Update, March 4, 2019: The third PED case to which this article refers was announced Monday to be a “false positive.” Click here for details. Alberta, which until January was one of the remaining hog-producing provinces clear of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), is now up to four cases in three months. The provincial agriculture department […] Read more
Alberta confirms third and fourth PED cases
China moves to halt swine fever with hog industry overhaul
Beijing | Reuters — China plans to divide its hog industry into five zones in an attempt to halt the spread of African swine fever across the world’s top pork producer and guarantee supplies. Beijing has reported more than 100 outbreaks of the disease, which is fatal to pigs but not harmful to people, in […] Read more
PED not yet done with Alberta
Just when it appeared Alberta’s on-farm outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) may have been a one-off, the province has confirmed a second case. Officials with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry on Friday announced they’ve confirmed and are investigating a new PED outbreak at a 600-head farrow-to-finish hog operation at an unspecified location. “At this time, […] Read more
Olymel to close Quebec City processing plant
La Coop federee’s meatpacking arm is set to shut an aging Quebec City further-processing plant it took over last year. Olymel announced Tuesday it will close the former Aliments Triomphe plant in the Vanier area of Quebec City effective May 10, affecting 47 employees. The Vanier plant’s production, which includes cretons (meat spreads), bologna, pepperoni […] Read more
The situation is better, but Alberta’s pork sector not out of the woods yet
After a dreadful summer, prices are better but producers still losing money, says analyst
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hog markets have improved since early fall, but the situation is far from great. “In terms of the current prices, there’s nothing spectacular,” said Ron Gietz, an extension specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Still, that’s an improvement on the spectacularly bad period last summer when hog prices plunged by more than 40 per cent […] Read more
African swine fever would be a disaster
There is a ‘clear risk’ the swiftly spreading disease could come here, says leading swine health vet
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a real risk that the African swine fever virus could enter Canada — and if it did, it would be catastrophic, says one of the country’s leading swine health experts. “If Canada got a single case in our country, our borders would close to all nations,” said Dr. Egan Brockhoff, a partner in […] Read more
Pigs could soon move off Alberta’s PED-infected farm
The first, and so far only, Alberta hog farm to catch porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) could see animal shipments restart on a supervised basis “in the coming week.” The provincial ag ministry on Thursday said its investigation of the PED case, discovered Jan. 3 at a 400-head farrow-to finish operation, “continues to suggest that the […] Read more
‘Smart barn’ technology is on its way for pork producers
Sensors and software monitor pigs — and workers — in real time and in new ways
Reading Time: 2 minutes There is no argument new smart technologies are coming in swine production, says an expert in monitoring and task automation in livestock facilities. Tom Stein, senior strategic adviser for Quebec-based Maximus Systems, gave nine examples of “smart barn” technologies already in use or on the way at the recent Banff Pork Seminar. “One must remember, these […] Read more
Officials continue all-out effort to prevent spread of PED
Authorities say it’s ‘good news’ that the devastating disease hasn’t spread, but don’t know how it got here
Reading Time: 3 minutes Contain and pray it doesn’t spread. That sums up the approach officials are taking following the arrival of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in the province. So far, tests for the PED virus at other farms, assembly yards, abattoirs, and truck washes have come back negative. However, officials also don’t know how the virus made its […] Read more
Building immunity to combat PED
There is no vaccine for the deadly virus, so controlled exposure is used to create immunity
Reading Time: < 1 minute Deliberately exposing a sow herd to the virus that causes porcine epidemic diarrhea may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the best option when a facility is infected. “The game plan is that you need to expose the sow population as quickly as possible, whenever the outbreak has occurred in the barn,” said Frank Marshall, owner of […] Read more
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