Manitoba Pork Chop Talk

Today on the show, we are joined by Vince Barletta, CEO of Harvest Manitoba. Vince joins us to chat about the history of Harvest, how the need for food has grown exponentially over the last few years, and the new Food Transformation Centre that will greatly grow Harvest's capacity to feed Manitobans. More information on Harvest Manitoba and how you can support their work can be found at: https...

Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Briana Hagen, CEO and Lead Scientist with the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing. Briana joins us to chat about CCAW's work, the barriers to farmers and those in rural communities accessing mental health treatment, and what signs to be mindful of when employees could be dealing with a mental health crisis. More information on CCAW can be found at...

Today on the show, we are joined by Alison Van Eenennaam, Professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California-Davis. Alison joins the show to discuss the differences between GMO's and gene editing, how gene edited pigs can protect pigs from diseases like PRRS, and what the barriers might be to public acceptance. More information about Alison can be found here: https://animalscie...

Today on the show, we are joined by Mitchell Timmerman from Manitoba Agriculture. Mitchell joins us to chat about environmental farm plans, before we dive in to the province's new greenhouse gas assessment tool and how farmers can use that information to make environmentally conscious decisions. More information on EFPs and the tool can be found at: https://online.manitobaefp.ca/ Manitoba Pork...

Today on the show, we are joined by Karina Mikkelsen, a hog farmer and consultant from Denmark. Karina joins us to chat about how hog farming differs between Denmark and Canada before we talk about how to care for piglets from day 1 and how to treat the sow like a princess. Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that represents 624 hog farms across the province, funded through levy doll...

Today on the show, we are joined by Michael Fitzgerald from Professional Ag Marketing. Michael joins us to chat about the expectations for the US pork market this year, what impacts that will have on Canada and Mexico, and how the competition for different proteins in the store stacks up. More information on Michael can be found at: https://professionalagmarketing.com/meet-the-team/michael-fitzger...

Today on the show, we are joined by Brett Stuart, founding partner at Global AgriTrends. Brett joins us to chat about trade with China between Canada and the United States, what the recent history of those relationships have been, some of the challenges and opportunities going forward, and how Canada is well-positioned on rare earth minerals and energy. More information on Global AgriTrends can be...

Today on the show, we are joined by Kim Ominski, Peter Frolich, and Hooman Derakshani, all from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. We cover what the faculty is and how they prepare students for careers in agriculture, how research projects they undertake are funded, and how that research makes its way to the farm. More information on the University of Manitoba Fa...

Today on the show, we are joined by Jean-Michel Couture and Ryan Johnson, both from Groupe Ageco. We chat about the development of Manitoba Pork's Sustainability Framework, what goes into developing a framework of this depth, and how the organization is taking steps to implement it across the hog sector. More information on Manitoba Pork's Sustainability Framework can be found at: https://...

Today on the show, we are joined by Mark Schwartz, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and a pork producer, as well as Brent Pepin, director of swine health for the National Pork Board. In this episode, we get a crash course on what PRRS is, before we talk about the economic impacts of the disease in the US and what biosecurity steps their producers are taking. More information can...

Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Betty Althouse, the former chief veterinary officer for the Province of Saskatchewan. She joins us to chat about her work developing CWSHIN's Outbreak Support Network, how it helps producers and veterinarians in a disease outbreak, and some of the lessons learned in dealing with disease outbreaks on farm. More information on the Outbreak Support Network...

Today on the show, we are joined by once again by JP Gervais, Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Impact and the Chief Economist for FCC. JP joins us to chat about the 3 T's- Trump, Trade, and Tariffs, before we chat about the outlook for the hog and ag sectors this year. More information on Hams Marketing can be found here: ⁠https://www.hamsmarketing.ca/⁠ Manitoba Pork is the producer fund...

Today on the show, we are joined by Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork. Cam joins us to preview 2026, before we jump into a discussion about the levy dollars that Manitoba Pork collects, and the upcoming vote on an increase for levy-paying producers. More information on Manitoba Pork levy can be found at: https://manitobapork.com/levy/ Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that...

Today on the show, we are joined by Melanie Power, a partner in litigation and dispute resolution with the law firm Dentons. Melanie joins us to chat about trends in animal activist behaviour, before we chat about some recent examples and cover recommendations for producers in how to protect themselves in the case of harmful or illegal activity. Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization th...

Today on the show, we are joined by James Reesor, a hog farmer from Ontario who is on the technical review committee for the recently announced Code of Practice update. James joins us to talk about his career in the sector, before we chat about the review process and how producers can get involved. More information on the Code of Practice can be found at: https://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/pig...

Today on the show, we are joined by Julie Dickson Olmstead. Julie has years of experience in the grocery sector, and she's here to chat about how groceries are priced, to bust some myths around profit margins, and to chat about how a long line of pumpkins got her a Guinness World Record (true story!). Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that represents 624 hog farms across the pr...

Today on the show, we are joined by Keystone Agricultural Producers president Jill Verwey and by Manitoba Pork executive member Marg Rempel. They join us to chat about their experiences as women in agriculture, both on the farm and around the board table. Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that represents 624 hog farms across the province, funded through levy dollars. Manitoba Pork’...

Today on the show, we are joined by Daniel Ramage from Swine Innovation Porc, and Dr. Manuel Juarez from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. We discuss how SIP funds research vital to the hog sector, before we chat about Dr. Juarez and his work that focuses on the quality of pork bellies. More information on SIP can be found at: https://www.swineinnovationporc.ca/ Manitoba Pork is the producer funde...

Today on the show, we are joined by Lynn Marchand from the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. Lynn joins us to chat about country of origin labelling, both the mandatory and voluntary versions of the policy, and what the new policy coming into force will mean for the hog sector. To read Lynn's research, visit: https://www.albertapork.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Impacts-of-US-COOL_Janua...

Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Karine Talbot, Senior Director of Animal Health, Nutrition and R&D at HyLife. Karine joins us to chat about her experiences dealing with PED outbreaks, including how to engage staff on biosecurity and how to keep disease out of barns. Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that represents 624 hog farms across the province, funded through levy...

Today on the show, we are joined by Stephany Laverty from the Canada West Foundation. Stephany joins us to chat about changes to immigration programs, how they have impacted agriculture, and the future of immigration in Canada. More information on the Canada West Foundation can be found at: https://cwf.ca/ Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that represents 624 hog farms across the p...

Today on the show, we are joined by Sgt. Paul Manaigre, media relations officer for the RCMP in Manitoba. Sgt. Manaigre joins us to talk about crime in rural areas, how to protect your property and farm buildings, and how to report a crime when it does occur. More information on the RCMP in Manitoba can be found at: https://rcmp.ca/en/manitoba Manitoba Pork is the producer funded organization that...

Today on the show, we are joined by Tyler McCann, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. Tyler joins us to chat about working with the new federal government, building ag policy that works no matter which party is in power, and some of the key issues that face politicians in the agriculture space. More information on CAPI can be found at: https://capi-icpa.ca/ Manitoba Pork...

Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Richard Rusk, who is both a medical doctor and a veterinarian. He joins us to talk about his experience managing cases of Streptococcus and its many forms in both humans and animals, how to prevent it from coming into barns, and how people can protect themselves from infection. More information on Dr. Rusk's practice can be found at: https://ruskmed.ca/...

Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Murray Gillies and Dr. Kemi Adeniji, both from Animal Health Canada. We chat about HPAI, how it impacts poultry flocks, how it has moved over to other animal species, how it could impact humans, and how we can prevent the spread into hog barns. More information on Animal Health Canada can be found at: https://animalhealthcanada.ca/ Manitoba Pork is the produ...