The Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Madison surveyed swine manure applicators to learn how they are dealing with Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea.

MLMMI executive director John Carney told those on hand last week for Prairie Livestock Expo in Winnipeg, applicators have stepped up communications with customers, invested more time in training staff and purchased additional equipment.

John Carney - Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative:

Biosecurity has always been important but it's continuing to go to that next level and whether the threat is PED today or, heaven forbid, African Swine Fever down the road or some other disease because there are many out there but what I see happening in the industry is that this will continue to be an ongoing focus.

It always has been but we will continue as an industry to look for ways to get better.

Canada has done an outstanding job and I think everybody involved from the whole pork and hog producing value chain deserves a lot of credit.

I just saw recently some statistics that indicated that 50 per cent of the sows in the United States either have or have had PED where as it's two per cent in Canada.

We know that in Manitoba there's been four cases.

What I've seen and the facts are there to back it up, tremendous accomplishment that's taken a lot of work from a lot of people.

Of course we can't let our guard up.

It is prime time in terms of weather conditions for the spread of PED in the winter in Canada but none the less I think we should pause for a moment and celebrate what we've done together.

The manure applicators survey report can be accessed on the MLMMI web site at manure.mb.ca.