Feed Industry Responds to PEDv Study

Sep 01, 2014

"The American Feed Industry Association strongly supports research that provides accurate information pertaining to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, a challenge currently facing U.S. swine production. Recently released research (conducted by Pipestone Veterinary Services and South Dakota State University and reported in BMC Veterinary Research), confirms feed can be a carrier of the virus. However, it's important to note that being a carrier of the virus does not mean that feed is the source. The prevalence of the disease on an infected farm can contaminate many items.

"There are still many unknowns related to the outbreak of the virus, and AFIA's goal is to work with industry partners, swine producers, veterinarians and the government to conduct and evaluate research to better understand the cause and transmission routes of PEDV. As a step to find answers, AFIA and industry partner, the Institute for Feed Education & Research, pledged $100,000 to the National Pork Board in May of this year."

Source: AASV

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.