Page 27 - RealDirtENG2020

Animals on the move
Ensuring livestock and poultry are transported safely and ethically is just as important as caring for them properly on the farm, and is part of responsible animal care. Livestock sometimes move from farm to farm as they pass through their various stages of growth—once piglets born on one farm get big enough, they may move to another to grow to market weight and, of course, they leave the farm to go to market.
Canada is a big country, and sometimes distances between farms or to processing plants are long. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA) oversees animal transportation in Canada with regulations around weather, access to food and water, adequate space, maximum travel times, when animals are un t for transport, and more. They’ve just updated those regulations for the rst time in over 40 years to re ect changes in technology and consumer expectations.
For example, they’ve reduced the length of time animals can be in transit, and farmers now share responsibility for the animals’ welfare with the transporter. CFIA inspectors make sure the rules are being followed.
DID YOU KNOW?
It is illegal to do anything that causes suffering to an animal at any point during transport61.
Career Pro le
Livestock Transporter
Sara Crawford
Sara Crawford might not look like what you would picture a livestock transporter to look like and she is used to having people look twice when she steps down out of her purple truck and trailer at a farm, processing plant or truck stop. She’s been driving livestock trucks and trailers since she was 18 years old (the age when she could get her AZ licence), bought her rst truck three years ago and now travels across Canada and the USA taking pigs and other animals to their destinations. Growing up, she wanted to be a heavy diesel mechanic but said that she was also curious about what it would be like to drive the trucks she was learning to x in a high school co-op course. She took a course and knew she had found her career.
As a livestock transporter specializing in getting pigs from farms to market, Crawford and her colleagues must also be certi ed under the Transport Quality Assurance® program. The program helps transporters, farmers and handlers understand how to handle, move and transport pigs. Crawford is convinced that her colleagues are among the best truck drivers on the roads. Said Crawford, “Livestock truckers have got to be great drivers because we’re carrying live animals who need to arrive at their nal destination in good shape”.
Career Pro le
Hardware and Software Developer
Idris Soule
“The intersection between farming and technology is a no-brainer.”
With experience working for tech-giants like Google and Blackberry, Idris Soule never imaged that he would work in agriculture. But that changed in 2017 when he joined Transport Genie, and helped to develop a real-time tracking system that protects farm animals’ health during transport.
It’s all about “transparency and accountability along the supply chain,”says Soule.“It’s gratifying to help give Canadians and people throughout the world the assurance that their food is safe and meets the highest standards of animal health and welfare.”
To anyone considering a career in agri-tech, Soule says, “The world is changing quickly, and the
tech sector is leading the charge. Agri-tech has
the opportunity to transform the food system by bridging the gap between tried-and-true farming practices and technology to bene t all stakeholders, including farmers and consumers.”
Farm Boy Productions
Chapter 4: Humane treatment 27 of farm animals
Transport and technology
Transport Genie is new technology that monitors conditions inside livestock trailers affecting animal comfort and welfare, using a system of smart sensors that provides information to users along the supply chain. It can relay real-time data to the driver, so that actions to correct problems can be taken right away. The Canadian-developed technology is currently being tested in various locations, including with Switzerland’s largest poultry producer.