This post is a continuation from yesterday’s H1N1 topic that explored Alberta Pork’s experiences at the centre of the H1N1 media storm earlier this year. The information is based on a presentation I attended by Lee Funke of Torque Communications at the recently held Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference in Edmonton.
He outlined some of the [...]

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be at the centre of a media firestorm unless you’ve actually experienced it. For the staff at Alberta Pork and the communications professionals working with them, the spring of 2009 provided more first-hand experience than they could have ever wished for.

There’s always someone looking to make a buck off someone else’s misfortune. But in this case, I didn’t think it would be the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC).
One of the agencies at the head of the global response to H1N1 influenza, the CDC is reported to be selling a toy version of the [...]

The word crisis is heard often at the moment. Unfortunately, it seems to be heard most often in conjunction with two other words: agriculture and farmers. In a country as wealthy and as entrenched in farming as ours, to me, there’s something fundamentally wrong with this picture.

Hog farmers need help to survive and the best thing you can do to support them is to put Canadian pork on your fork.
That’s the message behind a new TV commercial – produced by an Ontario swine veterinarian – that made it’s debut on the province’s airwaves this week.

Those of us in the farming community have known for a while now that hog farmers are facing financial difficulties and need help. Thanks to the efforts of many, even mainstream media have picked up on the crisis in the pork sector.
But although many use facts and figures to try to illustrate the point, to [...]

I love bacon – in fact, I’m a fan of pork in general.
And especially right now, after hog farmers have taken a beating over the unfortunately named “swine flu” which was actually really H1N1 influenza, I’m supportive of any efforts to promote it and develop new market opportunities.
So I was intrigued when I stumbled across [...]