VIDO-InterVac Hopes to Start Testing New ASF Treatments on Animals Next Year

Jan 06, 2020

VIDO-InterVac hopes to be ready to begin testing new approaches for dealing with African Swine Fever on animals next year. In 2013 the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre was cleared to work with level 3 pathogens and, in the fall of 2019, it received clearance to work with African Swine Fever.

Dr. Volker Gerdts, the Director and CEO of VIDO-InterVac, says VIDO is working with level three diseases, both human and animal, referred to in the animal sector as level three ag.

Clip-Dr. Volker Gerdts-VIDO-InterVac:

They're the most significant diseases like African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever and so on. The addition to this is that many of these diseases are also foreign to Canada or to North America and therefore are considered foreign animal diseases and so the restriction is that work with foreign animal diseases is only permitted in government labs.

The significance, I think, is recognition that VIDO has one of the most advanced high containment facilities in the world right here in Saskatoon. It's a 150 million dollar facility that was initially funded by the federal government of Canada and the province of Saskatchewan and the city of Saskatoon.

It's specifically designed to work with level three pathogens. What that means is everything is built to prevent any pathogens from ever getting out of this facility. This includes all fluids, all solid, all animal materials. Everything is completely destroyed to ensure that no pathogen will ever get out.

Source : Farmscape

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.