The Manitoba Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has confirmed a small number of animals being held at a high-traffic site in western Manitoba tested positive for the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. Based on the onset of symptoms and the CVO’s preliminary investigation, a provincial government release says, it is likely the pigs… Read More

The Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), announced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Western provincial ministers on January 24, 2014, is now taking applications. Cattle and hog producers may now use this new livestock price insurance product to help manage unexpected livestock price declines. This new insurance product offers protection against an unexpected drop… Read More

By Bernard Tobin Satellites and smart phones are poised to deliver a new level of biosecurity that could keep farmers one step ahead of disease. As Canadian pork producers struggle to contain the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) on their farms, a new company, Be Seen Be Safe, is rolling out a satellite-based… Read More

Although porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) DNA was found in pig feed common to the majority of infected farms that had been found by early February in Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) cannot confirm the feed is the vector by which the disease entered these farms. The feed manufacturer in question, Grand Valley… Read More

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture hosted the 2014 Agriculture Trade Summit in Saskatoon in early February. It was there that I met Jennifer Higginson, deputy director of the trade negotiations division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Higginson’s presentation dealt largely with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), citing an eventual elimination of over 95%… Read More

The Chief Veterinary Office of Manitoba has confirmed and the Manitoba Pork Council has announced that Manitoba’s first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, has been found on a wean to finish farm in the southeast corner of the province. The positive test was confirmed through the  National Centre for Foreign Disease Control… Read More

First, an apology. Eagle-eyed RealAgriculture readers will note that this column was absent last week. After three days at FarmTech ’14 there was more than enough to share, but no time to do it, so I’ll work some of last week into this, if you don’t mind. It’s no secret I like trains. Furthermore, I… Read More

As news of the sixth and seventh confirmed on-farm case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was announced (as of February 5, 2014), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association is urging farmers to make use of a special biosecurity intake for farmers impacted by the devastating disease. The… Read More

When new farm animal diseases rear their heads, one of the first questions asked is how they were discovered.  Overwhelmingly, the sleuth turns out to be a rural veterinarian, summoned by the farm’s concerned owner or operator. Although our society is becoming much more urbanized, rural veterinarians play a critical role. In Ontario, the Ontario… Read More

By Bernard Tobin, Ontario field editor This story was originally published on January 28, 2014. For continually updated information click here. Ontario’s second case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) has been confirmed at a Chatham-Kent region farm and a third farm is being investigated in the same area. (Editor’s note: The number now sits… Read More

 

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