There are many swine diseases, that if they enter a barn will have devastating impacts on the farm and the industry. Some examples include Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS), Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED), African Swine Fever (ASF) or Foot and Mouth Disease. The impact of such diseases in barns that have never been exposed can be extensive: increases in mortality (PED, for example, affects young animals very severely with 100% loss for piglets under 10 days of age), decreases in production (PRRS can cause abortions and poor reproduction in sow herds) and increases in medication costs (to help alleviate the disease and minimize losses). Depending on the disease, the stage of production and the size of the barn, an outbreak could cost a producer anywhere from a few thousand to millions of dollars.

Putting preventive measures in place to keep animals healthy has been a long-standing and successful practice on Ontario hog farms. Biosecurity planning helps to ensure that practices routinely carried out on your farm help to protect animal health. Some of the basic biosecurity principles for the hog sector include: isolation, sanitation, traffic control, herd health management and program maintenance. Biosecurity protocols should be put in place on-farm and with transporters, feed suppliers and service providers.