Farmscape News

Food Affordability and Accessibility Among the Top Priorities of Canadian Consumers

Dorothy Long - CanadianFoodFocus.org — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for November 3, 2026

The Executive Director of Canadian Food Focus says in the face of rising food costs, Canadians are increasingly seeking information on how to stretch their food budgets.
Over the past five years the cost of food in Canada has risen by an estimated 30 percent.
Dorothy Long, the Executive Director of Canadian Food Focus, says we all eat several times a day and food affordability is one of the most immediate concerns facing Canadians right now.

Quote-Dorothy Long-CanadianFoodFocus.org:
High food prices and higher prices in general are really putting a lot of pressure on household budgets.
Specifically with food, it can be harder to consistently choose foods that they want to serve, especially fresh produce, protein foods and other nutrient-dense foods that may seem more expensive at the checkout.
The impact isn't the same for everyone but many households are making tougher decisions, buying fewer items, changing brands, reducing the variety or maybe even relying more heavily on less expensive foods that are less nutrient-dense.
I think it's also important to note that food affordability is not just about the price of certain items, it's about whether families can reliably access enough food that is nutritious and that they enjoy and that is culturally appropriate and really also practical for their lives.
We're really seeing this concern directly in the content that Canadians are seeking out on our website.
They are looking for those meal planning ideas, ways to read food labels, how to store food properly.
They're looking for recipes that make food go farther and there's lots of questions about food preservation and just practical advice on reducing food waste.

Long says, when food costs rise, households may have less choice, less variety, they may skip meals or rely on lower cost options that don't always meet their nutritional needs.
She says Canadians need a food system that continues to produce enough safe affordable food and suggests this is an issue that needs both immediate and long-term attention.
For information visit canadianfoodfocus.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Farmscape Audio Special Report for November 3, 2026

Farmscape Staff - — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape Audio Special Report for November 3, 2026

In Conjunction with Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026, Swine Innovation Porc hosted the seminar, Research in Action: Advancing Productivity and Sustainability in Canadian Pork Production.

Dr. Atta Agyekum, a Research Scientist Nutrition with the Prairie Swine Center, discusses "Decreasing Greenhous Gas Emissions, Feed Costs and Labour Requirements by Precision Feeding."
Runs 5:47
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2026/11/agyekum-261102.mp3

Dr. Luiene Moura Rocha, a Research Scientist in Animal Welfare with CDPQ, discusses "Weaning Practices and Relationship with Welfare, Health, Antimicrobial Use and Growth."
Runs 8:19
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2026/11/moura-rocha-261102.mp3

Dr. Lee-Anne Huber, an Associate Professor with the University of Guelph, discusses, "Reducing Environmental Footprint, Feed Costs and Increasing Competitiveness in Grow-Finish Pigs."
Runs 6:17
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2026/11/huber-261102.mp3

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

Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program Helps Improve Biosecurity and Protect Swine Herds

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for November 2, 2026

Data collected through the web based Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program is helping pork producers and veterinarians improve biosecurity and protect swine herds from disease.
The Swine Health Information Center's September eNewsletter updates the activities of the SHIC-funded Standardized Outbreak Investigation Program.
The Program is coordinated by Iowa State University and provides a standardized mechanism for pork producers and veterinarians to report and analyse swine disease outbreaks.
SHIC Executive Dr. Lisa Becton says data from 124 investigations have been entered into the web-based application representing a cross section of farm types and locations across the U.S.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
This is geared toward surveying producers and their veterinarians as they investigate a cause of a disease outbreak.
It is important to be able to have a resource that allows for standardized investigations, as well as being able to input that online in a web-based application.
Once the information is added, it is able to translate the outbreak findings into practical biosecurity improvements, not only at the farm or system, but also eventually across the industry.
It's important to have a standardized way to investigate an outbreak, especially when the cause is not known because sometimes in a crisis it's easy to not necessarily cover all the questions that could be answered and asked to understand what has caused the outbreak.
So, it does provide a framework to identify significant risks, prioritize intervention, but it also increases preparedness for the future.
It also allows the identification of recurring biosecurity risks and helps provide a basis that we can learn from in the collective experience and focus on improving those risks.
And lastly, having things in a standardized format allows for baseline benchmarking that can both benefit the company, but also the industry as a whole.

Dr. Becton says full details of the program and information on how to access and use the application can be a found through SHIC's September eNewsletter at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Research Coordinated through Swine Innovation Porc Results in Greater Profitability for Pork Producers and Contributes to Canada’s GDP

Daniel Ramage - Swine Innovation Porc — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for November 2, 2026

The General Manager of Swine Innovation Porc says research conducted through Canada's national organization for coordinating swine sector research has resulted in new tools that increase the profitability of pork producers while generating substantial benefits to the Canadian economy.
Swine Innovations Porc's just released 2025-26 annual report looks at the strengthening of the organization's role as the national facilitator of pork research in Canada.
SIP General Manager Daniel Ramage says the sector has seen strong results from research over the year's as highlighted in the annual report.

Quote-Daniel Ramage-Swine Innovation Porc:
We completed an economic impact assessment that looked at research investments that were made between 2010, when our swine cluster first started, all the way up to 2023.
They looked back at those investments and over that time frame, about $50 million was invested into research.
What the impact assessment found was that research investment led to about 225-million-dollar spinoffs to the Canadian economy, to Canadian GDP.
But the impact assessment also looked into, at the farm level, what producers received through the investments that were made into research.
And what they found was that producers got about eight dollars in benefit for every dollar that was invested.
So, when we're talking about this research, we're not just talking about scientific publications and interesting findings.
We're talking about real economic benefits and things that drive value back to the farm and across the whole value chain.

Ramage observes, whether we're talking about animal health or animal welfare or feed and nutrition, those are the types of outcomes that over time translate into higher market demand and lower business risk and disease risk on the farm that, at the end of the day, help the industry be more productive and more profitable.
SIP's 2025-26 annual report can be accessed in both French and English at swineinnovationporc.ca.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Manitoba Agriculture Releases Seasonal Cropping Summary

Sonia Wilson - Manitoba Agriculture — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 30, 2026

With 94 percent of the crop harvested, Manitoba Agriculture has released its seasonal cropping summary.
Manitoba Agriculture reports, as of October 24th, 94 percent of the crop had been harvested with only a few acres of grain corn and silage corn left to be harvested.
Sonia Wilson, an oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says high amounts of rain delayed spring seeding, particularly in the northwest and then in June intense rain caused extensive flooding in the northwest and Interlake regions.

Quote-Sonia Wilson-Manitoba Agriculture:
I know that there's still infrastructure and field repair being done to this day and that also provided a bit of a challenge for harvest as well in those areas.
Once crops were established, we also had some very high temperature days in July as well, with one of the highest temperatures being reached in the middle of July and temperatures generally returned to just slightly above normal in August.
We also had some rainfall during the harvest season as well, which I've shared about on the previous weeks that really kind of pushed harvest back from our typical.
As harvest kept going, we had great quality coming off and about average to above average yields in most crops and then with, again, those late rainfalls that I mentioned, we did see a bit of a drop in terms of quality for some of those later fields, especially cereals that were coming off.
We saw some grading issues, especially in some pre-harvest sprouting, just general quality and dockage as well in terms of sclerotia and canola.
So, those are some of the sticking points that we saw in this harvest.

Wilson says cereal crop quality was good in the earlier harvested crops and then dropped due to weathering and there was some sprouting, it appeared to be a good year for corn but reporting is still limited, canola experienced some disease issues and yields were below average to average, soybean yields were average to above average and pea yields are reported as average but they had good quality.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Despite Current Margin Cost Squeeze Pork Sector Upside Potential Greater than Downside Potential

Dr. Lee Schulz - EA Risk — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 30, 2026

The Chief Economist with EA Risk says consumer demand for pork will be key heading into 2027.
The market outlook for the swine sector will be among the topics discussed next week in Saskatoon as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026.
Dr. Lee Schulz, the Chief Economist with EA Risk, formerly Ever.Ag Risk Management, says in spite of the margin cost squeeze currently facing producers there's probably potential for more upside than downside heading into 2027.

Quote-Dr. Lee Schulz-EA Risk:
2025 and 2026 certainly provided opportunity for profit in the pork industry coming off of 2023, which was one of the worst years economically that the pork industry in the United States has ever seen.
So, we've seen some rebuilding of balance sheets but, like any cyclical industry, we've seen really now that margin cost squeeze for producers as we're getting latter part of 2026 and into 2027.
So, I think we are looking at a potentially more ominous outlook for the industry, but also realizing that that's just kind of the outlook at this point.
Fundamentals can change and we'll walk through some of those fundamentals that could change the outlook and what producers actually realize as we get into 2027.
When you think about pork demand, the expectation versus where demand actually is, it's not necessarily the same.
I think there's expectation that demand's a lot worse than it is and that's really beat down deferred prices as we look forward and so I think there is some optimism here.
Supplies haven't been burdensome.
You look at the latest USDA hogs and pigs report, that would say that, you know, we're not going to see any meaningful growth in pork production in the next 12 months.
So, if we do see some stabilization and strengthening of demand here, I think there really is some upside as we look to that forward curve, again, to the latter part of 2026 and into 2027.

For information or to register for Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026, visit saskpork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

University of Illinois Develops Real-Time Disease-Causing Pathogen Detection in Swine Barns

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 29, 2026

New technology developed by the University of Illinois offers real-time early detection of disease-causing pathogens in swine barns.
Researchers with the University of Illinois, with funding provided by the Swine Health Information Center, have developed several viral smoke detector-like prototypes to detect pathogens in swine farm environments.
SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says the goal of the project was to develop a biosecurity tool to allow producers to actively monitor for early detection of diseases.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
The technology is based on the LAMP assay, which is a loop-mediated isothermal application assay, which has a similar sensitivity to a PCR test.
It also utilizes the bioAerium platform as a real-time detector for airborne diseases of interest, such as PRRS and influenza.
The aerosol detector collects aerosols and tests for nucleic acid detection to determine if a virus is or is not present in that barn atmosphere.
A device such as this really addresses several components of surveillance.
One of those is to be able to have a labor-efficient device that allows for continuous monitoring of a population and is able to accurately and rapidly detect a virus if it's present.
Because a lot of our sampling requires people to collect samples or to hold a pig or to perform a necropsy on animals that have died, this methodology, again, gives us a way to monitor animals over time in a real-time platform, which results can be transmitted into a phone app, so leads us to be able to accurately and rapidly identify when a virus enters a barn, and then be able to rapidly address it to hopefully reduce or minimize the impacts of that virus.

Dr. Becton says the prototypes were assessed in the laboratory and in swine barns and it was determined they could detect the target viral pathogen, PRRS.
She says further development will be needed to ensure cost efficiency and functionality across swine barns.
Details on this work can be found in SHIC's October eNewsletter at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Deadline Approaches for Submission of Letters of Intent for Research Projects Under the Advancing Swine Research Program

Alison Lee - Swine Innovation Porc — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 28, 2026

Swine researchers have until Friday, November 13th to submit letters of intent for swine research projects that will help improve the efficiency of Canadian pork production.
Swine Innovation Porc, in partnership with the Pork Promotion and Research Agency, is accepting letters of intent until November 13th for projects under its Advancing Swine Research Program.
Projects approved under this second call for proposals will run from one to three years.
Alison Lee, the Manager of Research Development with Swine Innovation Porc, says the priorities under this request for proposals are animal diseases endemic to the Canadian swine herd, biosecurity tools and technology, antimicrobial use and resistance, building design and technology to improve efficiency, improving energy use, emissions, and water efficiency in swine production, and improving pork quality, pork safety, and shelf life.

Quote-Alison Lee-Swine Innovation Porc:
This type of research is really to the benefit of the whole value chain.
Of course, we want the outcomes to be the benefit of the producers, but we also want to fund research that can help processors and help build trust with consumers and help drive the demand for Canadian pork.
SIP is looking to fund up to 50 percent of project costs to a max of 50 thousand dollars per year and then maximum project length of three years.
Researchers can get a total of 150 thousand dollars from SIP towards their projects.
Research and funding calls have gotten very competitive over the years and we want to make sure that we can fund good projects that are going to have an impact.
A lot of work is being done around the world and the states or in Europe, but those results aren't always applicable to the Canadian pork sector, so it's important to get results that will help our producers and our processors.
I don't want to get too much into it, but we have done an impact assessment as part of our cluster and that shows that there is real value of research in terms of ROIs and impacts to the Canadian GDP, so we want to keep building on that.

Lee says the intent is to focus on the Canadian pork sector so any researchers from Canadian universities or colleges or other research organizations are welcome to apply.
She notes submissions from private companies or researchers from outside of Canada will be considered if they're in collaboration with a Canadian institution or can demonstrate a benefit to the Canadian industry.
Details on the call for letters of intent can be found at swineinnovationporc.ca.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

New Cases of Foot and Mouth Disease and African Swine Fever Reported Globally

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 27, 2026

As foreign animal disease infection patterns shift, the Swine Health Information Center is advising North American pork producers to be cautious when sourcing feed or feed ingredients from potentially infected regions.
As part of its October eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center has released its monthly domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports.
SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says globally new cases of both African Swine fever and Foot and Mouth Disease have been identified.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
It was noted globally that foot and mouth disease virus remains active.
For example, in Namibia, they had their first outbreak of foot and mouth disease in their foot and mouth disease free zone, and the last was detected in 1964.
In Turkey, serotype A was found, and that now has Turkey dealing with four different serotypes in 2026.
In addition, African Swine Fever remains active.
In Finland, in wild boar population, the virus continues to spread.
Also noted in Romania, the first commercial pigs in two years were identified as positive and this resulted in the culling of approximately 57 hundred pigs.
When we do see a foreign animal disease identified in any country, it does start to impact trade and exports because live animal and pork product trade gets halted.
Animals are not supposed to move out of the farm or area where the virus is identified but it also does put a halt to exports to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus through meat and meat products.
This does have a significant economic impact on the country that's affected because they aren't able to export any of their animal-based products.

Dr. Becton says it’s important to understand where the hot spots for disease are, especially when travelling overseas and take steps such as not wearing the same clothing and footwear worn overseas back to your farm and determine where feed or feed ingredients come from and if originate in countries where these viruses are active.
The Swine Health Information Center's global and domestic swine disease monitoring reports can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Swine Innovation Porc Releases 2025-26 Annual Report

Daniel Ramage - Swine Innovation Porc — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 27, 2026

The General Manager of Swine Innovation Porc says the launch of the "Advancing Swine Research Program" is allowing greater flexibility when it comes to allocating funding for swine sector research in Canada.
Swine Innovation Porc, the national organization responsible for coordinating swine sector research in Canada has released its 2025-26 annual report.
SIP General Manager Daniel Ramage says two mechanisms are now available for funding research in the Canadian swine sector.

Quote-Daniel Ramage-Swine Innovation Porc:
The first one, which has really been foundational to the work we've done over the years, it's our swine cluster program and that's been in place since 2010.
We're now delivering the fourth iteration of that cluster.
These are typically five-year programs that enable those foundational longer-term research projects.
The current cluster is running, it started in 2023 and it runs till 2028 and it brings together institutions and researchers and industry partners from across the country and even the world.
Then more recently, and what we highlight in our annual report is that last year, we introduced the Advancing Swine Research Program.
We launched our first national call for proposals through that program in 2025 and that's been enabled by the Pork Promotion and Research Agency.
It gives us a new way and an important way to fund more targeted projects and things that respond to more near-term priorities.
The way I look at it is, the swine cluster is a really important program and it gives us that long-term foundation and the advancing swine research complements that and it gives us more flexibility and lets us respond to new and emerging needs in a proactive way.

Ramage suggests, by building on this research system, where we're able to focus on both the long-term needs of the sector while also supporting near-term projects.
SIP's 2025-26 annual report can be accessed in both French and English at swineinnovationporc.ca.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Biosecurity Key as Colder Winter Weather Approaches

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 26, 2026

Pork producers are encouraged to be mindful of biosecurity as the onset of winter weather approaches increasing the risk of disease transmission.
As part of its October eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center has released its monthly domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports.
SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says this month's report highlights increased PRRS, PED and Influenza A activity.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
For this month, PED activity increased and exceeded the historical expected levels for September.
This really occurred in the wean-to-market sites and showed a moderate increase for the second consecutive month since July.
For PRRS, there was also a moderate increase in the wean-to-harvest market component and this was detected in September.
In addition, there was increased influenza activity in both production phases of sow and boar and wean-to-harvest, with a significant spike in tissue-confirmed diagnosis.
It is something that is noticed, especially when there's a lot of temperature variation from fall into winter, so things like minimizing temperature stress is important, especially with cool nights and warm days.
It's also important to understand that there are additional increased risks associated with manure management and application, so people really need to focus on following basic biosecurity steps to minimize disease introduction.
As always, it's very good to visit with veterinarians to see what are potential vaccine needs for growing pigs and even for the adults and ensure that the animals are protected accordingly.
And then lastly, it is important to also be mindful for transportation biosecurity, because as we start to get into potentially freezing temperatures, we do know, again, the risk for disease survivability in frozen water does increase.

Dr. Becton says while some of these increases can be attributed to different seasonal conditions, we do know there is an increased risk of disease introduction in the wean-to-market categories and that is a concern producers should be mindful of.
SHICs domestic and global swine disease monitoring reports can be accessed at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Despite Canada-U.S. Trade Tensions Canadian and American Pork Producers Continue to Operate in an Integrated Market

Dr. Lee Schulz - EA Risk — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 26, 2026

The Chief Economist with EA Risk says, in spite of the trade tensions between Canada and the United States, pork producers continue to operate within an integrated North American market.
Amid the resumption of formal Canada U.S. trade negations and renewed hope for a deal ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, with the exception of the supply managed commodities, most agricultural products have escaped the tariffs.
As part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026, set for November 3rd and 4th in Saskatoon, the day-2 keynote address will examine the market outlook for the swine sector.
Dr. Lee Schulz, the Chief Economist with EA Risk, formerly Ever.Ag Risk Management, says the North American pork sector continues to operate as an integrated industry.

Quote-Dr. Lee Schulz-EA Risk:
From a hog import from Canada standpoint into the United States, we've seen levels of feeder pig imports and barrow and gilt for slaughter imports at the highest level since 2008-2009.
Here in 2026 so far, feeder pig imports have been up six and a half percent, barrow and gilt imports have been up almost 30 percent year to date so it shows that that remains very much an integrated system as we look at pork production in North America.
Obviously, there's been some trade tensions but we've still seen movements of products.
If you look at pork exports, Canada and the United States kind of serve as both customers, especially when you look at the U.S. and Canada as a customer, but also as competitors and so I think we continue to operate in that landscape but also remain very integrated.

Dr. Schulz acknowledges the market outlook is ever evolving and changing, so some of the things discussed today will remain the same but some things will change as we think about the weeks and months ahead.
For more information or to register for Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026, visit saskpork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

SHIC AASV Webinar Outlines Resources for Addressing New World Screwworm

Dr. Lisa Becton - Swine Health Information Center — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 23, 2026

The Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center says it's important for pork producers to be aware of where to find resources for dealing with New World Screwworm and who to contact in the event of an infestation.
New World Screwworm Preparedness is the focus of a Swine Health Information Center, American Association of Swine Veterinarians webinar accessible through SHIC's web site at swinehealth.org.
SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says the intent of the webinar is to inform producers of what can be done and what is being done for New World Screwworm control, prevention and treatment.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
There are many different organizations that are involved in the New World Screwworm response, and each has a very specific focus area, but all work together with the goal of rapid identification, control management and then eventually elimination of New World Screwworm from the U.S.
For instance, USDA and state animal health officials are leading the response to New World Screwworm from a federal and state regulated aspect.
There's other foreign partners, both in Mexico and in Panama, that help with the production of the sterile flies and assist USDA with release of those flies.
Producers are also rapidly engaged to identify potential cases.
Our diagnostic laboratories are also engaged to be able to rapidly identify flies and if they are in fact New World Screwworm.
There's assistance from extension agents in the field to provide outreach and education and additional training on screwworm as well as people from both the Food and Drug Administration and EPA to help approve and provide guidance for emergency use of products to treat animals for New World Screwworm.

Dr. Becton says it's important for producers to have access to the resources to deal with New World Screwworm and are aware of who should be alerted in the event a suspect case is identified.
The webinar can be accessed at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Saskatchewan Agriculture Reports Substantial Harvest Progress Over the Past Week

Davidson Ugheoke - Saskatchewan Agriculture — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 23, 2026

Saskatchewan Agriculture Reports favorable weather over the past week allowed substantial harvest progress.
Saskatchewan Agriculture released its crop report yesterday for the period from October 13th to October 19th.
Crops Extension Specialist Davidson Ugheoke says harvest is close to complete.

Quote-Davidson Ugheoke-Saskatchewan Agriculture:
During this last reporting period we did record tremendous favourable weather which allowed producers to make good progress in harvest.
Across the province harvest is currently at 97 percent complete with only small acres of later seeded crops left out there in the field.
Harvest is 99 percent complete in the southwest and the west central regions.
The northern regions are currently at 97 percent while the east central and the southeast regions are 96 and 95 percent complete respectively.
As a result of those two storms, we had early and the excess moisture that was retained on the field, there was a little bit of a delay in seeding which extended the growing period into now.
On the average by this time five and ten years ago we were done with harvest.
However, this doesn't reflect into the yield potentials because from the yield numbers we received, they are average or a little bit above average of the ten-and five-year averages.
In terms of the quality, because some of the earlier seeded crops were exposed to excess moisture after maturity, there was some degrading however, that didn't affect the later seeded crops.
We did observe some sprouting in certain places and then bleaching in some crops.

Ugheoke says, if this weather prevails, growers will be able to wrap up harvest before snow sets in.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Manitoba Harvest Reaches 86 Percent Complete

Sonia Wilson - Manitoba Agriculture — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 23, 2026

Manitoba Agriculture reports good progress over the past week as the harvest reached 86 percent complete.
Manitoba Agriculture released its weekly crop report Tuesday.
Sonia Wilson, an oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture says, in spite of minimal rainfall over the past week, there were quite a few dry days which allowed for a good push and, as of October 20th, 86 percent of the crop had been harvested across the province.

