Group discussed revised programs that are to be introduced in 2018
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Reporter
Farms.com
Last week, members of the pork industry met at the Sheraton hotel in Ottawa to plan for the continued success of the pork industry.
The meetings focused on three topics, Gary Stordy, manager of public relations for the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), said in an interview with Farms.com.
CPC strategic planning
For this session, the objective was “to further the development of CPC’s strategic plan by developing goals and measures of success for four priority areas,” said Stordy.
The four areas of priority are “enhancing value, managing risks, building public trust and ensuring organizational excellence.”
Swine Innovation Porc (SIP)
At this session, members of the pork industry considered providing “guidance to SIP in the development of its business plan, and if SIP should expand its mandate beyond the administration of the national swine cluster,” Stordy said.
SIP is an organization that encourages research and development in the country’s swine industry, according to its website.
PigSafe and PigCare
For this session, industry members reviewed what will be required from the CPC and provincial pork organizations to “facilitate the rollout out of the revised Canadian Quality Assurance (CQA) and Animals Care Assessment (ACA) programs,” said Stordy.
“The CQA and ACA components were last updated in 2004 and 2012, respectively,” he said.
With changes in hog practices, including revisions to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs in 2014, producers suggested that the programs needed to be updated, he explained.
The CPC began those updates in 2015 and producers have since piloted the program.
Currently, the Council is reviewing the CGA and ACA changes to “ensure the end result is streamlined, easy to use, technically sound (and) demonstrates the work (the CPC does) to produce safe, wholesome and high-quality Canadian pork,” said Stordy.
The new components are expected to be available in 2018, he said.