During its fall meetings held this week, Manitoba Pork provided an update on new pig barn construction in the province.

Manitoba Pork says it has received four applications to build new pig barns under a special pilot program that was initiated in 2015. Two of the applications are for an expansion, while two are for brand new barns.

Manager of Sustainable Development Mike Teillet says he expects to see the barns constructed next summer. He notes the applications are currently in the approval process, which can take up to a year to complete.

The special pilot program contains 11 additional guidelines that go above all the regulatory and legislative requirements.

Manitoba Pork has been meeting with the government in hopes of streamlining the process.

"This special pilot project protocol, we would like to see that radically reduced in terms of the number of steps," explained Teillet. "We think we're certainly by far the most bureaucratic and the longest approval process system in the country."

Teillet notes that other provinces have been able to complete the approval process in four months or less.

The provincial government imposed a pig barn moratorium on the industry back in 2011, which led to the development of the Pig Production Special Pilot Project Evaluation Protocol.