Major Canadian Pork Producer Happy With TPP

Oct 14, 2015

The vice-president of a major Canadian pork-producing company says they are happy Canada is a part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Claude Vielfaure of HyLife, Canada's top exporter of fresh/chilled pork to Japan, says while they don't know the details of the TPP, overall it will create an even playing field with other exporting countries. The TPP will eliminate tariffs on Canadian pork in Vietnam within nine years, and eliminate or reduce gate price tariffs on Canadian pork cuts in Japan within ten years.

According to the Canadian government, between 2012 and 2014, Canada exported a yearly average of over $2.6 billion in pork and pork products to TPP countries. Vielfaure says at HyLife, they export about 80 to 85 per cent of the pork they produce, and it would be devastating to their industry if Canada wasn't included in the TPP.

"Other countries would've had better deals selling to [TPP] countries, and we probably would still have higher tariffs or different pricing, which would've made us very non-competitive against other countries in selling pork. So I think it was extremely important that we are part of this deal," he says. "We are happy we're a part of the deal, and hopefully it's going to bring some benefits to the pork industry.

Source : PortageOnline

Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!