Farmscape for April 18, 2016

The Manager of Sustainable Development with Manitoba Pork reports the first applications have been received under a pilot project that will allow the construction of new hog barns in Manitoba.
In April 2015 the Manitoba government approved the "Pig Production Special Pilot Project Evaluation Protocol," a plan under which pork producers in Manitoba can apply for permits to build new or expand existing swine barns.
Mike Teillet, the manager of sustainable development with Manitoba Pork, told Manitoba Pork's 2016 Annual General Meeting last week the hope is to increase hog production to a level that will allow the processing plants in Manitoba to run at full capacity.

Clip-Mike Teillet-Manitoba Pork:
Since the agreement was entered into between the government and Manitoba Pork about a year ago we have always had some level of interest but really, in the last 2 to 3 months, we've noticed a real increase in the number of people phoning and what appear to be quite serious enquiries.
We've had 2 actual applications that have come in in the last 3 weeks.
As far as the types of operation, I think we're going to see a mix.
1 of the 2 was a feeder operation so I know we will definitely see some of those but, of course, you need the little pigs in order to feed into a finisher operation so we kind of need both kinds of applications.
We haven't seen any of the weanling type of operations yet but we expect we will.

Teillet notes Maple Leaf is currently running at about 70 percent capacity, about a million pigs per year short of full capacity.
He says to fill that need, depending on their size, about 100 new barns will be needed and the hope is that could happen within the next 4 to 6 years.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork