News Business/Policy Canada
Focus on biosecurity helps maintain control of PED

September 2, 2016, Winnipeg, Man – The president of Precision Pumping says livestock manure applicators have stepped up their attention to biosecurity in the wake of the arrival of PED in North America.

The arrival of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in the United States in the spring of 2013 and in Canada in early 2014 changed the way manure applicators deal with biosecurity.

Doug Redekop, the president of La Broquerie, Man., based Precision Pumping, says applicators are much more focused on ensuring their equipment doesn’t give the virus the opportunity to move.

“Number one, we certainly have a closer working relationship with the acting vets for the production units,” he says. “They are fully aware of where we’re going to as far as sites and they keep us posted on changes to health statuses and so forth.”

“Some of the changes that we’ve implemented, some through Growing Forward grants, have implemented wash units that are fully contained, washer, water source, heat, in order to improve washing and disinfecting.”

“So far, none of the cases that have arrived here in Manitoba have been linked back to the traffic flow of manure applicators so I think that our protocols have been successful in at least not expanding the spread of the disease,” says Redekop. “There is a certain link to wet conditions and we know that, in order to be successful in disinfecting for the disease, conditions need to be ideal.”

“For example, late in the season we’re often dealing with freezing conditions and that makes the effectiveness of disinfection quite a bit less.”

Redekop says the wet weather has been a challenge and applicators are certainly hoping for dryer weather.