Farmscape for December 4, 2024

The Director of Veterinary Services with Topigs Norsvin Canada suggests consistent strict adherence to the basics of biosecurity is the best approach to keeping disease, such as PED, out of the barn.
The main goal of biosecurity is to keep pathogens out of the barn so that you can have happier healthier pigs that will grow more efficiently and ultimately get to the slaughter plant quicker.
Dr. Brad Chappell, the Director of Veterinary Services with Topigs Norsvin Canada, says, when it comes to biosecurity, each barn is unique.

Quote-Dr. Brad Chappell-Topigs Norsvin Canada:
For the Manitoba industry, where we've had the PED challenge, most of the producers I've worked with through the elimination programs have actually said they've learned a lot about biosecurity during the elimination process so they can greatly appreciate the principles now for biosecurity and are implementing more actually within their own farms.
The infrastructure, transportation of your pigs, keeping your trailers washed, disinfected and dried, how you enter your barn, having a barrier, a walk-through style shower, how do you deal with your moralities of your farm in a biosecure fashion?
All the basic inputs that go in or out of a barn need to be considered.
The primary people that need to have access to the barn are the barn staff.
They need to be able to get in and out freely.
Minimising the number of visitors to your farm is a very good thing.
You can reduce the potential risk of bringing in pathogens, especially if you're bringing tools into the barn.
The main thing if you're having outside visitors or service providers coming to the facility would be to have a discussion with them prior to coming to the facility but then meet them at the barn door and make sure they understand biosecurity, your principles because each barn is slightly different in how they follow processes.
I think Manitoba is a good example.
This past spring, where we were kind of at the two-year cycle where PED could flair up and we, knock one wood, didn't have a case this spring.
So, I think getting back to following the basic principles worked very well.

Dr. Chappell stresses you can come up with the best possible protocols but if people don't follow them, they're useless.
He encourages producers to work with their local veterinarians to come up with practical biosecurity principles for the farm that can be followed on a daily basis.
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Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers