Over 60 Delegates Attend Ontario Pork Policy Day

Sep 25, 2023

Guelph - Ontario Pork held its 2023 Policy Day with over 60 producers participating. The annual event is a chance for delegates to provide feedback and offer suggestions on how to best move the province’s pork industry forward.

Board Chair John de Bruyn opened the discussion by providing an update on initiatives and activities that Ontario Pork has been working on during the past year.

Upcoming events include the Queen’s Park Reception in November, where producers will have the opportunity to speak directly with MPP’s to discuss the importance of government investment in our industry, emergency preparedness and improvements to risk management.

Delegates were also given an overview of proposed changes to producer statistics and were presented with a detailed marketing update.

Vice Chair Tara Terpstra led a session on how to strengthen Ontario’s pork industry by detailing the importance of producer involvement in advocacy, along with discussions on board recruitment and succession planning.

During each session delegates gave valuable feedback on what direction and priorities they’d like to see Ontario Pork focus on for next year.

The day was capped off with a presentation from representatives of the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, who detailed the risks of cybersecurity attacks and offered a number of best practices to safeguard against cyber threats.

Watch highlights from the 2023 Policy Day here: https://youtu.be/WtBHS8SkLYE

Source : Ontario Pork

Video: PRRS Eradication Strategies - Dr. DeBuse and Dr. Tousignant

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show, Dr. Neil DeBuse from Kalmbach Feeds and Dr. Steve Tousignant from Vaxxinova US discuss PRRS management strategies, recombination risks, whole genome sequencing, and the role of autogenous immunization programs in swine systems. They highlight practical approaches to improving immunity, reducing outbreaks, and advancing PRRS control across production systems. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Being PRRS negative sooner is a real key for eradication because every additional positive week increases production losses and viral exposure risks." - Dr. Neil DeBuse

Meet the guest: Dr. Neil DeBuse is a veterinarian at Kalmbach Feeds with more than 30 years of experience in swine health and production. His work focuses on PRRS control, biosecurity, immunity, and improving production stability across commercial swine systems in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Steve Tousignant is Director of the Swine Business Unit and Technical Services Veterinarian at Vaxxinova US, with a DVM and PhD from the University of Minnesota. His experience combines epidemiology, technical services, and practical immunization strategies designed to support consistent herd performance and long-term production stability. Don’t miss the chance to be part of the Swine Inner Circle!