Producers need to prepare for African swine fever shutdown

Jul 04, 2023

When African swine fever appears, producers will face the sort of shock they experienced in 2020.

“The COVID packing plant backup and shutdown gives us a preview of the impacts that can have,” said Dr. Anna Forseth in an interview at the World Pork Expo.

ASF has spread across Asia into Europe, all the way to the Atlantic coast, and sent chills down the spines of the North American hog industry when it appeared in the Caribbean.

Pork industries in Canada, the United States and Mexico have been working feverishly to prepare, but whenever it appears, the short-term impact will be severe.

Click here to see more...

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.