Reading Time: 2 minutes Not requiring hog trailers coming from the U.S. to be washed and disinfected at certified Canadian wash sites is a “a crisis moment for the Canadian swine industry,” says Alberta Pork. The organization joined its western Canadian counterparts in a last-ditch effort to persuade the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to extend a federally approved trailer-wash […] Read more
New PED threat ‘a crisis moment,’ says Alberta Pork
Prairie pork boards say swine trailers coming from U.S. must be washed and disinfected here
West’s hog farmers urged to insist trailers cleaned in Canada
Hog industry officials in Western Canada want hog producers to insist that livestock trailers coming to their farms be washed at certified Canadian cleaning facilities — even if the trailers were just cleaned on the U.S. side of the border. The recommendation comes as a federally-approved trailer-wash pilot project, credited with helping to keep porcine epidemic diarrhea […] Read more
U.S. hog herd ekes out new high as PED impact ebbs
Reuters — The U.S. hog herd in the December-February quarter modestly grew from a year earlier to a record high for that quarter, according to Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture quarterly hog report. Farmers cautiously added to herds while shoring up their bottom lines following the surge in hog numbers as the industry recovers from […] Read more
CFIA to continue PEDv hog trailer policy until May
Emergency federal protocols that have allowed empty hog trucks coming into Manitoba from the U.S. to be cleaned and disinfected on the Manitoba side of the border will now continue until May. In a producer newsletter Thursday, Manitoba Pork chair George Matheson said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which had previously planned to end the […] Read more
Merck to buy Harrisvaccines to boost livestock portfolio
Chicago | Reuters — Merck and Co.’s animal health unit will buy privately-held Harrisvaccines to expand its portfolio of animal vaccines as the U.S. livestock industry seeks new defenses against diseases, the companies said on Thursday. Financial details were not disclosed. The deal, which is expected to close by year-end, follows rival Zoetis’ agreement, announced […] Read more
PEDv may have entered U.S. on ‘reusable’ feed bags
Chicago | Reuters — The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) that killed millions of U.S. pigs over the past two years may have entered the country on large bags typically used to transport feed and other bulk products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The report, dated Sept. 24 and released Wednesday, said the agency […] Read more
Regulatory wrangling ups the threat of PEDv in Canada
Livestock trailers coming from the U.S. could spread the virus across Western Canada, say pork officials
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washing hog transports in the U.S. before they return to Canada sounds good in theory — but it may actually increase the threat of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus here. “We are extremely concerned about this because essentially we’re going to be sending trailers to be firehose washed at some point in the U.S. where they […] Read more
How the pork sector survived the attack of a killer virus
PEDv decimated the U.S. hog herd, but Canada showed how to do biosecurity right
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you want expert advice on biosecurity, talk to a Canadian hog farmer — and cattle producers should probably do just that. The country’s outstanding record on controlling the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has a host of lessons for the cattle sector, says a swine veterinarian who was deeply involved in Alberta’s battle against PEDv. […] Read more
Less-potent pig virus fuels U.S. hog herd growth, but rate slows
Reuters — The U.S. hog herd grew nine per cent during the March-May quarter compared with a year ago, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed on Friday, reflecting better measures to combat a deadly pig virus which resulted in record pigs per litter, analysts said. However, weaker hog prices last quarter eroded farmer profits […] Read more
Massive biosecurity effort in hog sector proves its worth
The list of changes is long and no detail was deemed too small in the effort to keep PEDv out of Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to biosecurity, all the rules, time, and expense are worth it. And the proof can be seen in the successful effort to keep PEDv (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus) out of Alberta, attendees at the recent Canadian Livestock Transport conference were told. “Everybody in the chain has done their job to prevent PEDv […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
