New hog vaccine
A live virus vaccine has been approved in Canada to fight porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a viral disease causing reproductive failure in sows and respiratory disease in young piglets.
Ingelvac RespPRRS is marketed in Canada by Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. It immunizes piglets against the respiratory form of PRRS.
Outbreaks of the disease first occurred in North America in the late 1980s, and spread to other swine production regions of the world. It was once known as mystery swine disease. The virus was isolated in 1991 and vaccine research began.
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Ingelvac RespPRRS was licensed for commercial sale in the U.S. in July 1994 and has been available in Canada under an Agriculture Canada emergency use permit since August 1994. The manufacturer says the drug has proven effective and there are no appreciable side effects.
The vaccine is administered as a single two cc doses in pigs from three to 18 weeks old. Timing of vaccination must be decided in consultation with a veterinarian.
Contact: Bill Maxwell, general manager, animal health division, Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd., tel. 905-639-0333.
Satellite positioning
Leica has introduced a satellite position system for use in precision farming.
The system uses navigation signals from global positioning system satellites and with error-correction transmissions from ground-based stations, it can measure geographic locations within three metres.
The Leica product has a six-channel receiver and an auto-tune beacon receiver, with a combined GPS/beacon antenna. It automatically tunes to the frequency of the strongest available beacon and has an effective radius of more than 322 kilometres.
Coverage areas include the Great Lakes and Mississippi/Missouri River basin and will soon include the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys. Farmers can use it for field mapping, soil analysis, row control and chemical application.
Contact: Leica Inc. Navigation and Positioning Division, 23868 Haw-thorne Blvd., Torrance, Calif., 90506; tel. 310-791-5300; fax 310-791-6108.
One-person fencing
The Roll-A-Wire wire spool holder is designed to allow the unrolling of barbed wire or other spooled wire quickly and easily. It keeps the wire from tangling and rolls easily over rough terrain.
Made of hardened 20-gauge steel tubing, Roll-A-Wire measures 91.5 centimetres by 40.5 cm and weighs 1.5 kilograms. It can handle spools up to 34 cm wide and has a rust-resistant finish.
Contact: Barb Clamp, Inc., 5201 Branson Rd., Poteau, Okla., 74953; tel. 1-800-775-0955; fax 918-647-7072.
