Farmscape for April 18, 2018

The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board says funding offered through the Saskatchewan Loadout Biosecurity Program allowed pork producers to accelerate planned improvements to biosecurity.
In response to the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea outbreak last year in Manitoba the Saskatchewan Government launched the Saskatchewan Loadout Biosecurity Program to help pork producers improve biosecurity.
Bridget Gray, the Producer Services Manager with the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, says the movement of pigs and transportation is a large risk so funding targeted biosecurity in the loadout to provide a maximum impact in a short time.

Clip-Bridget Gray-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board:
It was solely for equipment that could improve loadout biosecurity so, for example, cleaning and disinfection equipment, heating and drying equipment, things that would improve the flow of animals so they don't come back into the barn, improving the flow of air and drawing air out of the barn and not back into the barn, things like that.
Metering equipment for disinfection also was one of the popular pieces of equipment.
I think people realized that they had access to the funding and it allowed them to make the improvements maybe they had been planning to do already because PED is such a risk and such a devastating disease.
Every little bit that you can put towards biosecurity, especially in the winter months which is traditionally when you see PED spread because the cold weather makes it so difficult to complete your biosecurity protocols.
I think people were really well educated about it.
Manitoba certainly communicated what was actually happening in the PED outbreak out there so we had a lot of information which we got out to producers so certainly they were aware of the risks involved with transportation.

Gray says the availability of the funding caused people to jump at the chance to make improvements they had already been planning.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork