Foot & Mouth Disease

Jun 02, 2023

International Travellers Awareness

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a virus that is highly contagious to cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, pigs and sheep. Canada is free of FMD. This virus is the greatest health threat to Canadian livestock and an incursion would be economically and socially devastating.

Many countries in Asia, Africa and South America are positive for FMD. Travellers returning from these areas pose a risk to Canada’s livestock.

Travellers can play a role in keeping Canada’s livestock and wildlife safe.
Always declare to Canadian Border Services Agents when you have travelled from a farm internationally OR will be returning to a farm in Canada.
Everyone must avoid contact with livestock or susceptible animals for 5 days after returning to Canada.
When returning from a country without an official FMD-Negative status, avoid contact with livestock or agricultural operations for at least 14 days.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.