Purdue offers experts on swine PED virus

Feb 24, 2014

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University has experts available who can answer questions from the news media about PEDv, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, in swine. The virus has been spreading in the U.S. and Canada.

Health experts say the virus causes no harm to humans and is not a threat to food safety. But it is deadly to young pigs.

According to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, based at Purdue, PEDv is a coronavirus genetically and antigenically distinct from the coronavirus of transmissible gastroenteritis, or TGE, common in parts of Asia and Europe. It was first identified in the U.S. in the spring of 2013. PEDv causes TGE-like gastroenteric disease in all age groups of pigs, with neonates and suckling pigs most severely affected.

Source: Purdue University

Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!