Over the past 10 years, the province has introduced at least 40 new regulations that affect the industry, and more are on the way
by MARY BAXTER
Herb Lepp worked 12 years for a hog farmer and then, in 1995, bought his own farm. It was a 250-sow farrow-to-wean operation located near Steinbach in the heart of Manitoba’s hog country, the Red River Valley.
He was one of many Manitoba farmers who saw a solid future in the industry. He shifted production to farrow-to-finish and eventually expanded his sow herd to nearly 600. When Maple Leaf Foods Inc. mothballed its Winnipeg packing facility and moved all slaughter to Brandon, he found a way to accommodate the $3 per hog increase in transportation costs.