Feds Approve PED Vaccine for Import

Jan 30, 2014

After a meeting with provincial and territorial agricultural ministers, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Wednesday that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will allow veterinarians to import a vaccine from the United States to deal with the pig-killing virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea or PED.

Thursday’s meeting was meant to address the growing concerns of PED. While the iPED + vaccine is new, preliminary studies have shown pigs that receive the vaccine develop antibodies against the virus. Harrisvaccines Inc. based in Ames, Iowa manufactures the vaccine.

PED is a highly contagious virus among swine, which has killed about 1 to 3 million pigs in the United States since last spring. The virus has since spread to Canada. The first confirmed case was found on a farm in Middlesex County, Ont.

“Today’s announcement is another step in the CFIA’s continuous efforts to work with the provinces to prevent PED from spreading in Canada,” Ritz said in a news release.

Government officials say that pig farmers should contact their attending veterinarian about accessing the vaccine. Veterinarians can apply for an import permit immediately.

Video: Spring Planting Prep Just Got Serious… We NEED This!

Getting closer to planting season means one thing… it’s time to get EVERYTHING ready.

Today didn’t go exactly as planned—we thought we’d be hauling potatoes again, but instead we spent the day digging equipment out of the cellar, hooking up the grain drill, and getting tractors ready to roll. With wheat planting just around the corner, every piece of equipment matters.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a normal day without a few problems… dead batteries, hydraulic issues, and a truck tire that absolutely refused to cooperate. We tried everything—jump packs, bead bazooka, ratchet straps… and eventually had to bring out the “big guns” just to get things moving again.

But that’s farm life—adapt, fix, and keep moving forward.

We’re getting close to go-time. Wheat seed is coming soon, and planting season is right around the corner