Scientists working on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc are exploring options to speed up the disinfection of swine transport vehicles while cutting the cost.
Researchers with the University of Saskatchewan and the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, with funding provided through Swine Innovation Porc, are exploring the viability of using robotics to speed up the cleaning of swine transport vehicles to reduce the risk of spreading Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.
Stewart Cressman, the chair of Swine Innovation Porc, says the goal is to be able to wash, dry and disinfect the transport vehicle in one hour for 250 dollars.
Stewart Cressman-Swine Innovation Porc:
What we're looking at in the next three months is some of the technology that is used for high vacuum and water pressure for drilling hydro poles in the middle of winter, and looking at if that can be adapted to these high vacuum trucks that you see with kind of a nose that sucks out frozen ground, can that be used to take frozen manure out of a trailer.
They're using a wrecked trailer and trying that to determine whether that would be a way to remove frozen manure from a trailer and then looking at different mechanisms for washing so there is some components.
As a result of some of these pilots then they will determine which direction to go with further work.
Certainly looking at some new technology in terms of killing the virus and what are the ways that we can do that even in the presence of some organic material.
Do we have to get the manure completely out?
That's always been the approach but can we in fact kill the virus while there is some presence of manure.
I think it's looking at different combinations and permeations then based on those answers then a further stage of research would begin in the beginning of April.
By Bruce Cochrane