Most hogs in Alberta are being marketed under the auspices of the Western Hog Exchange for settlement and payment. Contracts at several of the plants are being offered through WHE with good success for producers in terms of contracted and forward pricing.

Moose Jaw Pork Packers is back up and running (formerly Worldwide Pork) with a weekly slaughter of about 400 hogs per day. This could increase to 1000/day if other suppliers come on line and fill its total kill capacity. Hogs are being delivered primarily from Saskatchewan producers with a few from Alberta that I am aware of. Alberta producers are satisfied to market hogs in the heavy carcass category, into a hot-skinning plant, along with achieving satisfactory carcass merit.

There are still a number of our clients marketing hogs to U.S. skinning plants with good results for carcass quality, meat color and marbling scores.

Boars and gilts probed at Jakubec Farms at the end of June show great loin sizes. Biggest loin probed at100 kg live weight on Landrace gilts was 69.2 mm; on Landrace boars was 68.8 mm; Yorkshire gilts was 72.2 mm and on Yorkshire boars was 67.8 mm.

Breed	No.	Average Backfat	Loin depth	Loin Area	Est. Lean Yield
Landrace gilts	45	9.0 mm	64.1 mm	45.1 sq cm	64.4%
Landrace boars	8	9.2 mm	64.4 mm	42.5 sq cm	64.4%
Yorkshire gilts	15	8.2mm	65.0 mm	45.7 sq cm	64.6%
Yorkshire boars	6	8.2 mm	64.6 mm	42.9 sq cm	64.7%

Spring Valley Colony weaned 144 piglets from 12 sows the week of July 22, an average of 12.0 pig/sow. From its purebred Landrace sows, it is weaning 10.7 piglets per litter over the past six months, including the 11.3 pigs/litter weaned the week of July 29. Spring Valley feeds its farrowing ration as its weaned-sow ration for the few days prior to breeding to achieve a high rate of conception and large litter size born live.
 

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