Olymel pork loin

Olymel reducing Ontario hog numbers

Company is in court Monday to try to get out a requirement to take Quebec hogs first

Quebec pork processor Olymel is taking about half of the pigs it usually does from Ontario and is working to get out of contracts with producers, due to processing shortages […] Read more




Most hogs in Canada are sold under contract, but the contract price is underpinned by the American price of pigs.

Can Canada break away from U.S. livestock pricing?

Canadian prices have plunged in concert with the U.S. market’s response to that country’s disruptive trade agenda. Some are asking whether Canada can decouple to a pricing mechanism more closely tied to global fundamentals

Pork, beef and other meat prices in Canada have been driven down over the past two months to where farmers are losing money on most animals they ship. The decline […] Read more


Farmers have relied on non-veterinarian sellers of antimicrobials. New regulations would restrict those type of purchases, other than from a pharmacy or a veterinarian.

Kicking the antimicrobial habit

Farmers have already lost ability to use antimicrobials for growth enhancement; tighter purchasing restrictions are next

Farmers worry new Health Canada regulations that require veterinary prescriptions for commonly used antimicrobials will affect the industry’s competitiveness. Why it matters: Resistance to antimicrobials continues to grow among diseases […] Read more


Tara Terpstra wants to prevent disease in her barn, before she has to cure it.

Battling hog barn bugs

Farmers dealing with tighter access to antimicrobials look to prevention versus treatment

Livestock farmers across Canada are bracing for extra costs as Health Canada moves to further lock down their access to antimicrobials, but Huron Country hog farmers Tara and Dennis Terpstra […] Read more

There's potential for big data to be an important tool to help eliminate disease risks.

Need growing for big data on pigs

There are an increasing number of projects that collect and share data in the swine industry, to increase efficiency and manage disease

Big data and information systems are becoming an increasingly large part of the pork industry in Ontario. Systems that were created independently for disease surveillance and software to manage pig […] Read more