Reading Time: 3 minutes Experts say the PEDv outbreak in Manitoba is a warning to livestock producers across the Prairies that biosecurity has to be a 24-7 priority every day of the year. Since late April, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has been found on 10 farms in three areas in southeastern Manitoba — and two of those areas […] Read more

PEDv outbreak shows the ‘inconvenient’ truth about biosecurity
Officials say affected farms in Manitoba had good biosecurity protocols — but following them every day is another matter

New Manitoba PED case pushes envelope
Southeastern Manitoba’s latest on-farm cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) include one outside the buffer zones in which earlier cases have been found. According to Manitoba Pork, the province’s chief veterinary officer (CVO) on Wednesday confirmed positive tests for PED on a hog nursery operation outside an existing five-kilometre buffer zone. That case — along […] Read more

PED cases fan out in southeastern Manitoba
Three more farms in southeastern Manitoba have been confirmed with cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) — all of them outside the buffer area in which six previous infected sites were confirmed earlier this month. Two farms, a sow operation and a finisher operation “linked by live pig movements,” were confirmed with PED Friday, followed […] Read more

Regional-level biosecurity urged against PED in Manitoba
Producers in southeastern Manitoba’s “hog alley” are being urged to keep animal movements to a minimum and limit contact with hog operations in an area that’s seen five on-farm cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) this month. The province’s chief veterinary officer on Thursday confirmed positive test results for PED at a sow operation in […] Read more

Manitoba confirms fourth PED case of year
Another finisher barn in southeastern Manitoba has tested positive for porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in the province’s fourth on-farm case of the disease this year. Manitoba Pork Council general manager Andrew Dickson said barn staff noticed symptoms Sunday. Tests were taken the following day with results confirmed Tuesday. “That doesn’t mean every pig in the […] Read more

More PED cases turn up in southeastern Manitoba
A hog finisher operation and a sow operation in Manitoba’s southeastern “hog alley” have been confirmed with cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), both within close range of the province’s first case in over seven months. According to Manitoba Pork, the province’s chief veterinary officer on Monday confirmed positive test results for PED at a […] Read more

Response seen curbing PED spread from Manitoba case
The “quite early” catch and quick response for Canada’s latest outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), in a sow barn in Manitoba’s “hog alley,” are expected to keep a lid on the virus’ spread beyond the one site. The province’s chief veterinary officer (CVO) on Tuesday confirmed PED-positive tests at the southeastern Manitoba farm, and […] Read more

No point in quarantine for verticillium wilt, CFIA says
Slapping federal quarantines on canola fields with verticillium wilt wouldn’t serve much purpose, since the yield-robbing fungi is already in all of Canada’s major canola-growing areas, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. While the agency itself is recommending against regulation, CFIA on Wednesday posted a draft of a risk management document on verticillium wilt, seeking […] Read more

New provincial VBP+ co-ordinator hired in Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute Melissa Downing is the new provincial co-ordinator for the Verified Beef Production Plus program. Downing is an agrologist, and she and her husband raise cattle near Metiskow in east-central Alberta. This is a pivotal time in the beef industry and VBP+ “has the potential to establish Canada as a leader in sustainable verification and result […] Read more

Free workshops on small-flock biosecurity
Workshops to be held in Red Deer on Jan. 14 and Whitecourt on Jan. 28
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture is holding free biosecurity workshops with practical strategies for small flocks. Hands-on activities, producer/owner participation, and guest speakers will discuss common small-flock challenges to help keep multi-generational poultry flocks healthy. Workshops will be held in Red Deer (Peavey Mart Head Office) on Jan. 14 and Whitecourt (Holiday Inn Express) on Jan. 28. To […] Read more