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Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Gestation stalls still common in the U.S.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Meanwhile, gestation stall use in the United States is still widespread according to a study conducted by University of Missouri economist Ron Plain. He surveyed 70 operations with 1,000 sows and over, representing 3.6 million of the nation's 5.7 million sows, and found that sows in only 17.3 per cent of them spent part of their gestation in open pens. The rest of them were crated all of the time.

There are concerns about how the U.S. industry can manage a conversion to meet the expectations of customers, who have asked suppliers to assure that all of the pork they produce will be from non-gestation stall operations by 2017, barely five years away.

The National Pork Producers Council commissioned the study. It confirms their concerns about the decisions food companies have made to buy only pork from operations that are gestation-crate-free. There will be difficulties and costs in sorting, segregating and tracing pigs and pork to meet the needs of these customers. Traceability isn't as far along in the United States as it is in Canada, some producers here note. BP

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FCC's New 6,000-Acre Innovation Farm in Manitoba

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is enhancing its Innovation Farm Network to support Canadian farmers and foster agricultural innovation. The network has expanded by adding a 6,000-acre farm in MacGregor, Manitoba, with 2,600 acres dedicated to growing potatoes. This is the first time a potato... Read this article online

North American Pork Leaders Focus on Health

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Leaders from the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) from the United States, and the Mexican Pork Producer Organization (OPORMEX) recently gathered at a trilateral meeting in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. The goal was to discuss key issues related to... Read this article online

Celebrate Farming with Alberta Open Farm Days 2025

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Alberta Open Farm Days returns on August 16 and 17, 2025, inviting Albertans to explore the heart of agriculture and rural tourism. This annual event connects people with local farmers and food producers, offering a chance to learn about farm life and food production. Now in its 13th... Read this article online

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