The Committee Member in charge of the 2018 Prairie Livestock Expo Pork Quality Competition says Manitoba charities and food banks will once again benefit from the event.
Manitoba pork producers are being reminded the deadline for submitting entry forms for the 2018 Pork Quality Competition, which will take place as part of Prairie Livestock Expo December 12th in Winnipeg, is November 23rd.
Darren Bates, the Prairie Livestock Expo Committee Member in charge of the Pork Quality Competition, says this event is always among the highlights of Prairie Livestock Expo.
It’s a chance for the producers to highlight what they’ve done in terms of the meat quality and showcase what they can produce on their own farm. The purpose is really two-fold, to showcase the product and to raise money and give back to the local food banks and also to charities. Every entrant needs to fill out a form and designate 50 percent of their prize winnings, monies to a charity of their choice. They can pick up to two charities. Then they can also donate the other 50 percent to a charity if they so wish.
Obviously the Pork Quality Competition does rely on carcasses and we have to do something with that product so we choose to give it back to the local food banks. In this case it will be split between Siloam Mission and Winnipeg Harvest. Since 1996, our records show, this competition has donated almost 400 thousand dollars to charities and over 135 thousand pounds of pork to Manitoba and local food banks.
The Pork Quality Competition is open to Canadian pork producers, with a limit of two entries per operation to a maximum of 70 in total.
~ Darren Bates, Prairie Livestock Expo
Bates notes it has become extremely popular among the competitors and, this year, all entrants regardless of how they place will be entered into a draw for a 25 hundred dollar voucher toward a trip to the 2019 World Pork Expo in Des Moines.
