Hail insurance rebates
More than 7,400 Alberta farmers who purchased straight hail insurance on their 2005 crops from Agriculture Financial Services Corp. will receive premium rebates totalling more than $2.4 million.
Alberta agriculture minister Doug Horner said the AFSC experienced only average losses on the hail insurance program in 2005, and as a result, AFSC will pay a premium rebate again this year. Producers who bought hail insurance and had a claim in 2005 will receive a five percent premium rebate. Producers who did not have a claim will receive a 10 percent premium rebate. Further information can be obtained at AFSC district offices, its call centre at 888-786-7475, or at www.AFSC.ca.
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Pork industry awards
Three pork industry stakeholders from Western Canada have been honoured for innovative production techniques.
The winners of this year’s F.X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production were Pradip Maiti of Nutratech Inc. in Winnipeg, Tony Charanduk of Hypor Inc. in Ituna, Sask., and Darcy Pauls and Claude Mason of The Puratone Corporation, Niverville, Man.
Maiti received the award for his work in the development of avian egg antibodies against E. coli, inducing immunity that results in increased growth. With mounting pressure to discontinue the use of antibiotics in the swine industry, Maiti’s work is considered a possible alternative to drugs.
Charanduk received his award for developing an accelerated boar training system that has substantially reduced training periods. The system, which uses trained boars to train unmated boars for breeding, has allowed the 115-boar Hypor AI stud to train one boar every 10 minutes, maintain a 200 percent turnover required for genetic improvement in the boar stud and sustain full production year-round.
The time required to train a group of 30 boars has been reduced to 18 from 80 hours since introducing the technique.
Darcy Pauls and Dr. Claude Mason were recognized for developing a hip injection technique for vaccinating breeding stock.
This technique was recently approved by the Canadian Pork Council’s Canadian Quality Assurance program.
The procedure helps amend the difficulties involved in administering vaccines in the neck of mature animals housed in farrowing crates or dry sow stalls.
