Up to $600 is available to Alberta hog producers who want to create a biocontainment plan as a hedge against the spread of animal disease.
Dr. Kurt Preugschas of Innovative Veterinary Services announced the funding program Dec. 16 during a conference call organized by Alberta Pork.
A full biosecurity plan includes external safeguards to keep disease out of hog operations and internal management to prevent or reduce spread of disease among pigs within a site.
But it also includes biocontainment, which is preventing spread of disease from one farm to another.
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“Keeping the diseases out of the farm is obviously the most critical step,” said Preugschas, and that has been the focus for much of the past year as the threat of porcine epidemic diarrhea lurks.
“These new diseases, such as PED and now Seneca Valley Virus, are perfect examples of why biocontainment becomes very important.”
Producers would work with their herd veterinarians to develop a plan specific to their operation.
“The goal is to identify the source of the disease before any other sites are affected,” said Preugschas.
“Of course, that may or may not be possible, but essentially we want to minimize the number of sites affected so that we can control the disease as an industry before it gets out of hand.”
Such a plan would include a system to contact all suppliers and tradespeople who come to the site, plans for personnel movement, sites for animals that need to be relocated, a plan for mass euthanasia if necessary and an exploration of manure management practices.
Preugschas recommends an annual audit of biosecurity in hopes that it will never be needed.
The program to help producers develop a biocontainment strategy is funded through Alberta Pork and Growing Forward 2.
