How Genomic Tools are Helping Pork Producers Breed Healthier Hogs

Alberta may be famous for its beef, but the province is also home to a thriving pork sector. Canada is the third largest global pork exporter, and approx. 20% of that pork is raised here in Alberta. Healthy pigs are foundational to this success, and genomic tools are helping pig breeders maximize pig health and reduce the impact of disease on animal welfare.

As demand for protein grows both here and around the world, maintaining healthy, productive herds is a high priority for the pork industry. Disease resilience, the ability to be minimally affected by disease or to rapidly return to normal after pathogenic infection, has become an area of particular interest for pork producers and breeders. Improving the disease resilience of our nation’s pork could have wide-ranging benefits:

• Better for pigs: Staying healthy means a better quality of life for animals too. No one enjoys being sick, and the same is true for livestock suffering from illness. Improved disease resilience means pigs get sick less often and infections are less severe, thereby improving animal welfare.
• Better for pork producers: Caring for sick animals takes money, time and resources, and infectious diseases impact pigs’ ability to grow and produce litters. The two most common diseases affecting commercial pigs – Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCVAD) and Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) – cost Canadian pork producers $100 million every year. With healthier pigs, high-quality pork can be produced at lower cost, which benefits producers and consumers.
• Better for Albertans: The health of people, animals and the environment depend on one another – this is core to the One Health approach. Infectious diseases that affect animals can sometimes mutate and spread to people and this risk increases when farm workers are exposed to infected livestock. On the other hand, the more antibiotics are used to control the spread of disease, the greater the risk that pathogens will develop antimicrobial resistance. Improving the disease resilience of livestock helps ensure a safer, more secure food supply and workforce, while also reducing reliance on antibiotics.