Next year’s Ontario Pork Congress plans to be a ‘pig’ deal

Oct 24, 2017

Large crowd attends AGM in Stratford last night

Staff Reporter

The Ontario Pork Congress held their annual general meeting yesterday and elected its committee members.

Chris Crump is the incoming president and discussed some of the executive committee’s plans for 2018 at Stratford’s Festival Inn.

“June 20 and 21 are the dates for the Congress (next) year. We are hoping to carry on with what we had built last year. So, the carcass competition will be expanded, the Bacon Maker Classic will be there. Taste the Best will be expanded as usual,” Crump explained to Farms.com last night following the meeting.

Crump and the rest of committee have many ideas for next year and look forward to growing the event.

“We are hoping to have a recreational park, so we can get some overnight campers and longer-stayers. (We have) a few ideas on the back burner (and) we’ll see where they go,” said Crump.

“Every committee is going to expand their growth and their projects; every committee will be expanding on what they have been working on over the last couple years to make it better. There’s always a lot of good ideas and the committees are great.”

The attendance at the event this year was up compared to years prior and Crump hopes to attract even greater numbers next year.

“(This) year we had a few more foreign visitors come … I think we had a few more grandparents come in to watch their grandkids in the show.

“I think we had more people come in actually from town to see what we were doing.

“We had Chef Arron there last year and I expect that to continue as well. And (that) just brings in a little different clientele.

“It’s a pig industry event and we want to grow everybody’s business. The suppliers are there to supply the farmers. We are celebrating pork, that is what we do,” said Crump.

Next year’s Ontario Pork Congress will be held at the Stratford Rotary Complex.

Photo:

Back (left to right) Chris Fullam, Francisco Trejo, Henry Groenestege, Tom Murray

Front (left to right) Meghan Kirkpatrick, Kirk McLean, Chris Crump, Joe Dwyer

Photo Credit: Glenn Ruegg

Video: FLEECED! Sheep Shearer Hands Over Clippers!

It's sheep shearing day at Ewetopia Farms! ?? Our Dorset lambs and ewes are getting fleeced — and for the first time, our shearer hands over his clippers to a beginner. We finish shearing the last of our adult ewes and this year’s Dorset ewe lambs.

From moving the sheep between barns, loading them into chutes, and watching the wool come off, this is always one of the most satisfying days on the farm. But this video has a twist — we welcomed a new helper, Gian, who’s not only lending a hand but also learning how to shear! With guidance from our experienced shearer, he got a crash course in sheep shearing and even tried his hand at shearing a couple of lambs himself.

You’ll see firsthand how both teacher and student handled this unique challenge. Shearing is more than just removing wool — it’s about sheep health, comfort, and giving us a closer look at the flock. It’s always amazing to see the transformation from woolly sheep to freshly shorn ewes and lambs.