Promising pathogen news from SVA project

Jun 26, 2018

The Animal Health Laboratory and National Centre for Foreign Disease laboratory examined samples from 30 farms across the province

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com

OMAFRA and the Animal Health Laboratory have good news to share from their surveillance project on Senecavirus A (SVA).

The researchers did not detect the pathogen in any of the samples submitted by participating hog operations, an Ontario Animal Health Network report said last week.

In total, Ontario producers submitted 659 samples from 30 farms for the project. The Animal Health Laboratory in Guelph and the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease laboratory in Winnipeg conducted the testing.

“This is good news for the industry, supporting the theory that SVA is not present on Ontario farms,” Lori Moser, Swine Health Ontario manager, said to Farms.com yesterday.

But “producers should remain vigilant for clinical signs and practice good biosecurity, especially as it relates to assembly contact and associated transport.”

Swine Health Ontario conducts sampling each week at an Ontario processor and all test results have been negative since the project started over a year ago, the report said.

However, the virus continues to be detected at swine assembly yards.

Pigs infected with SVA typically have blisters or lesions on their snouts or hooves.

Previous Farms.com coverage on this project can be found here.

UPDATED June 27, 2018

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.