Farmscape News

January Call for H5N1 Influenza Research Proposals Attracts 42 Submissions

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 22, 2026

A panel of producers, veterinarians and researchers is now reviewing 42 submissions received in response to a January call for research proposals to enhance the response to H5N1 Influenza.
H5N1 is an Influenza A virus normally associated with avian species but, since 2024, that virus has been found in dairy cattle, sheep and goats and in October 2024 the infection was identified in backyard swine.
A 2024 call for proposals under a four-million-dollar Swine Health Information Center and Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research initiative to enhance prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response capabilities for H5N1, resulted in the approval of 10 projects.
SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says a follow up call was issued in January.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
We had several areas that we felt the we would like to have additional projects focus on, some of that being our care takers and how do we protect our people because this virus can also infect people.
Also focussing on pork safety and support of business continuity and reducing our production impact.
All of those things were incorporated into the call for proposals as well as diagnostic and surveillance strategies and biosecurity strategies.
We got 42 proposals representing three different countries that were submitted and our proposals originated from multiple groups including universities, government organizations and private companies.
We have organized a group of subject matter experts, including producers, veterinarians and researchers to review the proposals this spring and we review these proposals to ensure that they have a strong scientific basis, that they address the call for proposals and meeting the priorities requested.
Also, we want to ensure that all proposals and outcomes add value, they avoid duplication with other research and they provide benefits to the industry to help us prevent and prepare for this disease.

Full details can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Despite Widespread Precipitation Spring Seeding Progresses in all Regions of Saskatchewan

Davidson Ughoke - Saskatchewan Agriculture — Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 22, 2026

Saskatchewan Agriculture reports, despite weather delays, seeding progressed in all regions of the province over the past week.
Saskatchewan Agriculture released its crop report Thursday for the period from May 12th to 18th.
Davidson Ughoke, a crops extension specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, says multiple areas reported rain, while others experienced snow and flurries and that considerably slowed seeding progress.

Quote-Davidson Ughoke-Saskatchewan Agriculture:
We've had some improvement in terms of seeding numbers.
We moved up 13 percent.
Right now, we are at 29 percent seeding progress across the province.
It's still below the five-year average of 55 percent and the ten-year average of 52 percent.
A system moved through the province last week bringing along strong winds, periodic mixed precipitation which caused a bit of a delay and that's why we are where we are right now.
Despite these delays seeding progressed in all regions.
The southwest region had more advanced seeding progress followed by the southeast and then the northern regions are just behind.
The rain we got, we got a huge downfall in some regions, not everywhere but large portions of Saskatchewan got huge millimeters of rain with Dundurn having 83 then North Battleford at 82 and there abouts.
This widespread precipitation increased topsoil moisture and it will recharge the topsoil moisture across the province.
This improved topsoil moisture is expected to benefit crop development and hay as well as pasture conditions.

Ughoke says growers will have to allow the soil to dry out before resuming planting or risk getting stuck or compacting the soil.
He says we can't control mother nature but it looks like it's starting to warm up allowing more growers to move onto the fields and we'll an increase in seeding progress in the coming weeks.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Global Conflict Impedes Ability of Farmers to Produce Abundant Affordable Food

Florian Possberg - Polar Pork Farms — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 21, 2026

A partner with Polar Pork says, when the global of movement of goods proceeds uninterrupted, the world's farmers have the ability to produce enough food to feed everyone.
The conflict that has affected the movement of goods through the Straight of Hormuz is expected to result in reduced fertilizer availability and higher costs leading to reduced grain production and potential food shortages.
Florian Possberg, a partner with Polar Pork, says we had a significant spike in feed grain costs during the Ukraine-Russia dispute and if the disruption continues in the Middle East, we could see a significant reduction in grain production and explosive food costs.

