Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson says the province is short between 1 million to 1.2 million finished pigs in order to fill processing capacity.

He notes this is due in part to difficulties that the industry has faced over the past seven years.

Dickson says they are working together on a pilot project with the provincial government to get more finisher barns established in the province.

"For now I think that the way forward is to try to help individual producers try and get into the business," he commented. "Some are expanding their existing businesses, some are renovating their barns...to try and get more pigs to market."

Dickson notes things are looking good in terms of long-term investment with interest rates at almost all-time lows.

He adds a lot of things are coming together in the pork industry right now which is creating a great deal of positivity.