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2021 Northern Ontario Poultry Webinars

Recently, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) along with Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) and the Poultry Industry Council (PIC) hosted a series of webinars for Northern Ontario residents to encourage participation in the poultry industry and CFO’s Community Programs. 

From Keewatin to Kapuskasing, Neebing to North Bay, residents of Northern Ontario interested in raising poultry for eggs and/or meat participated in this three-part webinar series.

The webinars included training, sharing of best practices, and information about opportunities for farmers, including CFO’s Artisanal Chicken® program which provides an opportunity of growing between 600 and 3,000 chickens annually for local markets.

Keynote speakers included OMAFRA Poultry Specialist, Al Dam and CFO, Community Programs Operations Manager and Flock Advisor, Carl Stevenson.

Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade shared a video message about the opportunities, benefits and program assistance available to Northern Ontario residents interested in accessing the poultry industry.

Source : CFO

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U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan | Made by Producers for Producers

Video: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan | Made by Producers for Producers

Join Jill Brokaw, a third-generation pig farmer and staff member of the National Pork Board, as she dives into the vital role of the US Swine Health Improvement Plan, also known as US SHIP. The program establishes a national playbook of standards for monitoring African swine fever and classical swine fever.

Why Should Pork Producers Care? If a disease breaks out, officials will establish a control area to help contain the disease. This plan is designed to mitigate risk and demonstrate freedom of disease at the site level. The goal is to support business continuity outside of the control area in case of an outbreak.

How Will the Pork Industry Use US SHIP? US SHIP uses already existing programs to support the standards for biosecurity, traceability and disease surveillance.

Biosecurity: This plan uses your completed Secure Pork Supply plan to demonstrate compliance with the biosecurity program standards and shows your ability to reduce the risk of disease introduction.

Traceability: AgView can be used to demonstrate compliance with the traceability standards and the ability to electronically provide State and Federal agencies the traceability information they need to determine where disease is and isn’t.

Disease Surveillance: The Certified Swine Sampler Collector Program helps expand the number of people certified to take samples. In the event of a large-scale foreign animal disease outbreak, we will need a trained group of sample collectors to help animal health officials find where the disease is present. This is to help you demonstrate freedom of disease and support the permitted movement of animals.

Getting Started with US SHIP:

1. Enroll in U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan

2. Share 30 days of movement data

3. Have a completed Secure Pork Supply Plan

4. Become U.S. SHIP certified

5. Maintain communication with your state

Takeaway: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan helps safeguard animal health. Together, we're creating a sustainable future for pork production in the United States and taking steps to strengthen the business of U.S. pork producers everywhere