Up Front Planning Reduces Stress and Improves Ability to Deal with On-Farm Emergencies

The Producer Services Manager with Sask Pork says, by preparing up front, pork producers will be better able to deal with an on-farm emergency that requires mass destruction of swine herds. In an effort to improve the ability of Saskatchewan's pork producers to respond to an emergency that would require mass destruction of animals, Sask Pork in partnership with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the Animal Health Emergency Management project released a mass euthanasia and disposal producer guide and provided assistance to help pork producers to create site-specific on-farm emergency response plans.
Saskatchewan Pork Development Board Producers Services Manager Karolina Steinerova says, from January to the end of March, 68 emergency plans were submitted representing  roughly 50 percent of the swine production sites in the province.

Clip-Karolina Steinerova-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board:

We can think about an emergency response plan as a step-by-step guide or set of actions that we prepare in advance when we have to time to go through our approach and set priorities. It's important that producers make sure that they follow approved euthanasia methods that ensure humane death of the animal and human safety.

The producers first need to decide on primary and secondary euthanasia and disposal methods which depend on the equipment and tools they have available on site and if needed where they can get more equipment. Also, it's great to reflect on whether they have enough trained personnel to effectively depopulate the barn in a timely manner and to maintain welfare of the animals and human safety.

We must realise that emergency situations, for example a disease outbreak, are emotionally demanding situations and if an emergency happens and we are not prepared we might not act to our best ability to handle the situation effectively.Having such an emergency plan requires more work up front but it makes out lives easier when we need to handle emergencies quickly and effectively.

For information on setting up a site-specific on-farm emergency response plan contact the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board at 206 244-7752.
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