By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday February 17, 2022

Feb 17, 2022 | 11:33 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – The protection of animal health and disease management will be the focus of two projects funded by the federal and Manitoba governments.

The Invasive Swine Eradication Initiative will help mitigate the threat of disease spread by invasive pigs to commercial herds from diseases like African swine fever (ASF). Efforts will include seeking out, corralling and euthanizing invasive swine.

Manitoba is developing a draft strategy for invasive swine management and will be gathering feedback from industry, interest groups and the public.

The Manitoba High Traffic Facility Swine Disease Surveillance Project will focus on the risk of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED).

The hog sector is Manitoba’s third-most important commodity in terms of farm cash receipts, at $1.1 billion.

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The governments will spend $680,900 under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to support the projects.

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A turkey farmer says poultry operations in western Nova Scotia are on high alert and taking precautions to ensure the safety of their birds following the discovery of avian influenza in one flock.

Turkey Farmers of Nova Scotia vice-president Lori Ansems said although many farmers are anxious they also feel supported through measures taken by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Ansems said the measures include a 10-kilometre control zone around the affected farm, where 12,000 turkeys had to be euthanized this month.

She said there are also movement restrictions on the farms and measures are being taken such as the washing down of the wheels of feed delivery trucks to prevent the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.

The commercial impact of some international export restrictions is minimal for Nova Scotia farmers who sell their turkey products on the domestic market.

CFIA said avian influenza circulates naturally in birds and can affect food-producing birds including chickens, turkeys, quails, and guinea fowl, as well as pet and wild birds.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW