Western Canada PRRS-Free Herd Certification Expanded to Ontario and Quebec

November 30, 2011 — 

A pilot project designed to allow pork producers in Western Canada to certify that their herds are free of PRRS has been expanded to include Ontario and Quebec. The Western Canada PRRS-Free Herd Certification Pilot Project, an initiative of the Canadian Swine Health Board, is being administered by the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board and provides a protocol under which suppliers of pigs or semen are able to certify their stock is free of a specific disease, in this case Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome.

According to Sask Pork producer services manager Harvey Wagner, the program originally targeted western Canadian farms. In order to participate, farms had to be CQA certified, they had to work with a veterinarian who was a member of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians, and they had to be PRRS free with no ELISA positive pigs in their herd.

The group received a lot of requests from other parts of Canada, particularly Ontario and Quebec, to participate in the project as well. As a result, the Canadian Swine Health Board agreed to open it up to include Quebec and Ontario farms as well.

For more information on the Western Canada PRRS-Free Herd Certification Pilot Project, pork producers are encouraged to visit the web site at http://www.prrsfree.com.

Source: Farmscape for November 25, 2011 (Episode 4018)[Edited]