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How the pork sector survived the attack of a killer virus PEDv decimated the U.S. hog herd, but Canada showed how to do biosecurity right
Open Farm Days:
This is how you connect with consumers Yes, there were questions about GMOs and hormones in meat, but the farm visitors were just ‘amazed’ by what they saw and learned
By Alexis Kienlen AF STAFF / LACOMBE
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f you want expert advice on biosecurity, talk to a Canadian hog farmer — and cattle producers should probably do just that. The country’s outstanding record on controlling the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has a host of lessons for the cattle sector, says a swine veterinarian who was deeply involved in Alberta’s battle against PEDv. Start with the fact that everyone got on board, Dr. Egan Brockhoff told attendees at Livestock Gentec’s field day here. “Almost every single pork producer in Canada took part in a national biosecurity training program and was audited,” said Brockhoff, a swine veterinarian with Prairie Swine Health Services. “That’s never happened before in the world. There’s never been a case where every single farmer who owned pigs participated.” This sort of co-operation was spread across the entire sector. “Canada was quite fortunate because we had the Canadian
see swine virus } page 7 Terry Banack asked her Open Farm Days visitors what is made from the little black seeds in her hand. Their curiosity about modern farming was ‘refreshing,’ she said. PHOTO: Alberta Federation of Agriculture BY DIANNE FINSTAD AF contributor
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s farm leaders, Humphrey Banack and Kent Erickson are well aware that consumers are increasingly critical about how their food is produced. So they were expecting tough questions when they put up the ‘Come On In’ sign for this year’s edition of Alberta Open Farm Days. But that’s not what happened. “They were amazed at the scale of the equipment, and the variety of products which hit their table that we produce,”
said Banack, who is vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. “We got questions like, ‘How do the black seeds become oil?’ And, ‘Why are the peas hard?’ added his wife Terry. “We did not have many of the tough questions we expected. People were generally more concerned about what it was, what it looked like, and how it got there. It was actually refreshing.” About half of the 50 or so visitors — who travelled from Camrose, Lacombe, and Edmonton to see the Round Hill operation — rode with Humphrey in the combine while he harvested peas. Then they got to scoop
out and take home a bag of peas they ‘helped’ harvest along with information on how to use them. It was Erickson’s first time in the August event and he wasn’t sure if he’d get visitors to his farm near Irma in eastern Alberta. But five groups turned up — including two young couples who made the nearly 200-kilometre-long trip from Sherwood Park, stopping along the way to visit a feedlot, dairy, and winery. “They were really engaged, and we learned a lot from them,” said Erickson, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “I thought, ‘Why would anyone
want to come to a boring old conventional grain farm?’ “But really, why not? We take things for granted.” Most of the 70-plus families who welcomed the public to their operation are engaged in direct marketing or agri-tourism, but there are a handful of conventional producers. Among them, for the second time, were Barry and Simone Reese, who are purebred Charolais breeders. Although he wasn’t expecting any visitors to take home stock, it’s an important day on their mixed farm for several reasons, said Barry.
see OPEN FARMS } page 6