The Rural Voice, 2006-08, Page 16DO NoT
ANTER
lty Ifi
rQ�t it�� PastF h 5T
Point
Dianne Diehl stands by the posted gate to her family's farmyard.
CLOSING THE GATE
(BEFORE THE DISEASE GETS IN)
Poultrg farmers act to prevent disease becoming a
problem in their barns.
Story and photo by Bonnie Gropp
12 THE RURAL VOICE
With the ongoing spectre of
avian influenza, both the
infamous human -killing
variety that has spread across Asia
and into Europe and the bird-onlyy
variety that devastated British
Columbia poultry flocks two years
ago, bisecurity has become a huge
concern on Ontario poultry farms.
While new concerns have led to the
creation of a number of guidelines
that weren't in place before, for most
conscientious producers it hasn't
made a huge difference in how they
conduct their business. Dave and
Dianne Diehl of Tindell View
Poultry near Brussels for example,
said they've always been cautious in
running their operation. "We were
always careful, just not quite as
careful as the way we are now," said
Dave.
The couple first had broilers for
Maple Leaf 16 years ago, then made
the switch to breeder pullets nine
years ago when the company did.
When Maple Leaf started to "get out
of farming", the Diehls offered a
price and went into business for
themselves. When full they run about
150,000 pullets a year.
Though they may be their own
boss, they are guided by government
and the industry in how they run their
business. The Canadian government
I,as taken initiatives to ensure food
safety with its Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point (HACCP)
systems in all federally -registered
establishments of the meat, dairy,
honey, maple syrup, processed fruit
and vegetable, shell egg, processed
egg and poultry hatchery sectors.
The system is internationally
recognized as a straightforward
approach to controlling food safety.
Under HACCP, livestock and poultry
producers implement process
controls through production.
"This is something we've had to do
for awhile now," said Dianne. "It
takes into consideration any area that
could trigger a problem. Critical
points you might overlook."
For example, if a feed truck comes
in, the driver must disinfect it before
coming onto the property. A log is
kept on site of anyone's time of
arrival, their purpose, where they
were coming from and when they
left.
"That way if anything does go