Meristem: Pork Science

Edmonton, Alta. October 26, 2011. The Banff Pork Seminar takes aim at a big target for its next event slated for Jan. 17 to 20, 2012. The meeting that has built a reputation over 40 years for thinking big and tackling the major issues of the day will focus on the theme of "Feeding Tomorrow's World."

Over three featured plenary sessions, seven leading speakers will address the challenge of feeding tomorrow's world from the perspectives of fighting poverty, managing risk, key trends and where the world of animal agriculture is headed. Eleven breakout sessions will add to the discussion by covering a number of the most practical and fundamental issues in the pork and agricultural industries today.

"Our goal is to provide useful and insightful perspectives on the big issues and complement that with management and business information that can be implemented at the farm and industry level," says program director, Dr. Ron Ball.

The first plenary session sets the stage of provocative and analytical speakers. Entitled "We Can Feed The world" it brings together two international leaders.

Greg BeVier, senior program officer for agriculture for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will speak on "Livestock as a pathway out of poverty." Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco Animal Health will give a new perspective on agriculture and food and solutions to global hunger in his talk "Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality."

Thursday's plenary deals with risk and price and cost management. Karl Skold, president of Westside Economics, which develops procurement and risk management strategies for food and beverage companies as well as meat and poultry producers speaks on the prediction of future prices and cost of production. Managing risks of a global food system will be addressed by Richard Shanks, of Aon Reed Stenhouse, which provides risk identification, assessment and solutions to the food and agribusiness industry.

The final plenary session highlights how the future of the world depends on agriculture. Frank Dunshea, of the University of Melbourne, tackles the future of high-tech animal agriculture. John Kennelly of the University of Alberta looks at research and education goals for the pork industry. Canada's minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Hon. Gerry Ritz, lays out the five year plan for Canadian agriculture.

The 11 breakout sessions are always popular because they cover a wide range of topics, and because they offer practical advice that producers can take home and use quickly, says Ball. A full list of session topics is on the Seminar website.

The Seminar is in the same location in Banff but in an all new venue this year. "The Banff Centre has been building aggressively over the past several years and this year we have moved everything to the new Kinnear Centre," says Ball. "These are terrific new facilities. Most of the sponsors will be in this more centralized location and many of the plenary and breakout sessions will be in rooms immediately adjacent."

Banff continues to be a major draw in itself. Acknowledged as a travel destination of choice worldwide, many attending the seminar stay on to enjoy the beauty and opportunities the area offers.

Registration, accommodation and full program information is available on the seminar website at www.banffpork.ca. More information in also available by email at or by contacting Ruth Ball, conference manager by phone at (780) 492-3651. Registration includes a copy of the proceedings.

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2012 Banff Pork Seminar puts spotlight on "Feeding Tomorrow's World"