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.


More money for national hog tracking system

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

Canada’s pork industry is getting an additional $3.7 million from the federal government to continue developing a national pig movement tracking system across the country.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the funding today at the Conestoga Meat Packers facility in Breslau. The commitment brings the federal government’s investment in a national hog traceability system to $7 million.

Curtiss Littlejohn, one of two Ontario representatives to the Canadian Pork Council, says the money announced today will be used by the council to educate farmers, processors and to a certain extent consumers about the value of “being able to trace the product back to where it came from.”

The council’s traceability system, called PigTrace Canada, will track the movement of hogs across the country. It’s technically functional now, Littlejohn says.

PigTrace is expected to be operational near the end of this year. With the latest government funding, the council will start testing the system with actual functional data and “move towards being ready to go into full traceability at the end of 2011.”

Phase one in the development of PigTrace was to create a national tag distribution system for hogs and the technical requirements needed for data input. The technical side is being tested and the system is being made ready to be released to farmers. It will be introduced to farmers once federal government regulations are passed and implemented, he says.

Littlejohn says the pork industry views traceability as a tool that will enable it to capture higher value markets.

A federal government press release lists the ability to quickly track the farm a pig came from in the event of a disease outbreak as another benefit. Having a national data base so the council can do tracking may help limit the economic and trade impacts of such emergencies, the release states.

The government has set this year as the deadline for Canada’s livestock industries to implement a national mandatory traceability system. Ritz says the pork industry is ahead of the beef industry in developing a system. Dairy has had traceability for several years. Asked if the deadline will be met, Ritz says, “we’re well underway and things are looking good.”

Ritz says both domestic and international consumers are demanding to know more about the food they eat. “Being able to say this is top quality Canadian product goes a long way with consumers around the world. They recognize the value and validity of Canadian product.”

Littlejohn says in developing its system, the pork industry is trying to introduce a program so farmers can quickly log in, enter their data and exit. “We are working with the major swine software companies to try and build a small subset within their program that will allow for automatic uploading of the required data.”

If that works out, farmers won’t have do any extra work “other than doing their normal swine record management,” he says, noting the idea is to develop a system that won’t interfere with the speed of commerce. BF

Current Issue

June 2025

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth

Monday, June 30, 2025

Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online

Expert Gopher Help for Farmers

Friday, June 27, 2025

With gopher populations increasing across Saskatchewan, many landowners are struggling with crop loss and land damage. These rodents not only reduce crop yields but also create dangerous conditions for livestock. In response, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), supported by the... Read this article online

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... 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