Semen quality questioned
Fergus farmer says OSI is "stonewalling" in making good on AI shipmentBY ROBERT IRWIN
Who is legally responsible if the sows you bred with purchased semen don't conceive? Richard Ross, a Fergus-area farrow-to-finisher, took Ontario Swine Improvement (OSI) to court when he faced that situation on his farm.Then, when OSI failed to respond to his small claims court action within the required 20 days, he won a judgement by default. The same day, Feb. 16, 1999, he garnisheed the bank account of Ontario's only public artificial insemination (AI) unit to collect his winnings.
On Feb. 24, OSI successfully applied to have the matter brought back again for trial.
To achieve that, general manager Henry deWolde swore an affidavit stating OSI ignored the court case, "through inadvertence and administrative confusion. No one at Ontario Swine dealt with this matter or appreciated that a defence was due by Feb. 15, 1999."
DeWolde's affidavit pledges OSI will enter a defence and argues, "Ross would not be prejudiced by the setting aside of the default judgment." Ross concludes the way OSI ignored the court case is typical of the way they have ignored his concerns about semen quality since early August last year.
"I phoned several times and asked [AI unit manager Prakash] Seth to phone me back. He eventually did two months later."
Ross alleges Seth blamed him for the problem. He says he then asked Seth to review his records and check with other clients to see if there was a similar problem.
"He never got back to me," Ross insists. In-mid December, Ross sent a letter to OSI board chairman Jim Whitehouse.
Ross says he began calling deWolde when Whitehouse replied a month later with a suggestion from the OSI board that he and deWolde sit down and work things out. "After a week or so went by and there was no contact from Henry, either - he knew where I lived, of course - I filed the action."
DeWolde maintains, "I've never had a call from Richard Ross." Ross says even now he thinks a recent suggestion by OSI's legal counsel that the parties meet is a good one, but he claims he hasn't been able to reach deWolde. DeWolde reasons it's inappropriate for him to call Ross because the matter is now being handled by lawyers.
During a telephone interview with Farm & Country, Whitehouse indicated he wasn't aware of many details of the court case or the fact OSI's bank account had been garnisheed because the matter was being looked after by management. He maintains, however, that "Richard chooses to go through the courts instead of dialoguing."
Whitehouse notes OSI can't guarantee semen quality beyond the point where it leaves the driver's hands: "Once we deliver the semen, how can we be responsible for how it's stored and how it's handled?"
Whitehouse insists lab analysis on retained samples shows semen quality was acceptable at the time and "there were no other reports of that kind of disastrous conception rates." He says herds with conception problems have to look at all possibilities "instead of pointing the finger.
"Did an organism of some sort come in, which caused the sows to abort? Was there a management or barn help change?"
Whitehouse illustrates the potential variables by recalling an incident on a farm he manages where a power adapter on a refrigerated storage unit failed. "Before I realized it was screwing up, the temperature got up to 80 degrees, and semen is supposed to be stored between 61 and 65 degrees."
Despite the failure, the sows got pregnant. "If they didn't get pregnant, would it have been the AI suppliers' fault?"
How does Ross explain why an organization with OSI's long-standing reputation for excellence would suddenly ship bad semen? He offers two theories.
Since the problem arose during the hottest time of the year, he suggests semen that left OSI around 7 a.m. may have become overheated in a hot car by 5 p.m. when the driver arrived at his farm, the last stop on the route.
Ross also notes OSI boars were moved to a new stud, and there was "almost 100 per cent staff turnover" just before he allegedly received "bad semen."
Ross, a former OSI director, was active in original efforts to launch an expanded AI unit. During his time on the board he was critical of management. The general manager was subsequently replaced. When that replacement didn't work out, deWolde, a purebred breeder and then chairman of the OSI board, ultimately assumed the GM job last fall.
Ross contends OSI is stonewalling him to avoid a precedent. "If they end up having to pay me, there could very well be other people out there who are going to be asking for compensation."
Whitehouse denies any stonewalling but admits concern about a precedent that might encourage producers to seek compensation in cases where their own poor management is responsible.
