12 Manitoba pork companies suing over bad boar semen

A group of Manitoba pig breeders say they were sold bad semen by a company in the province and are suing for nearly $2 million.

In a statement of claim filed on March 24, 11 companies — all plaintiffs in the suit — say they bought boar semen from Carlo Genetics Inc. between March and September 2015 that contained a defective extender, a substance used to prolong the shelf life of semen.

As a result, the companies say the birthing rates of their sows dropped significantly, costing them a total of $1.9 million for lost production, the expenses of managing a smaller herd and of the semen itself, plus money spent on figuring out why sows weren't as productive.

• Hog industry likes changes to manure rules that critics say smell bad

The companies are also suing PIC-Canada Ltd., the company that provided the extender.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and none of the plaintiffs responded to CBC requests for comment.

45,000 tubes of semen

On March 31, a week after the initial statement of claim, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. launched a similar suit against Carlo Genetics and MOFA Global Inc., another extender provider, saying bad semen and extender cost the company almost $600,000.

In its statement, Maple Leaf says it purchased some 45,000 tubes of boar semen from Carlo Genetics between April and June 2015, containing extender provided by MOFA.

• Maple Leaf Foods profit depressed by impact of hog virus

Starting around that time, Maple Leaf said it started experiencing "significant issues" at its 11 hog-production facilities in the province.

It says the issues included lower conception rates, lower birth rates, smaller litter sizes, fewer live births, slower growth rates among weanlings and an overall negative impact on the health of the pigs.

The company says it's out $594,000 in lost profits, loss of business and the cost of buying pigs from external sources to replace the lost production.

None of these allegations have been proven in court, either.

Carlo Genetics Inc. declined to provide further comment on the allegations.

PIC-Canada, MOFA Global and Maple Leaf did not respond to CBC requests for comment.