The National Biosecurity Training Program, developed by the Canadian Swine Health Board, provides pork producers training to familiarize them with the tools and techniques that will reduce the risk of disease entering their farms and provides an on farm veterinary visit to review biosecurity practices.

Last week the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan announced a new provincial companion program which will be administered by the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board.

Sask Pork Producer Services Manager Harvey Wagner says, the On-Farm Biosecurity Program will provide Saskatchewan pork producers a second vet visit and up to one thousand dollars to implement biosecurity improvements recommended by the veterinarian.

Harvey Wagner-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board

Biosecurity is one of those things that people have in mind but you don't always focus on it and when you have a national biosecurity training program it helps people focus on the issues and if you have some money to have your vets come and look at your biosecurity program that's very helpful.

Also sometimes these changes that you have to do aren't huge.

A small amount of money can have a fairly large impact but, to say well I need to buy feed, I need to do this or I need to do another thing, do some repairs but if you have some money that you can target specifically to a biosecurity issue it can be extremely helpful.

Some thing like an entrance on a barn or something like that can make a big difference in not only helping the people who work in that barn be aware of what's going on but also visitors to the barn and that can be a concern in some of our farms.

Mr Wagner notes timelines are tight and producers will be enrolled on a first come first served basis.

He stresses producers must have completed their biosecurity training and had their first veterinary visit to be eligible for the companion program.

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