. A rapid pen-side assay was developed to test fecal swabs, truck washes and environmental samples for PEDv. This will help monitor the disease in a reliable, fast and user-friendly way.
- Mixing sows in groups at weaning may have production advantages under the correct management conditions.
Production and Processing: PigWatch: New Technology for Predicting the Best Time to Inseminate Sows, Sourcing Labels can Reduce Cost
- The technology PigWatch can help find the best time to breed each sow through sow heat cycle detection and can reduce the number of semen doses used per sow.
- Labeling budgets can be decreased through unique consignment and inventory management. Large food processors are using specialty converters that deliver the lowest prices.
Pork Culture and Trends: Your Daily Bacon
- Bacon has become popular in pop culture, often used in memes and as a funny fashion choice.
