Ontario Pork Industry Council recognizes volunteer's PRRS eradication efforts

Monday, April 15, 2013

by DIANNE FETTERLY

While she may have been surprised at being named winner of the 2013 Ontario Pork Industry Council volunteer of the year award, this year’s recipient says the honor has made her even more determined to continue the fight against a deadly swine disease.

Karen Sanders, who along with her husband Steve, operates a 1,200-sow farrow-to-finish farm in southwestern Ontario received the award for her work in spearheading a Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) area regional control and elimination project for Watford-area pork producers.  The area regional control program is sponsored by the Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board.

“I just took the initiative and got something started. I set up a meeting, put farmers together and said let’s do something about PRRS,” Sanders said.

According to Sanders, PRRS is the number one disease affecting hog producers in Ontario, costing the industry millions of dollars each year. And while their own herd is now free of PRRS, she said that a number of producers in the area are struggling with the devastating disease.

When PRRS gets into a herd, many of the sows will abort their babies and some will die from the disease. Weaner pigs will also die if infected and those that do survive never really regain their health. The best way to rid the farm of the disease is to de-populate and start over with a herd that tests negative for PRRS, she explained.

However, the ideal way to control the problem is by keeping it out of the herd in the first place, Sanders added.

“We need good biosecurity protocols. And farmers need to be open and honest with each other about their herd’s health status. Our aim is to stop the disease,” she said.

And that’s where OSHAB’s area regional control program helps – by providing resources to producers.

The area’s hog producers have been involved in the program for about one-and-a-half years with 63 sites on board. Once a farm’s herd health status is determined with a blood test, it is mapped and color coded – red for positive and green for negative, Sanders explained.

And when the maps become interactive, the information can be shared, so if an outbreak occurs on one farm, neighboring farms will know instantly and can tighten up their biosecurity protocols to prevent the disease from entering their farms, she added.

The program has worked very well for some hog producers in the province. Producers in the Niagara region have almost eliminated PRRS by following the program, she said.

“We are hoping we will be able to break the cycle. Ultimately, what we want to see are a lot of green dots on the map,” Sanders added.

The Sanders have been running their hog farm for 23 years after purchasing a 200-sow farrow-to-finish operation from Steve’s parents. The couple has four children who are now starting to help out on the farm. They also employ four hired workers and grow approximately three-quarters of their own feed on their 1,000-acre farm.

Sanders said she was much honored at receiving the award, but also credits a number of others involved in the project, including her co-lead Mike VanKessel as well as producers who have participated in the program. She also thanked OSHAB for sponsoring the program.

The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented annually to acknowledge volunteers who help OPIC build a stronger pork industry in the province. This year’s award was presented during OPIC’s annual general meeting held last week in Stratford. BF