Saskatchewan's Pork Sector Shows Potential

The pork industry in Saskatchewan is growing, today the industry produces about 2.3 million pigs a year.

 

Mark Ferguson is General Manager of Sask Pork and says the economics for the pork sector is looking good.

 

“You know this protein shortage worldwide is going to result in higher prices. Secondly, I mean the past year with the harvest we had, there's significant feed grains available and the prices are a little lower than they've been in recent years. So, I mean that's certainly helpful for the bottom line of hog producers. I think there's lots of tough and wet green out there that still needs to be dried and hog producers can make use of that type of product.”

 

He’s optimistic about the growth in the industry.

 

“We've had a couple of new barns built and populated with hogs and that's very exciting for the industry. I think we're probably going to see some more construction in the New Year which is great. You know, I think there's some very positive indicators that are influencing people’s decisions to build barns.”

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.