Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday January 31, 2023

Feb 01, 2023

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) has elected its first female president.

Jill Verwey of Portage, Manitoba farms with her family in a mixed dairy, beef, and grain operation.

Verwey won the election at KAP’s annual meeting over fellow incumbent vice-president Jake Ayre in the organization’s first contested election for president in several decades.

She replaces Bill Campbell who served the maximum four one-year terms as the head of KAP.

Agriculture in the Classroom – Canada (AITC-C) is extending its best wishes to its founding executive director.

Johanne Ross has served AITC-C for seven years. Her final day of work will be Feb. 9.

Ross was instrumental to the establishment and growth of the national organization.

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Video: Season 7, Episode 1: Managing Risk and Seeing Opportunities in U.S. Pork Production

Today’s episode features three guests discussing the similarities and differences between pork production in the United States and Brazil, along with strategies for managing risk in today’s industry while recognizing and acting on opportunities. First, Dr. Anne Caroline de Lara, executive manager of live pig production at Seara Alimentos, a JBS company in Brazil, is joined by Dr. Matthew Turner, head of operations for JBS Live Pork. Together, they discuss how labor, climate and ventilation challenges vary between Brazil and the United States, while underscoring their shared commitment to raising healthy pigs. They also point to lessons producers in both countries can take from one another’s systems and on-farm experiences. Then, Brady Reicks, risk manager at Reicks View Farms, shares his perspective on risk management, drawing from his background in markets and his transition into farming. He discusses how protecting margins varies by operation and offers practical approaches producers can use to make marketing and business decisions with greater confidence rather than hesitation.

Both conversations were recorded at recent industry events focused on swine livability, including the International Conference on Pig Livability and Iowa Swine Day.