Quote-Florian Possberg-Polar Pork:
If you've got lots of money you can afford to buy food any time.
If you are living on the edge, which many people are both at home but globally there's countries that really depend on food surpluses produced in places like Brazil and the United States Midwest to secure their food supply at a reasonable price.
If there's a shortage somebody will go without and those somebodies are real people that are living on the edge today.
Hopefully these conflicts will be resolved as quickly as possible because if everything is normal, we can produce enough food for everyone.
Our hope, my hope as a food producer is that we can produce enough food globally that no one needs to go hungry.
We really want to see a resolution to this because people's lives depend on it.
Food production is something that when there's a surplus people take for granted but when there's a shortage it becomes a huge issue with serious consequences so we really want to see a resolution.

Possberg says if reduced fertilizer use results in lower crop production it could have serious consequences.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Manitoba Agriculture Reports Farmers in Most Regions of the Province Moved Spring Planting Forward Over the Past Week

Dennis Lange - Manitoba Agriculture — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 21, 2026

Manitoba Agriculture reports spring seeding advanced over the past week in most regions of the province.
Manitoba Agriculture released its weekly crop report yesterday.
Dennis Lange, a provincial pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba agriculture and editor of the provincial crop report, says farmers are plugging along right now at a good pace.

Quote-Dennis Lange-Manitoba Agriculture:
Over the last week we've seen some interesting weather.
We've seen some very strong winds on Thursday and Friday and saw some soil moving around in different areas.
Our seeding progress has moved over the last week in most area.
The Northwest region is still trailing behind.
They've just started in the fields but when you look at the provincial numbers, for this week we're looking at 37 percent complete in the province.
That's compared to 57 percent in 2025 but, when you look at the five-year average, it's at 43 percent so we're really not that far behind the five-year average.
Over the next week I expect a lot of farmers to continue getting crop in.
We're going to see a lot more canola going in over week now that things are warming up a bit.
There were some fields that were dry last week and for the most part lots of areas did get rainfall over the Sunday Monday time period and things have improved for sure.
Down south, we're anywhere from half an inch to an inch which is a nice rain for after seeding.
It helps get everything off the races and get some stuff going but the biggest thing right now is getting some warmer weather.
I expect over the next week we'll see more crop going in.
The forecast looks reasonable for the next few days anyway so we'll see how things progress and I think next week we'll even see things further along than what we were at right now.

Lange says, with the moisture that's been received and temperatures projected to reach the mid to upper 20s next week we should start to see crops that have been planted start to come out of the ground fairly quickly.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Saskatchewan Swine Producers Encouraged to Sign on to Real Time Tracking of People and Transport Vehicles

Alison Sullivan - Sask Pork — Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 20, 2026

The Producer Services Manager with Sask Pork is encouraging the operators of Saskatchewan swine farms and the trucks that visit those farms to connect to a new service that allows real time tracking of people and equipment.
In an effort to improve transport biosecurity Sask Pork and Farm Health Guardian have partnered to offer Saskatchewan's Pork producers access to GPS technology that will allow them to track the real time movement of people and equipment on and off their farms.
Alison Sullivan, the Producer Services Manager with Sask Pork, says the service is being offered to commercial swine farms in Saskatchewan and transporters including livestock feed and other service vehicles.

Quote-Alison Sullivan-Sask Pork:
Biosecurity is an important aspect of modern hog production because of the challenges and risks posed by disease outbreaks.
Both domestic and foreign animal diseases have serious health and economic consequences for the producer but they can also impact our ability to access and maintain our export market.
70 percent of pork that's produced in Canada is exported so keeping these avenues open for our producers is vital for industry sustainability in the future.
The objectives of the collaboration are to get all pork farms and trucks that visit those farms connected to Farm Health Guardian to enable a real time response to animal disease risk.
Swine farms and other sites of truck and trailer movement like truck washes or border crossings will have a virtual perimeter drawn around the site.
This is referred to as a geofence.
Vehicles can be connected to the system via GPS either through an existing GPS system on the vehicle or by purchasing one of Farm Health Guardian's GPS tail lights that they can provide.
People can download the application on their mobile device to check in upon arrival to the pig site or the farm itself can purchase a digital visitor logbook to help monitor personnel coming in and going out.
The system facilitates real time movement of trucks and trailers around the province and allows Sask Pork to create trace out maps and farms and vehicles at risk can receive immediate notification that they may have come in contact with contaminated sites should that risk ever present itself.

