GPS Tracking Creates Ability to Proactively Improve Transport Biosecurity

The CEO of Farm Health Guardian says data gathered by GPS tracking devices installed on swine transport vehicles can help pork producers proactively improve their transport biosecurity.In an effort to improve transport biosecurity Guelph based Farm Health Guardian in cooperation with the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board and the Canadian Agri-food Automation and Intelligence Network conducted a pilot project under which the performance of various GPS tracking devices was assessed under real world conditions in rural Saskatchewan.

Farm Health Guardian CEO Rob Hannam says tracking devices were installed in trucks that regularly move pigs to and from the farms.

Quote-Rob Hannam-Farm Health Guardian:

We worked with about a dozen farm properties and about 20 trucks that are working in the swine business in Saskatchewan.We had feed mills and we had other feed companies and livestock trucks and a range of farms across the province were involved so we got a good test on it.All the data for the pilot project was kept confidential because it was just a test.

Each owner of the truck or owner of the farm can see their own information and that's helpful to them to be able to check their biosecurity protocols or, if there was a disease outbreak, they could do that traceback that a veterinarian would want to do they can do that instantly.We used mapping technology and the maps that we generated, they were useful both to be proactive and also in a disease response.

We went into the project thinking, this is great if there's a disease investigation.If we have a disease outbreak the vets can respond much quicker with digital data that's combined into a platform they can use.But what we learned is it can be used proactively as well and actually alert people if the biosecurity protocols aren't followed, even if there isn't an outbreak, just making sure they're following  the rules they've set for themselves.We've actually developed breech alerts based on some of the findings from this project.

Hannam notes the full report is accessible as a fee download through his company's web site at farmhealthhguardian.com.