Ottawa provides $1.5 million for pork industry research
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS investing up to $1.5 million in the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) to adopt a virus detection system to support animal health.
Funded under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriAssurance Program, the virus detection system will enable the CPC to provide consistent information on the health status of the hog population across the country, track early disease warning signs, and rapidly identify new and emerging diseases in the sector before they spread.
“Canadian pork producers welcome this investment in research and development from the Government of Canada in the area of swine health. This project will provide a comprehensive tests to laboratories and will help veterinarians and producers manage the Canadian hog herd. Furthermore, using the data obtained through this project to inform disease surveillance activities will greatly benefit the industry and help prepare for disease mitigation,” said CPC chair Rick Bergmann in a release following last week’s announcement.
The Canada Pork Council is a not-for-profit national industry organization with a membership that includes nine provincial associations representing 7,000 hog producers
Canada’s hog sector, which includes more than 8,000 hog farms, accounted for $4.5 billion in farm receipts and $4 billion in pork exports in 2017.
Canada is the seventh largest pork producer in the world, representing approximately two per cent of global production. The funding from Ottawa is part of its effort to help the sector meet the goal to grow Canada’s agriculture and food exports to $75 billion by 2025.