The top minds in Canada’s pork industry are working to figure out the best possible biosecurity system to protect the interests of producers and marketers.
The Canadian Swine Health Board devoted two hours of its two-day swine health forum in Saskatoon last week to a discussion of biosecurity issues and a look at alternative approaches to maintaining herd health.
Christian Klopfenstein of the Quebec Pork Development Centre described a number of biosecurity models to the 145 industry experts at the forum, including farm-based, regional and national approaches.
Read Also
VIDEO: British company Antler Bio brings epigenetics to dairy farms
British company Antler Bio is bringing epigenetics to dairy farms using blood tests help tie how management is meeting the genetic potential of the animals.
While there are different ways to approach the issue, he said, the target is the same.
“Regardless of the model, the goal is to improve biosecurity systems to reduce the development and transmission of disease,” said Klopfenstein.
“What farmers want out of this is a reduction in the number of health issues and a reduction in pig mortality.”
A key component is speed in reacting to outbreaks, he added, from the producer identifying a problem to a local vet diagnosing it to the implementation of control measures by responsible agencies.
Biosecurity refers to measures taken to protect swine herd health by preventing the transmission of disease into a production facility from the outside. Infectious diseases can enter a unit through the introduction of diseased stock, wildlife and vermin, contaminated trucks, feed or water, employees or visitors.
Biosecurity has taken on added urgency in recent years because disease outbreaks have damaged export sales and producer income.
No matter what model is adopted, the key control point in any system is at the farm.
Some industry officials have suggested that 70 percent of livestock health issues can be solved by relatively simple on-farm measures, including isolation, sanitation, traffic control, a strict herd health management strategy and staff training.
Given that, some have proposed that within a given region, individual producers be allowed to ship their animals for export depending on their management and herd health standards.
However, such an approach may not work in areas of concentrated hog production and creates issues for organic and free range producers.
Other options include regional models or a national program.
The swine health board is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to evaluate the alternatives and select the best option.
