Producers can receive money to test for PEDv on their farms
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Now that federal and provincial governments have transitioned into the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, pork producers may be curious about the funding they can access.
One program that may be of interest is the Enhanced Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) Surveillance in Saskatchewan project, Bridget Gray, producer services manager for Sask Pork, told Farms. Com today.
This program, created under Growing Forward 2 (GF2), helps farmers collect samples from high-traffic sites and test them for corona viruses, such as PEDv, she said.
This project “is an early warning system that will help to identify the presence of PEDv if it shows up in our province and will allow swift enhancement of biosecurity/biocontainment measures to prevent further spread,” Gray said.
Under GF2, over 100 swine farmers in Saskatchewan also obtained funding to improve their operations through the Saskatchewan Swine Welfare Program, according to today’s Farmscape interview.
This program provided producers with up to $4,000 per site to purchase equipment for euthanasia and needle-free injections. (Each site had to be registered under the Canadian Quality Assurance program.)
These tools can reduce the amount of stress or discomfort pigs may face during certain procedures, such as castration and tail docking, Gray said in the interview.
Needle-free injectors can also allow producers to “dispense much lower does of vaccines or medications,” she said.
Overall, the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board provided farms with over $320,000 dollars in funding for these purposes throughout the lifespan of GF2.
Kalinovsky Dmitry / iStock / Getty Images Plus photo