Sullivan encourages anyone interested to contact Sask Pork check out the saskpork.com or farmhealthguardian.com websites for more information.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Creation of New Japanese Encephalitis Virus Diagnostic Methods Bolster U.S. Preparedness

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 19, 2026

The creation of new diagnostics for the identification of Japanese encephalitis virus is helping ensure the U.S. is prepared in the event the infection makes its way to North America.
Japanese encephalitis virus is a mosquito born infection that affects multiple species, including pigs and people, found in Asia and the western Pacific but is not present in North America.
With funding provided through the Swine Health Information Center and Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research JEV Research Program, Integrated Research Associates is developing new diagnostics for JEV.
SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says researchers have created two prototype diagnostic tests that use nonhazardous recombinant JEV virus-like particles as viral antigens.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
The value of this project is to develop and expand the available tools that we can use to detect the virus.
It also helps globally because it's not just detecting one particular genotype in one area but utilizes multiple genes in one test to be able to identify what genotype is present and help understand where or how it came into the U.S.
In addition, it can also be utilized to differentiate potentially vaccine should it ever be used versus a wild type infection.
This work was relatively complex to develop what genes need to be incorporated into the test to be able to maximise and optimise identification but then also utilizing what's called virus like particles which can replace inactivated virus in the test and allow for multiple antigens or multiple genes to be represented per diagnostic test.
They also worked on the format of this test to be able to have increased scalability, or the increased ease of ramping up production should it ever be necessary.

Dr. Becton says it's important to build our tool kit to provide rapid identification of this virus and not just one genotype but multiple genotypes, because that's what's circulating globally.
Full details on this work can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Reduced Fertilizer Availability Due to Global Conflict Expected to Impact Grain Production

Florian Possberg - Polar Pork Farms — Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 15, 2026

A partner with Polar Pork fears the conflict that has affected the movement of goods through the Straight of Hormuz will result in reduced fertilizer availability leading to reduced grain production and shortages of food.
As the result of trade friction and global conflict Canadian farmers are facing increased uncertainty.
Florian Possberg, a partner with Polar Pork, says the pork sector has enjoyed relatively low feed costs but there is some real concern over grain prices.

Quote-Florian Possberg-Polar Pork:
The disputes in the Middle East and around the Gulf of Hormuz, an incredible amount of fertilizer passes through that area plus the middle East is also a major producer of nitrogen fertilizer for the world.
The last time we really had a spike in feed costs was the Ukraine-Russia dispute which caused a significant increase in the price of feed grains.
The concern really is that fertilizer is what allows us to have significant food surpluses globally.
If there is an interruption in the use of fertilizer, it's not inconceivable we could see a significant drop in crop and grain and all kinds of things that depend on fertilizer production would be affected.
Even a three or four percent reduction in grain production could dramatically see the price of grain and thereby food increase.

Possberg says if this disruption continues, we could see a significant shortage of grain production and thereby explosive food costs.
He says when everything is normal farmers can produce enough food for everyone but if there's a disruption in fertiliser use and crop production, it could have very serious consequences.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Saskatchewan Seeding Ramping Up but Behind Five-and Ten-Year Averages

Kim Stonehouse - Saskatchewan Agriculture — Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 15, 2026

Saskatchewan Agriculture reports spring seeding is ramping up but remains behind the five- and ten-year averages.
Saskatchewan Agriculture released its crop report yesterday for the period from May 5th to 11th.
Kim Stonehouse, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture based in Tisdale, says seeding is ramping up.

Quote-Kim Stonehouse-Saskatchewan Agriculture:
Last week we saw very limited precipitation and the run off water is just starting to receded so seeding is ramping up in many areas.
Currently we're at about 16 percent of the 2026 crop in the ground.
That's up about 13 percent from last week but it's behind the five-year average of 28 percent and behind the 10-year average of 27 percent for this time of year.
We'd like to see some dry warm conditions to increase the amount of seeding that's happening in certain areas of the province.
Unfortunately right now we're in a bit of a weather system that seems to be bringing a lot of wind and some well needed moisture to the south part of the province as well as the west side of the province but the wind is probably our biggest concern as it can dry areas out significantly which means the crops that are in the ground may be now sitting in drier soil and or buried further due to erosion causing them to not emerge as well.
So, topsoil moisture remains mostly adequate.
The dry and windy conditions are reducing the surplus water which is a good thing for areas that are waiting to get on the fields but a number of areas are starting to report shortages.
Provincially cropland topsoil moisture is 13 percent surplus, 70 percent adequate, 16 percent short and one percent very short.

Stonehouse says we're hopeful that areas that need moisture will get moisture and it looks like this rain will help in those areas that are reporting things are starting to dry out but in the northeast the hope is that the water will soak into the ground or runoff so that producers can get into the fields and start getting that seeding done.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Spring Seeding Moving Forward in Manitoba with the Exception of the Northwest Region

Dennis Lange - Manitoba Agriculture — Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 14, 2026

Manitoba Agriculture reports spring seeding is underway and progress is expected to increase as fields become drier.
Manitoba Agriculture released its weekly crop report Tuesday.
Dennis Lange, a provincial pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and editor of the provincial crop report, says, with the exception of the northwest region, planting is moving forward.

Quote-Dennis Lange-Manitoba Agriculture:
We're seeing planting progress start to ramp up.
Last week we were sitting at two percent complete and this week we're sitting at 13 percent compete.
Lots of cereals going in the ground in various areas.
There's corn being planted as well, field peas.
Around 40 to 50 percent of the field peas are have been completed planting so far.
There's still the northwest region though.
They're still dealing with the aftermath of the snowstorms they had in the spring and the rains so not much happening up there.
There is a lot of field peas that typically go into that area so we probably won't see a lot of progress on the field peas until after this week.
It's that time of the year.
Seeding is moving and progressing nicely.
Growers have been planting for the most I think into good soil conditions however the topsoil, with these winds that we've been having, tend to dry out when we have these strong windy days so some rainfall would be welcome over the next week or so.
Again, you have to be careful what you wish for.
A nice rain would be half an inch to an inch but if we're getting anything more than that then that becomes more of an issue.
But, so far things are going OK.

Lange says growers are moving ahead and, hopefully we'll be back to more normal planting in the next couple of weeks.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Manitoba Pork Calls for Increased Market Diversification for Pork and Expanded Pork Processing at Home

Cam Dahl - Manitoba Pork — Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 13, 2026

The General Manager of Manitoba Pork is calling on government and industry to put a greater focus on diversifying the market for Canadian pork and processing more of that pork at home.
An article posted to Manitoba Pork's web site and circulated through Manitoba community newspapers looks at the response of Canadian governments and industry to global trade uncertainty in the face of trade disruptions with the United States and tariff disputes with China.
Cam Dahl, the General Manager of Manitoba Pork observes the trade environment with the U.S. remains uncertain, we have a 25 percent tariff on pork going into China and there are other issues such as the non tariff trade barriers keeping Canadian red meat out of Europe.

