Legislation Passed in Manitoba About Protecting Pigs from Disease

Nov 08, 2021

The General Manager of Manitoba Pork says legislation recently passed in Manitoba is all about protecting farm animals from the potential introduction of disease. Manitoba's pork producers are applauding the provincial government's passage of Bill 62, the Animal Diseases Amendment Act and Bill 63, the Petty Trespasses Amendment and Occupiers’ Liability Amendment Act.

Cam Dahl, the General Manager of Manitoba Pork, notes in one year 10 million pigs died in China as the result of African Swine Fever and we've similar impacts in other regions resulting in significant increases in food prices.

Clip-Cam Dahl-Manitoba Pork:

We've all learned in the last two years, because of COVID 19, how important biosecurity is and that's the same for animals. I think it might surprise some of your listeners to know that workers in a hog barn actually have to shower before they go into the barn to ensure that they're not taking in any diseases or putting the lives of the animals at risk.

What the bill does is it helps ensure that we don't have people coming onto farmyards or coming into barns and really putting animals at risk. It just strengthens the definition of what trespassing is, puts the emphasis on helping to ensure biosecurity, really acknowledges the work that has been done on farms to better protect animals and secure them from some of the risks of people from outside coming on and bringing on diseases.

Source : Farmscape

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.