USDA this week granted the first conditional license for a vaccine against Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) to Harrisvaccines of Ames, Iowa. The vaccine, utilizing Harrisvaccine’s SirraVaxSM RNA Particle Technology, had already been available by prescription only, but now the conditional approval allows it to be sold directly to swine producers battling PEDv. The vaccine is used on sows who … Read More
Topigs & Norsvin Announce Merger During WPX14
A major announcement was made during this year’s 2014 World Pork Expo: TOPIGS International and Norsvin International have merged into one company: Topigs Norsvin. The merger will create a global swine breeding company with annual revenues in excess of US $179 million. The newly merged company’s headquarters will be located in Vught, the Netherlands. TOPIGS Nederland, Varkens K.I. Nederland and … Read More
BIVI Explains ARC Programs & Swine Disease Control
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) has been utilizing area regional control (ARC) programs with swine producers for more than six years. During their PEDV is Speaking: Are We Listening ? seminar at 2014 World Pork Expo, Dr. Erin Johnson, DVM, technical manager, PRRS Solutions Team explained that the goal of the ARC program, is to voluntarily get a group of producers … Read More
ISU's Dr. Gauger Explains All Things PEDV
The emergence of PEDV took the U.S. by storm and according to Dr Phillip Gauger, with Iowa State University, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, between April 28 – May 4, 2013 they had four separate ISU-VDL submissions – one from Indiana and three from Iowa – from farms with no relationship. He and his team realized after running diagnostic tests that more … Read More
5-Year PRRS Swine Health Monitoring Project Update
Dane Goede is a PhD student at the University of Minnesota and during grad school, he began working on the then, fairly new, Swine Health Monitoring Project. Today, he has the opportunity to continue working on the project and during a media dinner hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI), attendees had the opportunity to learn about the results of the 5-Year … Read More
AgVet Associates Named U.S. Rep for CowSlips
Giltspur Scientific, a privately owned Northern Ireland company specializing in innovative and cost-effective hoof-care solutions for the bovine and equine industries, selected AgVet Associates LLC to be its CowSlips® representative in the United States. Made from highly durable PVC, CowSlips are orthopedic shoes for treating lame cattle. Brian McCalmont, international sales manager at Giltspur Scientific, the manufacturer of CowSlips. “With … Read More
#Feedthe9 with More Pork, Fewer Resources
What if the world could produce 50% more pork using 434 million tons less feed, on 262 million less acres, and with 260 billion gallons less water? Think that’s possible? Well, Elanco Animal Health does. “Currently we’re able to produce enough pork for everyone across the globe to have access to 10.7 ounces of pork per week,” says Rob Aukerman, … Read More
NPPC Environmental Issues Update
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president-elect Dr. Ron Prestage of South Carolina provided an update on some environmental issues on the forefront for the hog industry during World Pork Expo last week. First of all, Prestage says pork producers are encouraged by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy, who has been in the position for the past year or so. … Read More
USDA PEDv Action Announced at WPX
This year was the first time Tom Vilsack visited World Pork Expo as Secretary of Agriculture and he did so to announce federal actions to help combat porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV). First of all, Vilsack says there is now a Federal Order requiring the reporting of new detections of these viruses to its Animal and … Read More
Legacy Common Swine Operations Audit Announced
Chris Novak, CEO of the National Pork Board, announced plans for a new common industry audit platform for pork producers, packers and processors. Using the existing Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) program as the foundation, the year-long audit team is nearing the final stages of completion and the initial common audit framework. The program was unveiled during World Pork … Read More