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Canada launches African Swine Fever prevention and preparedness program

No case has ever been found in Canada, but the disease has had a major impact in countries like Asia, Europe and the Carribean.

African Swine Fever is a fatal swine disease.

Earlier this week, Ottawa announced applications are now open for Agriculture Canada's African Swine Fever prevention and preparedness program. 

Funding for the new program will support projects such as biosecurity assessments and improvements, wild pig management, the retrofit of existing abattoirs, sector analysis and ASF-related research.

Rick Bergmann, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council says he's pleased to see Ottawa stepping up to help protect the industry.

"The outcome which is most important out of all of this, is that we're able to ensure that we've got a very, very strong position in regards to prevention in our country. Also looking at aspects of if we do get it, ... how do we deal with it and so on. But a lot of focus on prevention."

Bergmann says with 70 per cent of our production destined for export, a single case (ASF) would result in the immediate closure of the border and our export markets.

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Do Stress-Resilient Sows Raise Better Piglets? - Dr. Andrea Luttman

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In this special rerun episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Andrea Luttman from Michigan State University explores how gestational social stress affects sow resilience and piglet development. She explains physiological indicators like cortisol patterns, behavioral differences, and their implications for long-term performance. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Resilience to stress means animals are either minimally affected or can recover quickly after experiencing a stressor.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Andrea Luttman / andrea-luttman-47ab74171 is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University specializing in swine production systems management. She earned her Ph.D. in Genetics and Genome Sciences and focuses her research on swine physiology and stress resilience. Her work examines social stress in gestating sows, offspring development, breeding herd longevity, and gene-environment interactions to improve production efficiency and sustainability. Hear Dr. Luttman on The Swine it Canada Podcast Show, available on all major platforms.