Manitoba Pork, in partnership with the Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development is conducting a manure sampling project to identify the underlying presence of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus on sites within Manitoba.

MLMMI executive director John Carney says sampling kits are available at MAFRD Go Offices and, because of biosecurity concerns, producers themselves or barn staff are the ones being asked to collect the samples.

John Carney-Manitoba Livestock Manure Management Initiative:

Manure applicators have always been concerned about biosecurity but we're just taking it to a new level in light of the risk that this disease poses to producers.

The objective of the survey is to provide a program where all producers in Manitoba could know with confidence the PED status of the manure in their pit because sometimes, particularly grow-finish pigs, can get sick with different diseases and you may not realise whether it's PED or something else that they're sick with but by doing this test, and at no cost I might add to the producer, you'll have added confidence of the PED status of your manure.

In terms of the time frames, we started the sampling program in August because that's when fall manure application begins and the program is up and running and will be running through to the end of the 2014 manure spreading season.

Mr Carney notes Manitoba Pork has produced a video that's available on its web site that demonstrates step by step the manure collection process.

He says about 60 sites have been sampled so far and all sample have come back with negative test results which means, in those cases, the manure application crews can be confident the manure has not been affected by the PED virus.