Federal government invests in ASF prevention and prep

Sep 01, 2022

Last week, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced an investment of up to $45.3 million to enhance efforts to prevent African Swine Fever (ASF) from entering Canada and prepare for a potential outbreak.

Brent Moen, Chair, Alberta Pork applauds Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister, AAFC on her commitment to our sector and Alberta’s hog farmers.

“While ASF has not been found in Canada, its presence would be devastating to both the pork sector and the overall economy,” said Moen. “This announcement, coupled with our ongoing ASF collaboration efforts with the Government of Alberta, shows a genuine commitment at all levels of government and within the pork sector to mitigate the potential impacts of ASF.”

The bulk of the money will go toward the pork industry, including wild boar eradication, retrofitting meatpacking plants and ASF-related research projects, with some going toward the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Click here to see more...

Video: How Data Predicts Swine Outbreaks - Swaminathan Jayaraman

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Swaminathan Jayaraman, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, explains how integrated data systems can improve disease surveillance in swine production. He discusses combining diagnostics, animal movement data, production records, and spatial analytics to identify risks earlier and support proactive decision-making for PRRS, PED, and swine influenza. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Disease surveillance remains largely reactive because outbreaks are often confirmed only after transmission has already occurred across multiple connected production sites."

Meet the guest: Swaminathan Jayaraman / swamjay is a Graduate Research Assistant at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. With academic training in management information systems and engineering, he focuses on integrating diagnostic, production, and movement data to improve disease surveillance and decision support in swine production systems. Listen to Swaminathan Jayaraman on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.