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Study Validates Pork Industry’s Biosecurity Measures Against African Swine Fever

Study Validates Pork Industry’s Biosecurity Measures Against African Swine Fever

On the heels of the announcement of African swine fever (ASF) confirmed in the Dominican Republic, a new study has found no major areas have been overlooked to prevent the introduction of ASF to the U.S. The year-long study was funded by the Pork Checkoff and Swine Health Information Center (SHIC).

“While we are encouraged by the report’s overall assessment of the industry’s progress in reducing the risk of ASF introduction into the country, we know that there’s always more work to be done,” says Dr. Patrick Webb, acting chief veterinarian for the National Pork Board. “We must continue to work together to find real-world solutions for producers and their suppliers to implement that can help keep our national herd free of this costly virus.”

Potential ASF Pathways into the U.S.

The study, conducted by EPiX Analytics, LLC, considered eight potential pathways of ASF to the U.S., including:

  • Legal import of live animals;
  • Legal import of pork products;
  • Fomites associated with international movements;
  • International movement of people;
  • Transboundary movements of wildlife and vectors; and
  • Intentional and accidental release.

The results reinforce the importance of heightening on-farm biosecurity measures to protect farms from ASF. The report also validated the industry’s assumption that feed and feed ingredient import risks are a critical opportunity to strengthen protection against ASF. Other vulnerabilities, such as feral swine and illegal or out-of-regulatory-compliance garbage feeding, were also identified by the study as areas for the pork industry to continue working to address.

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US Soy: Strategic use of soybean meal to maximize pig carcass weight during the summer dip

Video: US Soy: Strategic use of soybean meal to maximize pig carcass weight during the summer dip

David Rosero, PhD, assistant professor of animal science at Iowa State University, and R. Dean Boyd, PhD, consultant with Animal Nutrition Research, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean 360º: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Every pig producer, nutritionist and veterinarian is familiar with the summer dip. Pig weight loss hits right as market prices are typically rising in July and August, creating a double-hit financially. New nutrition studies conducted on-farm have led leading nutritionists to a solution that includes higher soybean meal inclusion rates in the summer diet.