The Canadian federal and Saskatchewan provincial governments announced $150,000 in funding for the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board (SaskPork) to deliver a new phase in the Saskatchewan Swine Biosecurity Program. This phase aims to prevent the spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus during transport of Saskatchewan hogs.
This investment provides funding for truck wash and transport audits performed by certified veterinarians, and provides education on transport biosecurity. As well, producers can access funding for follow-up veterinary visits to assess biosecurity protocols that were implemented during previous phases of the program. Eligible producers will receive up to $700 for truck wash and transport audits, and up to $300 for a follow-up veterinarian visit.
Over $1 million has been committed for PED virus prevention, surveillance and response through the swine biosecurity programs introduced under Growing Forward 1 in 2012 and under Growing Forward 2 in early 2014.
PED virus was first confirmed in Canada in January 2014, but to date, there have been no confirmed cases of PED virus in Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan Swine Biosecurity Program is funded in part through Growing Forward 2, a cost-shared partnership between federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments designed to support an innovative, competitive and profitable Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.
