Ontario government kicks in funds to help pork producers deal with PED
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
by SUSAN MANN
The Ontario government is giving Ontario Pork $2 million immediately to help it deal with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PED).
During a telephone meeting this afternoon organized by Ontario Pork to update producers on the virus outbreak in the province, Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne said the money is earmarked for setting up assembly yards, processor transfer chutes and ongoing cleaning and sanitation of transport trailers.
Almost 1,200 people were on the call, including many Ontario farmers along with officials from other provinces and the United States. It lasted slightly more than an hour.
A newly dedicated stream of money under Growing Forward 2, the national agricultural policy framework, will also be made “specifically available for those in the swine industry,” said Wynne, who stayed on the call for about 30 minutes while her officials stayed on for the entire call.
The provincial government will administer the fund and is broadening out the eligibility criteria to give producers, truckers, assembly facilities and processors access to the support they need to make their own biosecurity investments. Assistance through the fund is in addition to assistance that would normally be available under Growing Forward 2, says a press release issued jointly by the provincial and federal governments.
Photo: Kathleen Wynne
“We recognize there are investments that need to be made and that you need that reassurance quickly that the money will be there for you,” Wynne said during the call. Applications under the newly dedicated stream of money are being accepted from now until March 13.
Ontario Pork chair Amy Cronin said the funding announcement “is really fantastic news and I think it speaks to the provincial government’s ongoing commitment to our industry.”
The government money will help the industry “with some of the initiatives we’ve already started to help manage this disease,” Cronin said.
To manage PED, Ontario Pork’s strategy has changed from preventative measures before the first confirmed case showed up in Ontario Jan. 22 to risk reduction, Cronin noted. “Ontario Pork is working with the ministry on a containment strategy and elements of this strategy have already begun.”
Cronin said their focus is now on critical control points, including assembly yards, federal and provincial processors, local abattoirs, farms, disposal and transportation. “This includes a dedicated truck wash in Lucan (TE Smith Transport & Logistics Ltd.), testing at plants and assembly yards and producer education on biosecurity practices.”
Photo: Trailers waiting to be cleaned at TE Smith Transport & Lotistics Ltd.
Matt Smith, who manages TE Smith’s truck wash operations, said the business was informed at the beginning of January that it would be the designated location to clean livestock trucks returning from the United States after delivering pigs there. He said initially, they were washing 30 to 70 trucks a week but the activity slowed in recent days following the discovery of PED in the province. He said he anticipates the volume will increase again following the funding announcements.
It costs $400 to $600 to wash a truck, he said.
Smith said veterinarians, Ontario Pork, transport companies and TE Smith have developed the specialized cleaning protocols. “There’s a lot of protocols,” he said.
During the call, those listening in were asked if they had taken extra biosecurity measures to protect their business from PED. Only 14 per cent said they hadn’t taken additional precautions.
Wynne said the government “is here to help producers through this challenge.” She pledged to emphasize when speaking publically that Ontario pork remains safe to eat and the virus does not affect food safety or pose a risk to human health or other animals except for pigs. “It’s very important to us that we maintain market stability and consumer confidence.”
Greg Douglas, Ontario’s chief veterinarian, said the first farm infected is a 500-sow farrow-to-finish operation in Middlesex County. It was confirmed to have the virus last Wednesday. Another farm confirmed to have it is a weaner-to-finish operation in Chatham-Kent, while a third case in the same region is suspected to have it.
Douglas said samples from other farms are also in line to be investigated.
The ministry is broadening its surveillance and investigation to get “a good sense of the situation that we were dealing with,” he said, adding the ministry is working closely with its epidemiologist and Ontario Pork to put “measures in place to mitigate the spread of the disease.”
The virus does very well in winter months. It almost totally wipes out very young piglets; older pigs have diarrhea and vomiting but can recover.
Wynne said the ministry is covering the costs associated with lab testing for suspected PED cases.
Wynne said she understands the seriousness of the virus and its economic impact. “I also understand Ontario’s farmers obviously place a very high value on their livestock and that goes far beyond dollars and cents. You’ve invested time and energy in caring for your animals. Obviously losing animals to illness is never easy.”
Since PED was first found in the United States last year the province and industry have made a concerted effort to educate producers, transporters and suppliers about it. “The level of cooperation and collaboration between ministry officials and the industry has been very, very high,” Wynne said.
Wynne also announced she is hosting a telephone conference call on Thursday with federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers to tell them what Ontario is doing “and be able to continue discussions on a national approach to the virus.”
photo: Amy Cronin
In her opening remarks, Cronin praised the farmers whose operations have contracted the PED virus for their cooperation “that they’ve shown during this difficult time. I can assure you we are doing everything we can to track and contain this virus and protect the industry.” BF
- with files from Better Farming staff