Simulation to test pork producer preparedness

Thursday, August 25, 2011

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The Ontario Pork Industry Council (OPIC) and Ontario Pork are collaborating on an emergency preparedness project for the swine industry, specifically a foreign animal disease event simulation.

The simulation will be a two-stage event carried out in September involving five or six selected farms. The first stage will be the onset of the disease at one farm and the second stage will be dealing with the spread of the disease to the rest of the selected farms. Selected producers will be notified and they will be acquainted with the newly developed farm planner so that the simulation can test how that works.

Lori Moser, OPIC managing director, said the September dates are not being released. However, part of the simulation will be the use of widespread communication through Ontario Pork so producers and stakeholders will know about the simulation as it progresses. All communications will be identified using the word “simulation” to avoid concern and confusion.

The simulation will:

• Test the newly developed farm planner which guides producers through a checklist of actions in the case of a disease emergency including information sharing with service providers;

• Create bio security and emergency preparedness tools for use within the pork supply chain; and

• Test and measure the effectiveness of communications and responsiveness to assess gaps in the value chain.

Participants will be testing the components of their own plans. Lessons learned will be reported at industry meetings including the next OPIC Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 2012 and the Ontario Pork annual meeting scheduled for March 2012. Individuals may be contacted to fill in a brief survey following the simulation to measure its overall effectiveness.

For more information contact Moser at 519-684-6805 or lori.moser@rogers.com. BF