Canadian Pig Farmers Join Forces to Combat PRRS

Sep 03, 2010

Several pork producers in Niagara, Canada are part of a new research project to combat the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS).

Niagara's 22 pork producers and their 58,000 pigs have been invited to join in a voluntary, two-year trial organized by the Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board, which is trying to pinpoint how widespread the disease is and how it can best be controlled and eventually eliminated. Pig farmers in the Hamilton and Norfolk County areas are also involved. Niagara and surrounding areas were selected for the trial because of its relatively mid-sized pig population and willingness by producers to participate.

Jane Carpenter, the board's swine disease control project coordinator, said the local project builds on similar work that has been done in the United States - where PRRS is estimated to cost the pork industry $560 million annually. Carpenter, an Elora-based swine veterinarian, said the research team plans to map out the locations of participating farms and assess the bio-security risks factors at each site.

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