Quote-Cam Dahl-Manitoba Pork:
I think we do need to ensure that we have a strategic plan going into the CUSMA review for example to ensure we are preserving that integrated North American market for pork.
That's something that's absolutely critical and the provincial government has been very engaged on this with us and that's something that we do appreciate but we do need to look at ways to diversify our markets.
Governments talk about that; industry talks about that but we actually have to do something about it.
Processing and finishing more pigs into pork in Manitoba is one of the ways that we can diversify our markets.
I think one of the barriers to increased processing in Manitoba is the number finishing and nursery spaces we have.
That would be my first area of focus is to grow our production base and finish more of those pigs to be processed in Manitoba.
Then we could look at increasing our processing capacity in places like Neepawa and Brandon and Winkler.
Again, that allows us to not just ship three million weanlings into the U.S. every year but to process more of that into packages of pork and send it to places like Vietnam or Korea or Tiawan or other places around the world.
It really is a tool for diversification as well as an investment in a major part of Manitoba's economy.

Dhal's article can be accessed at manitobapork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

National Swine Health Strategy Establishes Common Swine Health Priorities and Objectives

Dr. Meredith Peterson - National Pork Board — Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 12, 2026

The Director of Swine Health with the National Pork Board says the creation of a National Swine Health Strategy offers an opportunity for stakeholders within the U.S. pork industry to work together to improve the health of the U.S. swine herd.
Last fall, as part of a coordinated industry-wide effort to improve the health of the U.S. swine herd, the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council conducted listening sessions and an online survey to gather input from pork producers for the creation of a National Swine Health Strategy.
Dr. Meredith Peterson, the Director of Swine Health with the National Pork Board who is facilitating the effort, says the key goals of this initiative include reducing the impact of domestic diseases and keeping foreign and emerging diseases out of the U.S. swine herd.

Quote-Dr. Meredith Peterson-National Pork Board:
In the simplest terms the National Swine Health Strategy is a set of goals and priorities related to swine health that were created by producers.
Obviously not everything can be accomplished through one organization and that's really important.
There's a lot of players when it comes to swine health.
From the producer standpoint there's the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council and the state pork associations and all of them will play key roles in this effort.
At the heart of it, it is a producer led initiative and then there's opportunity for each organization and group working in the swine health space to, if they chose to, align their work with the priorities and the goals of the producers.
A key take away for me is having a north star when it comes to working together to solve some of the biggest challenges that we have in swine health in the U.S. and make a measurable difference on the health of the U.S. swine herd.

Dr. Peterson says the National Swine Health Strategy establishes goals and priorities that the entire industry can work towards together.
She suggests this effort represents a new approach to addressing high consequence swine health challenges.
Details on the National Swine Health Strategy can be found at porkcheckoff.org/strategy.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Real Time Monitoring of People and Equipment Movement On and Off Farms Allows Preemptive Disease Control

Adam Black - Farm Health Guardian — Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for May 11, 2026

A customer success representative with Farm Health Guardian says live monitoring of the movement of people and equipment on and off of swine farms allows producers to be proactive rather than reactive to the threat of disease.
Sask Pork, has partnered with Farm Health Guardian, to offer Saskatchewan's Pork producers access to GPS technology that will allow them to track the real time movement of people and equipment on and off of their farms.
Adam Black, a customer success representative with Farm Health Guardian, says biosecurity is incredibly important, especially in the Canadian and global hog markets.

Quote- Adam Black-Farm Health Guardian:
We're seeing more foreign animal diseases spreading and that's the result of animals moving, people potentially carrying these diseases.
By being able to monitor these movements a little bit faster we can be more proactive than reactive when it comes to outbreaks ad the speed at which we can respond to these disease outbreaks.
Producers can log in and see their visit data, who's entering and exiting their property so producers can producers can get a lot of benefit out this by having a little more oversight of their farms and not actually having to be there but knowing who is entering and exiting their property.
Other segments of the industry, other commodities like chickens, turkeys, poultry in general could see a benefit from a system like this.
Commodities that are tightly housed together have a higher susceptibility when a disease enters a property having that spread through the whole farm and site very quickly.
Those are the types of animals that we see the highest benefit from using these new systems.

Black says it's all about increasing the speed and efficiency of responding to a disease outbreak.
The service is expected to be available to Saskatchewan's pork producers by August.
For further information visit farmhealthguardian.com or saskpork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers