Blue Water Wash is changing the way the industry addresses biosecurity risks
By Jennifer Jackson
The pork industry recognized a state of the art transport washing system at the Banff Pork Seminar (BPS on Jan. 12.
BPS committee members presented the F. F. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production to Blue Water Wash, a company that created a new undercarriage wash system for heavy equipment.
Blue Water Wash created the system to solve a challenge many pork producers are faced with – the struggle to remove all organic material from the underside of transport trucks and other farm equipment, according to a BPS release. This organic matter can transmit and spread disease – and therefore threatens the industry.
Bill Rempel of Blue Water Wash, Blumenort, Man. (left) and Dr. Ben Willing, University of Alberta, chair of the Aherne Prize Committee. Source: BPS Meristem
The company has its new under-carriage cleaning equipment in a drive-through wash bay located at its Manitoba facility.
“The system uses 24 high pressure spinning nozzles along with 90 gallons per minute of water to thoroughly clean the underside of any livestock trailer that runs through it,” according to the release. Disinfectant is then applied as the equipment leaves the wash bay.
The prize is named after the late Frank Aherne, university professor at the University of Alberta for swine production and nutrition. Aherne was a significant contributor pork industry research in western Canada, according to Dr. Ben Willing, chair of the F. X. Aherne Prize committee.
"This prize recognizes individuals who have developed either original solutions to pork production challenges or creative uses of known technology," said Willing. "The quality and number of applicants is strong each year and keeps this award popular. And these grass roots innovations help anchor a promising future for livestock production to feed a growing world."