Farmscape for June 22, 2011   (Episode 3608)

Officials with AcuShot report the successful adoption of needle-free injection within western Canada's pork industry is helping fuel global interest in the technology.

Needle-free injection uses high velocity and pressure to create an opening, seven to ten times smaller than that of a conventional needle, to instantaneously force the veterinary compound being administered through the skin.

Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan currently offer incentives to encourage the adoption of needle-free injection.

AcuShot regional marketing and technical support manager Mike Agar, who was on hand earlier this month at World Pork Expo in Des Moines to demonstrate the technology, reports we're already seeing this in Canada and awareness is building.

Clip-Mike Agar-AcuShot:
The key is getting people using the technology successfully and ground swell grows from that.

We're seeing, in Canada there's been a real buy-in by the processing side of things that's really advocating the use of the technology because they actually see that it is viable and it helps them in what they're marketing and what they may or may not have to actually detect at the processing plant relative to needle reside.

Canada is really leading the way in this and getting people using it and we're seeing people uptake the technology there.

Get a number of successful situations and the word spreads pretty quick.

From my experience coming out of Canada here and in particular in Manitoba the sheer volume of calls based on what people are hearing from how people are doing in Manitoba with our technology, people are interested in using the technology and we're just on the forefront of this.

Agar says in the United States there are grave concerns over the spread of PRRS and, because the technology eliminates the potential for cross contamination, it's grabbed the interest of American producers as a way to reduce the transmission of that disease.

He notes a lot of sales are being made to South Korea right now because of the foot and mouth disease outbreak there.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council