Quote-Sonia Wilson-Manitoba Agriculture:
This year we've had quite a bit of rainfall in the beginning, which definitely presented some challenges.
And then in terms of harvest, we also saw quite a bit of rainfall as well.
So, there was a period of time kind of before and after a lot of that rainfall came down at harvest, where fields that were harvested earlier had higher quality and then, because of those late rains, we had some quality and sprouting issues for sure.
Overall, in the past couple of weeks in general, we've had drier weather, even if it has been cooler, and that's given opportunity really to finish off that harvest and for field work.
So that's been great to receive.
Overall, I would say we've definitely had some moisture challenges.
We've definitely had some localized hail challenges as well and it's really dependent on the region.
I would say in terms of the moisture, definitely the Swan River, the northwest area, as well as the Stonewall area around there, they were really hit with a lot of this moisture and parts of the southwest as well for hail.
So I think overall it's been quite the season in terms of it's a long harvest season this year, especially in comparison to previous years.
But I'm very thankful for some of this drier weather we've received at the end here that's given an opportunity to finish up some field work and finish harvest, although it wasn't probably the best harvest that could have been expected.

Wilson expects another big push over the next week.
She notes the seasonal summary report will be issued on Tuesday.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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

Data-Driven Etiology Helps Prioritize Disease Threats Based on Real-World Data

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

Farmscape for October 22, 2026

A tool developed by Iowa State University is helping identify changes in swine disease diagnosis to assess disease risk.
The SHIC-funded Data-Driven Etiology Index, created by Iowa State University and profiled in the Swine Health Information Center's September eNewsletter, provides an automated and reproducible method to help prioritize disease threats based on real-world data.
SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says the index looks at disease occurrence and geographic distribution to identify change and assess risk.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
Researchers used confirmed tissue-based diagnoses from Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to rank disease activity and identify potential emerging changes.
They utilized greater than 59 thousand porcine tissue cases that were sent to Iowa State between 2020 and 2024, and identified bacterial, viral, parasitic, and metabolic etiologies.
The index is weighted by the various categories including disease occurrence, the early aberrant reporting system alarms, state occurrence and co-diagnosis.
The final score can range between 0.01 to 1, and it shows the relative ideology activity and changes over time.
So, for example, there is a strong index that year-over-year PRRS and Strep suis remain as a high-ranked disease incidence, but there are also diseases such as porcine sapovirus or porcine astrovirus that were identified as potential emerging diseases.

Dr. Becton says the index allows the integration of multiple dimensions of diagnostic information into a single interpretable database and helps distinguish pathogens that consistently represent a risk and the framework can be adapted to add other diagnostic laboratories, pathogens, systems or even livestock species.
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

Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium Features Full Line-Up of Speakers

Steve Seto - Sask Pork — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farmscape for October 21, 2026

The Communications and Marketing Coordinator with Sask Pork says the 2026 edition of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium features a full lineup of speakers including keynote addresses on mental resiliency in the barn and the economic outlook for the pork sector.
Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026, set for November 3rd and 4th in Saskatoon, will bring together pork sector stakeholders from across North America to discus issues and learn about the latest technology.
Sask Pork Communications and Marketing Coordinator Steve Seto says this year's agenda includes an exciting lineup of speakers.

Quote-Steve Seto-Sask Pork:
We've got two fantastic keynote speakers.
We have retired Fire Captain Jim Brayshaw talking a little bit about mental resiliency in the barn and just trying to make sure that your operation kind of runs smooth and meet some of those challenges that you may face on a day-to-day basis.
As well, we have Lee Schulz from Ever.Ag coming in talking about the economy of the market and kind of the outlook and everything that can kind of help us prepare for the coming months and years and kind of what to expect and have a little bit of an outlook there.
Plus, we have a few updates from our national organizations from CPC, the Canadian Pork Council, as well as Canada Pork, talking a little bit about things that we have been doing, plus some of the marketing side of things just in the domestic market, which is really exciting.
Plus, we have Carman Alison from Nielsen IQ talking about what consumers are buying and some of the trends that we're seeing there, which is a really interesting topic that we're really excited about.
Then talking about animal health, we've got Jenelle Hamblin from Manitoba Pork.
We've got Dr. Lee-Anne Huber from University of Guelph coming in talking about nutrition as well as biosecurity.
We've got a fantastic lineup of speakers right across the board.

The registration form for Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026 along with the agenda and full details on the conference can be found at saskpork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

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