Manitoba Pork held its fall producer meetings this week in Niverville and Portage la Prairie.

One of the big topics of discussion was the PED virus outbreak in southeastern Manitoba.

"We've had 80 cases so far but we seem to holding," said Chair George Matheson. "The cases we've had since August are only through hog movements, so we can say that they aren't true cases. We do know what the cause was. We have quite a few barns in transition, quite a few presumptive negatives, so we're moving in the right direction."

Matheson also commented on the Manitoba government's Bill 24, which will help stimulate hog barn expansion in the province. The bill was passed this week.

George Matheson

"We've got a government that is supportive of our industry and wants to rid hog producers of the requirement to have anaerobic digesters on their farms, which did not make any economic sense and would have not provided any safety when it came to manure management," he said.

On that note, Manitoba Pork has created a Swine Development Corporation to help producers with the complex application process.

"To help them with the conditional use hearings, planning and just generally knowing what kind of pushback there could be from neighbours and the municipality they work in, so that they can put their best foot forward and present in a positive manor and thus in the end have more success," explained Matheson.

The issue of unpaid hog levies and enforceable penalties was also discussed at the meeting.