The Saskatchewan Pork Improvement Board (Sask Pork) experiences that roughly 50% of swine manufacturing websites within the province have now developed site-specific on-farm emergency response plans.
The initiative is a part of a broader effort to strengthen the province’s preparedness for international animal illness outbreaks, similar to African Swine Fever (ASF), or every other emergencies requiring mass euthanasia and carcass disposal.
In partnership with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the Animal Well being Emergency Administration (AHEM) challenge, Sask Pork has launched a complete mass euthanasia and disposal producer information. The group additionally hosted in-person and on-line workshops and supplied monetary help to assist the event of tailor-made emergency response plans for producers.
“An emergency response plan is actually a step-by-step information that producers put together prematurely—when there’s time to set priorities—to allow them to act rapidly and successfully throughout a disaster,” mentioned Karolina Steinerova, Producer Companies Supervisor at Sask Pork.
She emphasised that whereas Canada stays freed from ASF, even a single case would considerably impression the trade. “If an emergency occurs and we’re not ready, we’d not act to our greatest means to deal with the scenario successfully,” she mentioned. “Having a plan in place forward of time not solely improves response but additionally helps defend the complete swine sector.”
Between January and March 2025, 68 emergency response plans have been submitted, representing round half of all swine farms in Saskatchewan.
