Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1308

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has completed the re-drafting of the questionnaire that will form the basis of a national swine industry traceability survey.

The survey is intended to gather information that will be used to develop a national system for tracking the movement of swine within Canada and to establish zoning.

The questionnaire, which was redesigned after being tested by a handful of producers in Manitoba, Quebec and PEI as part of a pilot project this spring, is now being reviewed by the various provincial pork councils.

CFIA Epidemiologist Dr. Jette Christensen says the survey will capture key information needed to establish identification and traceability.

"It will deal basically with the location of the herd so we can trace a fake disease, we hope we are never going to use it for real, and then come up with some likely scenarios on how far the disease would spread in a week or two.

That's what we are going to use the location of the herd for.

Then we're asking about animal inventory, how many animals of different species like cows, dairy and especially swine are on the farm on that particular day.

Then we want to trace, in a window of six weeks, how many animals, particularly swine, were moved to the farm and moved from the farm".

Dr. Christensen says the questionnaires will be printed and the mail-out will be set up over the next month or so.

She says those producers selected to take part in the survey can expect to begin receiving their questionnaires within the next month or two.