PigTrace tag prices go up Dec. 15

Dec 05, 2023

One of the prices producers pay for hog traceability will be going up 10 per cent.

The Manitoba Pork Council said in a notice to producers Wednesday that the Canadian Pork Council will apply a 10 per cent increase to the prices of PigTrace ear tags and accessories, effective Dec. 15.

Table: PigTrace ear tag price list effective Dec. 15, 2023, including shipping; taxes extra.

pig table
As for accessories available from the program, the universal tag applicator will be priced at $30.04; the Retract-o-matic tag applicator, $80.99; a replacement tag pin, $3.50; and a permanent marker, $5.78.

Current pricing will be valid for orders placed and paid by Dec. 14 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the pork council said Wednesday.

The Manitoba council said the CPC “has incurred increased costs for the manufacture and distribution” of the ear tags throughout 2023. “These costs have unfortunately become unsustainable and must be passed on to customers.”

Hog producers can order tags online via their PigTrace accounts, by phone at 1-866-300-1825, by email or by contacting provincial pork offices in their area.

Click here to see more...

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.