Canada Increases Defence Against African Swine Disease

Aug 07, 2023

The Government of Canada is giving $944,340 to Manitoba's Pork Group. This large amount of money is set aside for the African Swine Disease Industry Ready Program. Canada's pork industry is a big part of the nation's exports, valued at $4.8 billion in 2022.

The goal is to be prepared for the possible arrival of the dangerous African Swine Fever (ASF) in Canada.

"We will keep working hard to protect the pork industry and make sure it stays strong if an outbreak happens," says Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Food.

"African Swine disease is a huge risk to our province's Swine business," warns Rick Préjet, Chair of Manitoba Pork.

As many farmers will know, this disease is a catching and deadly virus that attacks both farm and wild hogs. Even though it's deadly to pigs, it doesn't harm people.

It's been spreading since 2018, moving through Asia and Europe, recently showing up in the Caribbean. So far, Canada and the U.S. have stayed free from it.

Manitoba's Pork Group will use the money to start several projects, including controlling wild hog numbers, making a combined response plan focusing on animal care and disease control.. It will also push for better health safety measures and increase awareness of biosecurity protocols with farmers – large and small.

Video: What is Chicken Feed Made From?? | MD F&H

In Queen Anne in Queen Anne’s county, Farmer David Denny works hard to raise hundreds of chickens so that they may reach regular growth milestones on schedule. This is important because poultry integrators like Purdue require the chickens to be a certain size and weight in a set number of weeks. How can such a feit be accomplished so consistently in such a short period of time? It’s all due to the birds' carefully planned diet, which is tailor-made to meet their nutritional needs. The process begins long before any chickens even arrive on the farm all thanks to Farmer David and the grains he grows throughout the year. These grains are in turn used to create the exact feed which provides the necessary nutrients to the David Denny Farm’s poultry.