Sensors Measure Swine Trailer Temperature During Heating and Animal Welfare Factors During Transport

The Associate Dean Research with the University of Saskatchewan's College of Engineering says the same sensors that verify whether swine transport trailers have reached temperatures high enough to kill pathogens during heating can also be used to track various animal welfare parameters.

Research conducted by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, as part of work being conducted on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc to automate the cleaning and disinfection of swine transport trailers has found heating trailers to at least 75 degrees for 15 minutes will kill disease causing pathogens.

Dr. Terry Fonstad, the Associate Dean Research with the University of Saskatchewan's College of Engineering, says sensors developed by Guelph Ontario based Transport Genie are being designed to not only track the temperatures reached during heating, but also a range of other animal welfare parameters.

Clip-Dr. Terry Fonstad-University of Saskatchewan:

Transport Genie has been working with us to devise a sensor that would measure the surface temperature of the trailers while they're being heated in the various spots in the trailer that would be the hardest to heat. If they are heated then the rest would be to the right temperature. It's a verification that the trailer has been heated for pathogens.

So, these sensors need to then transmit this surface data in real time, the trailer number, the GPS location to the heating facility and also then, likely to the owner of the trailer and the processor. If you can put a sensor in a trailer, and it already has a GPS location, trailer ID, then you might as well measure the temperature and the humidity in the pig spaces during transport and so that's what transport genie has come up with is additional sensing capacity for animal welfare during transport.

They're actually out there doing that with the industry with similar sensors. I think we're on the fifth generation of sensors. The send them to us, we test them. If we can break them, then they make them better and away we go again.