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Agriculture This Week: Farming always evolving

When you have grown up on a farm in the 1960s and ‘70s it is almost beyond belief the changes in farming we see today. 

It was a mixed farm for me, and that meant pigs and grain. 

In my youth I hauled a lot of ground grain to feed the pigs using cleaned five-gallon pails that originally were filled with some weed spray, or another. 

Looking back over some 40-years it seems like it was such a crazy thing, but repurposing the pails was pretty standard. I’m pretty sure potatoes came from the garden to the cellar bin in similar pails. 

Of course I clearly recall Dad taking plugged nozzles off the sprayer, his gloves getting soaked in the process, and then simply blowing out the nozzle with his breath. 

Knowing what we do now it’s a wonder what health problems were caused in a time we didn’t know better, or were reluctant to change. Dad lived to a considerable age, his heart giving out one day, but one wonders. 


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ASF Spread and Control Insights - Dr. Carles Vilalta

Video: ASF Spread and Control Insights - Dr. Carles Vilalta


In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Carles Vilalta, epidemiologist at IRTA CReSA in Spain, explains the current African swine fever situation, including origin, transmission, and control strategies. He highlights the role of human activity, wild boar dynamics, and biosecurity measures to protect commercial farms. Learn how surveillance and field actions shape disease containment. Listen now on all major platforms!

"ASF demonstrates slow animal to animal transmission despite high infectivity, making it a clumsy disease that depends heavily on human mediated spread."

Meet the guest: Dr. Carles Vilalta / carlesvilalta is an epidemiologist, swine veterinarian, and researcher at IRTA-CReSA in Spain. His work focuses on epidemiology, swine health, disease surveillance, and research support for government and industry programs. Learn more from Dr. Carles Vilalta on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.