To help minimise the risk of spreading PED through the application of swine manure fertiliser, manure applicators have stepped up their communications with nutrient planners and customers, invested in additional equipment and training of staff and are spending more time cleaning and disinfecting equipment.

Doug Redekop, the president of La Broquerie based Precision Pumping says one challenge for applicators is uncertainty over the health status of farms.

Doug Redekop-Precision Pumping:

We need to work together as an industry, as vendors, as customers to work to solve some of these issues together so that it doesn't fall on any one entity to supply all of the solutions.

There's the whole privacy scenario around the release of new breaks that's been extremely trying for us.

They're trying to protect the identity of the individual so that it doesn't go wild.

But, at the same time, if we're at maybe five sites in a course of a week, we don't know.

We could have been at a PED positive site on a Monday and been to subsequent sites unknowingly for balance of the week and spread it when there's been knowledge that could have been shared with us and that's been the tough part.

Better communication, more open honest communication from chief veterinarians and veterinarians as a whole so that they can feel free to tell us, in confidence of course.

We're not there to betray anyone's confidence, in confidence so we can make better educated decisions and not unknowingly spread disease.

Mr Redekop says by working together to solve some of these issues we can all breathe a little easier and while that is happening to some extent we can always work to do better