Farms.com Home   News

CWSHIN’s New Five-Year Plan to be More Practice Oriented

The manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network says, in addition to surveillance, the organization’s new five-year strategic plan will place a greater emphasis on prevention, control and treatment of swine diseases.
The Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network is putting the finishing touches on a strategic plan that will guide its activities until the end of March 2028. CWSHIN Manager Dr. Jette Christensen says the new plan will be more practice oriented and will place a greater emphasis on swine health threats closer to home.

Clip-Dr. Jette Christensen-Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network:
Our new vision is to have a swine health network with three pillars, the surveillance system where we monitor swine health in general in the region, pretty much as we’ve had all the time, an intelligence network to facilitate the knowledge exchange between laboratories and practitioners, between practitioners themselves, so that whole group that meets every quarter to discuss what is going on their region is very important. We have special investigations or special projects. We can follow up if there’s something we want to look into a little bit deeper. There’s usually one new special project per year.

Then we’re considering to branch out our intelligence network so we have the network that we currently have that is focused on surveillance but we’re considering also to have a network that is more looking at prevention and control and treatment, so even more practice oriented to help the practitioners in the region deal with these threats such as Seneca Valley virus and Strep zooepidemicus.

Dr. Christensen says the new plan strives to build on the organization’s strengths and will place a greater emphasis on domestic swine health threats.

Source : Swine Web

Trending Video

Independent Seed, National Impact | On The Brink: Episode 9

Video: Independent Seed, National Impact | On The Brink: Episode 9

A survey of 200 independent seed businesses reveals what Canada's seed sector actually contributes — and what it stands to lose.

On the Brink, Justin Funk, a third-generation agri-marketer, shares the findings of a national survey conducted in early 2026. The numbers reframe the conversation: independent seed companies in Canada represent upwards of $1.7 billion in dedicated seed infrastructure, approximately 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs in rural communities, and an estimated $20 million in annual community contributions. And roughly 90% of Canada's cereals, pulses, and other small pollinated crops flow through them.

The survey also asked how dependent these businesses are on public plant breeding to survive. The answer was unambiguous. For policymakers evaluating the future of publicly funded breeding programs, Funk argues the economic case for this sector and the case for public plant breeding are the same argument.

On the Brink is a cross-country video series exploring the future of plant breeding in Canada. Each episode features voices from across the industry in an open, ongoing conversation about innovation and long-term investment in Canadian agriculture.