By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Friday October 9, 2020

Oct 9, 2020 | 9:55 AM

An official with Manitoba Pork said the lower number of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) cases is a good sign going into the winter and into next spring.

Swine Health Programs manager Jenelle Hamblin said there were four cases in 2014, one in 2015, five in 2016, 80 in 2017, 17 in 2018 and 82 last year. The good news is there have only been three cases this year.

Hamblin said the lower numbers can be attributed to increased biosecurity, reduced traffic in the spring months due to COVID-19 and lingering immunity from 2019.

“I hope these factors that have taken us this far into 2020 will continue through the winter months. The fact we’ve had a significantly lower number of cases here in 2020 compared to 2019, that does a huge number on reducing the viral load in the province,” she said.

Hamblin said the province cannot let its guard down and must work hard to prevent the virus from coming onto our farms.

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Alberta has not had any new cases of PED since last year while Saskatchewan has remained free of infection.

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Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is putting its support behind the beef industry’s 10-year goal of putting future landscapes first.

The seven national beef organizations that form the Canadian Beef Advisors, including the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), developed the priorities based on greenhouse gases, land use and biodiversity, and animal care.

DUC CEO Karla Guyn said beef farmers and ranchers are partners in conservation.

“The CRSB’s commitment to preserve native grasslands and wetlands is one of the many reasons why we’re a proud and active member,” Guyn said in a news release. “The CRSB is continually working to create a stronger beef industry, leading to greater protection of some of Canada’s most at-risk habitats.”

Guyn said the new goals demonstrate the commitment of the beef industry to climate change mitigation, sustainability, and biodiversity conservation.

“The environmental stewardship provided by beef farmers and ranchers is important to water, wildlife and all Canadians,” Guyn said.

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Genetically modified drought tolerant wheat has been approved for use in Argentina.

The country’s ministry of agriculture granted approval of HB4 wheat by Bioceres.

This makes Argentina the first country to approve HB4 drought tolerance technology for wheat.

Commercialization of HB4 wheat still needs import approval from Brazil, which purchases just over 85 per cent of its wheat from Argentina.

The United States, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia are moving through the regulatory approval process for the GMO wheat.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF