Latest Newsletter

Tag Archives biosecurity — page 3

Kristy Perrin and Jason Schneider held an open house for their new Copper Creek Pork finishing barn near Palmerston, Ont., June 17, 2022.
Livestock

Focused on the future

New Palmerston-area hog finishing barn focuses on biosecurity and operator ease

By
The Hercules Arm deadstock remover was a significant point of interest during the Copper Creek Pork open house near Palmerston on June 17.  The ride-on solo operator deadstock mover provides a tiltable, telescopic boom and 2500 lbs winch capacity.  “We’re both getting older, and often it’s just me in the barn alone. (The Hercules) is […] Read more
Sheep Farmers of Ontario refers to MV as an “iceberg” disease; while only a few sheep in the flock may appear affected at any one time, many more are infected with the virus and will eventually become ill themselves.
Livestock

Maedi Visna – the hidden disease

The illness is difficult to detect as symptoms don’t usually appear for one to three years

By
The Sheep Farmers of Ontario (OSF) is encouraging sheep producers to consider taking steps to mitigate a silent, hidden illness that may be having a greater impact on their bottom line than they realize.  Maedi Visna (MV), also known as ovine progressive pneumonia, is a chronic viral illness that is 100 per cent fatal. The […] Read more
File photo of a small flock of tundra swans taking off from a grain field in early spring. (WWing/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Machinery

Spring planting work can kick up avian flu, feather sector warns

Three more poultry outbreaks confirmed in Canada so far this week

By
Spring planting work could soon start to bring unintended gifts left by wild birds from fields into farmyards, Ontario’s poultry and egg sectors warn, as more cases of avian flu are confirmed at poultry farms across the country. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday reported three additional outbreaks of H5 avian influenza in commercial […] Read more
One of the many lessons learned from previous avian influenza outbreaks is that people are significant contributors to its spread once it has entered a poultry facility.
News

Editorial: Prevention is better than the cure

By
Late last month, while taking my dog for a walk I heard the familiar, distinct sound of Tundra swans overhead.  They are beautiful to watch, but a reminder that with their return comes the threat of disease to the poultry industry. Many areas of the province offer the perfect ‘stop-over’ or spring habitat for migratory […] Read more
Good biosecurity on farms and at borders is essential to stopping African swine fever from entering Canada.
Livestock

Addressing the potential impact of ASF

Progress being made on how the Canadian pork industry will handle the disease if it is found here

By
With African Swine Fever a step away from the North American doorstep, the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) launched a proactive initiative.  Rene Roy, CPC’s first vice-chair, shared the four pillars of action within the year-old African Swine Fever Executive Management Board (ASF EMB) and the goals it hopes to achieve by 2023 at Ontario Pork’s […] Read more
File photo of a U.S. veterinary medical officer examining tissue samples for avian influenza virus. (Suzanne Deblois photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Livestock

High-path avian flu drops into southwestern Ontario

H5N1 confirmed on poultry farm

By
Ontario’s feather sector is moving to a “heightened biosecurity advisory” after highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed this weekend in a poultry flock. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Sunday it had confirmed high-path H5N1 in a flock in southern Ontario, a day after the Ontario Feather Board Command Centre (FBCC) published a report of […] Read more
Poultry farmers participating in the program will have access to biosecurity management software.
Livestock, News

Pilot project assesses digital tool for monitoring traffic on poultry farms

Industry hopes to improve biosecurity and better communication among farmers

By
A new poultry pilot project is putting biosecurity and disease mitigation measures in Ontario to the test.  Farm Health Guardian and the Feather Board Command Centre (FBCC) have partnered to conduct the project in the Niagara region.  “We are trying to assess whether digital biosecurity software is a useful tool in disease management,” says Dr. […] Read more
Poultry producers advised to enhance biosecurity measures
Livestock, News

Poultry producers advised to enhance biosecurity measures

Detection of HPAI in Atlantic Canada puts industry on high alert

By
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is advising poultry producers in the province to be vigilant with biosecurity after the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on a commercial turkey farm and a backyard flock in Nova Scotia.  Spring migration of wild birds will begin early next month and biosecurity […] Read more
A Manitoba veterinarian believes dust could be a significant method of PED transmission and encourages producers to reduce the vaccum effect in the loadout area to prevent dust entering the barn.
Livestock

In PED biosecurity, barns are ‘vacuum cleaners’: vet

The goal is to reduce the contaminated dirt that barns pull in

By
Glacier FarmMedia – Hog barns’ loadout docks are key entry points for PED-carrying dust, and they require close attention, says a Manitoba veterinarian. “All of our hog barns are essentially gigantic vacuum cleaners, and the warmer the conditions outside, of course, the greater the suction of our vacuum cleaners,” said Dr. Tony Nikkel, director of […] Read more
Province to include border shutdowns among animal health ‘hazards’
Livestock, News

Province to include border shutdowns among animal health ‘hazards’

Proposed amendments would allow Chief Veterinarian to act

By
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is proposing a new regulation in the province’s Animal Health Act (AHA) that will add to the definition of “hazards” to better prepare the province should an animal health emergency occur, and better support animal health.  The new regulation will prescribe that a provincial surplus […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast