Policy

SwineCast 1039 Show Notes:

• From the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, Leah Wilkinson provides an American Feed Industry Association response and perspective on swine health as it relates to feed and feed ingredients.

SwineCast 1038 Show Notes:

• In this episode we learn about how Indiana pig farmer Heather Hill serves the pork farmers as a member on the National Pork Board. She aims to observe, listen, and better understand how to best serve the farmers in the business of pork.

African Swine Fever – a real and present global threat Dr. Chris Oura (Professor of Veterinary Virology, School of Veterinary Medicine Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago) explains what we know about the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, what the associated clinical signs are, and the various paths of transmission. From the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 15-18, 2018, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA [video].

SwineCast 1035 Show Notes:

• In this second of a two part episode of At The Meeting Honoring Dr. Bob Morrison, we continue our conversation on African Swine Fever or ASF.
• Dr. Montse Torremorell joins Dr. Tom Wetzel and Dr. Gordon Spronk with special guest Brad Heron, Director of Operations of Cherkizovo (pronounced "Chair-Kee-Zi-Vo") in Russia. Brad offers a personal, boots on the ground perspective on ASF.
• Brad shares several stories of how ASF was discovered and handled on the Russian farms he helps run. The early disease indicators were confusing due to other animal diseases also running its course so ASF was not discovered as early as they had thought they would.
• Brad highlights what happened to the operations when ASF was discovered, actions they had to take, and the Russian regulations they had to work with requiring depopulations within a five mile radius.
• Brad also summarizes the biosecurity changes they made to defend against ASF, including transportation tracking, multiple testing points through out the operations, and physical farm and people security improvements.
• The number one key take away from Brad: Have good testing; if you don't test, you don't have the ability discover outbreaks.

SwineCast 1034 Show Notes:

• In this first of a two part episode of At The Meeting Honoring Dr. Bob Morrison, we share a conversation on African Swine Fever or ASF.
• Dr. Montse Torremorell joins Dr. Tom Wetzel and Dr. Gordon Spronk with special guest Dr. Liz Wagstrom, Chief Veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council, to talk about ASF and how it is the most feared disease in pigs in the world.
• Take away: 1) Having ASF in the United States would impact trade 2) ASF is a hardy virus (hard to eradicate and lives in extreme conditions), and 3) there is no vaccine.
• The U.S. pork industry is taking action now by making sure laboratory capacity is up to date, looking at identifying and categorizing higher risk transmission paths plus their mitigation plans, and improving the approach to surveillance and risk planning and implementation.

SwineCast 1027 Show Notes:

• Dr. Craig Morris, National Pork Board's Vice President of International Marketing, covers the past year pork export growth and highlights the possible futures for exports.

Secure Pork Supply Dr. Pam Zaabel, Iowa State University, reviews the Secure Pork Supply Plan and its key aspects. Dr. Zaabel also covers the status of several core initiatives and projects around vaccine stocks, surveillance, and the Secure Pork Supply website. Key message: "there's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst." [video].

2018 Weather Outlook Dr. Elwynn Taylor, Iowa State University, reviews the weather forecast tools and metrics for the coming year. Core take away messages: 1) Climate RISK in Agriculture is likely to be greater during the next 20 years (including Florida), 2) Management of Risk is of increasing importance [video].