Court is holding money already seized from OSI's bank account pending the outcome of the trial. With a new trial in the offing, Ross has boosted his original claim, which had netted him $1,544.21, including costs, to $7,414.07.
The claim is based on purchase of 45 services that OSI delivered to Ross between June 8, 1998 and Aug. 4, 1998. Ross says only 23 sows became pregnant from the semen.
In his statement of claim he argues the 50 per cent conception rate is well below the 90 per cent level he achieved with semen purchased from other suppliers both before and after the problem, and "which is the industry norm."
The semen cost $604.29, so Ross is claiming $302.15 based on his assertion that half wasn't fit to breed sows. He calculates 22 sows remained open an extra six weeks at a cost of $9 per week, creating an extra expense of $1,188.
Ross pegs losses from pigs not conceived at $6,033.06. That amount assumes nine unborn pigs per litter from each of the 22 sows and is based on lost profit of $30.47 per pig.
Whitehouse scoffs at the calculations. "Those pigs would have been going to market when the price was down. He should be paying us, because he didn't have to feed those pigs and lose money."
Early June, Ross was planning to reject an offer to settle just received from OSI legal counsel. Aside from being too low, he says the offer includes a condition that he keep details secret.
DeWolde notes the offer involves a number of free services and is the same as Ross was offered by Seth when the problem was first reported. He says OSI does help out with free semen "when people are having problems."
Liability for semen "is an area of concern to all AI units," DeWolde relates. That's why the OSI offer is confidential and specifically rules out any admission of fault.
Ross is perhaps best known for earlier efforts to gain access under freedom of information legislation to confidential minutes of Ontario Pork directors' meetings.
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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New rules for herbal remedies
Health Minister Allan Rock announced recently that a review of current legislation governing herbal medications and vitamins - termed natural health products - had led the Standing Committee on Health to recommend extensive changes to productregulations, including taking NHPs out of the Food and Drugs Act.Under the current regulations, garlic, for example, is either a food or a drug depending on the packaging, says Bonnie Fox-McIntyre of Health Canada. A garlic capsule that makes no health claims on the label is sold as a food supplement. If the label says the capsules will help lower cholesterol, then the product is a drug.
While safety, efficacy and quality standards of NHPs termed food products were considered by the standing committee to be too lax, standards for those products termed drugs were seen as too stringent, according to the report "Natural Health Products: A New Vision."
Jan Schooley, OMAFRA Simcoe, says the medicinal herb industry is expanding at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent a year, though she admits it's hard to track exactly how large the industry is in Canada. According to University of Guelph researchers, Canadian consumers spent about $340 million on herbal preparations in 1997.
According to a 1997 Canada Health Monitor survey, 56 per cent of Canadians reported taking one or more NHPs in the previous six months, including vitamins (47 per cent), mineral supplements (22), herbal remedies and teas (20), homeopathic products (eight), nutraceuticals (five), and other products (four).
The review determined that a new category should be created exclusively for NHPs, as neither the food nor the drug category were serving the needs of consumers or manufacturers. Rock also announced the creation of a new Office of Natural Health Products, which will have a $7-million budget to oversee the changes.
The standing committee has recognized that the type of testing required for manufactured pharmaceuticals should not be necessary for NHPs, a "giant leap forward," Schooley says.
Consumers are entitled to assurance regarding the "purity, potency and cleanliness" of NHPs, according to the report. Therefore, good manufacturing practices should be established to cover the health product industry.
The committee recommended the following minimum NHP label requirements:
* Approved health claims
* Lot or batch number to allow for quality control and facilitate any recalls
* Expiration date
* Special storage conditions, if required
* Identity of product
* Directions for use
* Cautions, warnings or use restrictions
The subject of health claims breaks down into three types of claims: Structure function - for example "calcium builds strong bones"; risk reduction - "garlic decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases"; and therapeutic or treatment - "St. John's Wort is useful in the treatment of mild to moderate depression."
