Canada Takes Proactive Measures Against African Swine Fever Amidst Vaccine Quality Concerns

Nov 06, 2023

In a preemptive move to safeguard its swine population, Canada is implementing a comprehensive framework to protect against the potential threat of African swine fever (ASF), despite the absence of reported cases in the country.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has introduced National Standards and a National Framework, providing guidance to the pork industry on proactive measures. This initiative aligns with the previously announced Canadian ASF Compartment Program, which establishes subpopulations of pigs within the larger pig community. The program includes the implementation of a unified biosecurity management system, incorporating regular surveillance and traceability protocols. The aim is to fortify hog production systems against the introduction of ASF, as outlined in a recent CFIA news release.

The CFIA emphasizes the necessity of establishing and operating these compartments before the detection of an ASF outbreak to effectively support the protection goals for pork and pork products. Developed and managed by the pork industry with CFIA approval and oversight, these compartments offer increased flexibility in the movement of live pigs and pork products, even within infected zones.

Simultaneously, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has issued a cautionary advisory regarding ASF vaccine quality. While nations anticipate the development of effective ASF vaccines, WOAH underscores the importance of using only high-quality vaccines. The use of non-compliant or subpar ASF vaccines poses the risk of spreading viruses, potentially resulting in acute or chronic diseases, according to the global animal health authority.

WOAH further emphasizes that vaccine programs should be integrated as part of a comprehensive prevention and control strategy rather than being employed as standalone interventions for disease control. This approach aligns with the broader goal of ensuring the efficacy and safety of ASF vaccines within a holistic framework of disease prevention and management.

Source : Swine Web

Video: Making budget friendly pig feed on a small livestock farm

I am going to show you how we save our farm money by making our own pig feed. It's the same process as making our cattle feed just with a slight adjustment to our grinder/ mixer that makes all the difference. We buy all the feed stuff required to make the total mix feed. Run each through the mixer and at the end of the process we have a product that can be consumed by our pigs.

I am the 2nd generation to live on this property after my parents purchased it in 1978. As a child my father hobby farmed pigs for a couple years and ran a vegetable garden. But we were not a farm by any stretch of the imagination. There were however many family dairy farms surrounding us. So naturally I was hooked with farming since I saw my first tractor. As time went on, I worked for a couple of these farms and that only fueled my love of agriculture. In 2019 I was able to move back home as my parents were ready to downsize and I was ready to try my hand at farming. Stacy and logan share the same love of farming as I do. Stacy growing up on her family's dairy farm and logans exposure of farming/tractors at a very young age. We all share this same passion to grow a quality/healthy product to share with our community. Join us on this journey and see where the farm life takes us.