Better Pork - October 2016

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12 Better Pork October 2016
EMERGENCYPLANNING
ment. Farmers should check with
their municipality or with their
insurance company.”
Similarly, the federal govern-
ment does not mandate emergency
preparedness for farmers, says Jean
Paul Duval, spokesperson for Public
Safety Canada, in an email. “How-
ever, we strongly encourage they
stay abreast of emergency prepared-
ness practices and heed guidelines
provided by Public Safety Canada to
protect themselves and their farms,”
says Duval.
Alternatively, one area where On-
tario farmers are affected by regula-
tion is labour, and, more specifically,
provincial occupational health and
safety regulations.
If your farm has more than five
employees, then you are required,
by law, to have a written occupa-
tional health and safety plan in place,
which must include emergency
procedures, first-aid and rescue
procedures, as well as other emer-
gency-preparedness measures. The
Ministry of Labour requires such
regulatory compliance.
In addition, OMAFRA’s Nutrient
Management Act requires some hog
farms to have a nutrient manage-
ment strategy (NMS) in place that
addresses manure storage capacity,
runoff management, farm mapping,
animal inventory, and other ma-
nure-related emergency prepared-
ness measures.
Is your farm required to have
such an NMS in place? It depends.
For example, an NMS is required
for farms with nutrient units greater
than five that are constructing or ex-
panding a livestock barn or manure
storage facility. As an example, six
finishing pigs that are between 60
and 230 pounds constitute one nu-
tritional unit. Farmers should con-
sult OMAFRA directly to determine
what specific nutrient emergency
requirements apply to their specific
operations.
Other resources to develop your plan
On the federal level, some of the
non-regulatory guidelines Duval re-
fers to can be found on a brochure/
webpage the Government of Canada
has provided that’s titled Emergency
Preparedness for Farm Animals. It
provides a general guide for farm
animal emergency care that includes
a knowledge of the risks involved,
There are warning signs everywhere on
the Terpstra farm operation.