Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Behind the Lines - October 2013

Thursday, October 10, 2013

When Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world, announced in late May that it was being purchased by a Chinese-based conglomerate with a name most couldn't pronounce, some people in the industry were gob-smacked. What did it mean? Would the U.S. government allow the sale to take place? Would a large amount of American-produced pork be sucked away to a market across the Pacific, opening up demand here?

Canada has a relatively short history of exporting pig meat to China, so Senior Staff Editor Don Stoneman started looking at the Chinese market by speaking to the people who have been involved there the longest, the purebred breeding stock producers, and expanded from there. His story outlining the complexities and challenges of Chinese pork production, and what we can expect to happen with businesses there, begins on page 6.

The pressure is always on to reduce costs in pork production, so when a change in your barn can save in a couple of ways it is well worth mentioning. Want to save on water in your barn and reduce manure spreading costs? A study at the Prairie Swine Centre indicates that use of a trough with a side panel saved 60 per cent on water use compared to nipple drinkers. This could produce savings in terms of both the cost of water and the cost of spreading liquid manure afterwards. This story by researchers Alvin Alvardo and Bernardo Predicala starts on page 30.

On the income side, Ridha Chilmeran, Ontario Pork's economic analyst, looks at the effects of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea on pig markets in North America. For Chilmeran's take on the situation, go to the Second Look column on page 38. BP

ROBERT IRWIN

Current Issue

April 2025

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

CANTERRA SEEDS acquires trusted seed brand

Friday, May 2, 2025

CANTERRA SEEDS has announced the acquisition of Alliance Seed, a respected pedigreed seed company previously owned by Paterson Grain, which has over 115 years of history in Canadian agriculture. This strategic step strengthens CANTERRA SEEDS’s presence in the seed market and helps bring more... Read this article online

P&H Acquires Key Quebec Grain Terminal

Friday, May 2, 2025

Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited (P&H) is working to strengthen Canada's grain transportation system by acquiring a deep-water marine export terminal in Quebec City. The facility was previously operated by Société en Commandite Terminal Grains and managed by Sollio Agriculture since... Read this article online

5,000 bushels of grain stolen from Sask. farm

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Saskatchewan RCMP is reminding producers to protect their farms after thieves made off with grain. An April 30 release from the Coronach detachment states thieves stole about 5,000 bushels of grain from storage bins on a farm near Ogema, Sask. That’s approximately the capacity of the... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top