Manitoba Pork Hosts Virtual AGM

Manitoba Pork held a virtual AGM last week due to COVID-19.

 

General Manager Andrew Dickson provided this update.

 

"We've met with the packing plants as western pork councils. Olymel, for example, has brought in a new pricing formula. Britco has brought in a more competitive model and offered some cash incentives. Maple Leaf foods has recognized that there is an issue in the industry and has offered a temporary cash incentive of $20 per pig for 20 weeks. HyLife introduced a new pricing formula for their suppliers. We continue to work with the Canadian Pork Council in terms of improving the Business Risk Management programs to make them more effective for producers."

 

Dickson said pork producers are seeing very low prices based on historic norms, adding it's going to be rough waters at least until spring time.

 

He notes there are a number of new barns being proposed and constructed across the province.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.