"The more important the claim, the higher the need to ensure that it is based on accurate information and maximal safety for the consumer," says the report. For those NHPs currently considered to be drugs, the result will be a more "flexible" approach to efficacy evidence, while increasing the amount of information required for NHPs in the food category.
If a herb has been used for many years for treatment of a particular disorder, that traditional use will be recognized, says Schooley. "It will be more than just folklore, though. Statements from practitioners will be required," but the approval process will have more "leeway.
Personally, I believe consumer confidence will be higher because there'll be something to back up the claims."
Amendment to the Food and Drug Act would appear to be necessary as the act currently precludes the sale of any product represented as a prevention or cure for a number of diseases and disorders, such as arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression, diabetes and heart disease. - Christina Selby
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Chick supply shorted by disease
Need for monitoring U.S. primary breeders' stocks seenBY CHRISTINA SELBY
J virus and the unexpected reappearance of salmonella enteritidis kept hatching eggs in short supply last year, says Roger Bennett, general manager of the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg & Chick Commission. And a new strain of salmonella has also made its presence felt.The main culprit was J virus, but the disease's impact is expected to wane as eradication continues. "It took our industry a while to learn to live with the disease while it was being dealt with at the primary breeder end," says Bennett.
Meanwhile, three flocks that tested positive to Salmonella enteritidis (S.e.) were identified through routine testing under the Ontario supply flock program. A small six-week-old male flock was voluntarily destroyed by the owner, while two 24-week-old flocks, which Bennett estimates were about 10,000 birds each, were purchased by OBHECC and destroyed. "We've not had a problem for many years with salmonella in this area," says Bennett. OBHECC has put together some recommendations for managing the disease, including a stepped-up inspection program and a biosecurity program.
But as most of Ontario's broiler breeders come in as day-olds from the U.S., says Bennett, OBHECC went directly to the source. There is currently no government requirement for salmonella testing on these birds, but OBHECC has been exchanging letters with the primary breeders in the U.S. "We want assurances that the chicks are regularly tested, and that chicks that are coming into Ontario are from flocks that have never tested positive," he says. "We've had letters back giving us a variety of different assurances."
OBHECC is also promoting a "zero tolerance" policy for S.e. through the national hatching egg agency and the Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors' Council, says Bennett.
Rachel Ouckama, general manager of Curtis Chicks Ltd. and the vet for the hatchery and breeder division of Maple Lodge Farms, was asked to look into both S.e. and Salmonella typhimurium DT 104 (S.t. 104) - with funding from OBHECC, the Poultry Industry Council, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and OMAFRA - and presented preliminary findings on the new strain at OBHECC's annual meeting in Guelph earlier this month. S.t. 104 was discovered in two broiler breeder flocks, says Ouckama. These two plus four sister flocks either raised in the same pullet buildings or related through placement dates were quarantined by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Nine weeks later, CFIA lifted the quarantine and allowed the eggs to be set after no evidence could be found of progeny transmission of the disease.
"Why are we worried about S.t. 104?" Ouckama asked her audience. "Because, as with S.e., there is a risk of foodborne pathogen. It is also a multi-antibiotic resistant strain, resistant to five antibiotics."
The other concern is that this is the first officially reported appearance of this salmonella strain in poultry, she says, even though the disease has been reported in cattle in Europe and in dairy and beef herds in Ontario. Ouckama's research indicated that disease varies with the age of the flock. "It definitely decreases as the flock ages," she said. It also seemed to appear in clusters, with one floor in a barn having a high frequency of positive testing while another floor was negative. Positive and negative flocks were found in barns a few feet away from each other, she said.
But recontamination sites were also discovered. Waste water runoff areas were sampled before and after cleaning. "We found the positive S.t. barn to be positive in these areas prior to cleaning and even more positive after cleaning," Ouckama said.
Further research into transmission prevention may lead to new ways of stopping the spread of the disease, she said. "We are trying to get the organism fingerprinted," and thereby establish its source, but this line of inquiry is just beginning. In the meantime, Ouckama said, the best defence is biosecurity.
© copyright 1999 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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