Pork Producers Expected to Accelerate Transition to Canadian Pork Excellence

The Manager of Quality Assurance and Animal Care Programs with Manitoba Pork expects many of Canada’s pork producers to accelerate their transition to Canadian Pork Excellence

by Bruce Cochrane – FarmScape Online

“The great thing about these new programs that we’re developing and the materials we’re developing is they’re very open to take in suggestion and then enhance the programs and so we don’t really see these materials as stagnant materials,” Mark Fynn, the Manager of Quality Assurance and Animal Care Programs with Manitoba Pork, told FarmScape Online. “We expect them to be evolving and open documents all the time that we can keep improving the program and make sure that they’re practical for implementation on farm.”

“The new program will be looked upon very favorably by both domestic and international customers”

 

Producer manuals for the PigSAFE and PigCARE components of Canadian Pork Excellence are now being printed and will be distributed to the provincial pork organizations in the next month or so.

“They’re looking pretty good,” he added. “There’s been a lot of producer feedback provided to them and I think that a number of producers are going to really see these programs as an advancement and an improvement over the current programs that we have on farm both for the quality and the assurance they’re providing as well as the practicality in implementation.”

“I think we’re going to see a lot of producers choose to adopt the new program ahead of their scheduled time,” Fynn said. “However, for the implementation, we’re looking to transition off the current program, CQA and ACA, over a three year period starting January 1’st, 2019.”

Fynn notes PigTRACE has already been launched and PigSAFE and PigCARE will replace the existing Canadian Quality Assurance program and Animal Care Assessment.

“During that time period there will be a time when producers are expected to join the new programs but I think there’s a lot of improvements in these programs that producers are going to like and want to implement ahead of that schedule.”

Fynn is confident the new program will be looked upon very favorably by both domestic and international customers as well as producers who are implementing it on farm.