Farmscape for June 22, 2012   (Episode 4180)

The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have announced a new provincial companion program to support Saskatchewan pork producers enrolled in the National Biosecurity Training Program.

The Canadian Swine Health Board's National Farm-Level Biosecurity Training Program offers Canadian pork producers the opportunity to familiarize themselves the tools and techniques that will reduce the risk of disease entering their farms and provides funding for an on farm veterinary visit to review biosecurity practices.

Earlier this week the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announced a new provincial companion program.

Kathryn Ross, an Animal Health Program Officer with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, explains the Saskatchewan On-Farm Biosecurity Program provides funding for a follow-up veterinary visit and support for the purchase of equipment upgrades recommended by the veterinarian to improve biosecurity.

Clip-Kathryn Ross-Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture:
This is a great benefit for pork producers in the province because this allows them to get a veterinarian out on the farm to help provide them advice on how to prevent diseases and how to manage different types of health issues that could be potentially a problem on their farm.

Any pork producer in Saskatchewan is eligible.

What they have to do first though is they need to attend a Canadian Swine Health Board swine farm level biosecurity training session and then they also need to complete a participant workbook where they develop that biosecurity action plan and then finally they need to have their first veterinary visit through the national program, review their biosecurity action plan with their veterinarian and then they're eligible for the provincial portion of the program.

Ross notes the Saskatchewan On-Farm Biosecurity Program is being administered by the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board.

For more information or to enroll Ross encourages producers to contact Sask Pork at 306 244-7752 or visit SaskPork.com.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council