Hog farmers are being encouraged to sign up to learn about disease threats around their farm.
Swine Health Area and Regional Control — colloquially known as SHARC — tracks and maps disease outbreaks. Participating farmers can see the disease status and hog density around their farm and take action, such as vaccination, choosing a locations for a new barns managing manure and treating diseases.
To participate in SHARC, producers, in conjunction with their herd veterinarian, agree to confidential sharing of herd disease status with other participating producers. Collaboration is key, and the more producers who agree to participate, the more effective the program will be, said Ontario Pork marketing board.
SHARC is operated by Swine Health Ontario in partnership with Ontario Pork and the Ontario Pork Industry Council.
It has been built based on extensive industry feedback, and offers significant improvements for producers compared to previous disease management programs, the pork board said.
