Weekly livestock news: October 5, 2020

Strengths, weaknesses exposed for Minnesota’s swine producers during pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was a curve ball for the swine industry, said David Preisler, CEO of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association. Preisler spoke during the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference about what Minnesota’s pork producers have learned during the pandemic. He said past functional exercises for foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever weren’t applicable in this case, nor were they nearly as detailed as they needed to be. “During those exercises, the bulk of the actual time was spent on permitting, sampling, biosecurity, testing, tracing, communications, coordination. There was very, very little time, in hindsight, spent on [depopulation] and disposal,” Preisler said. “We were told during those meetings that USDA would come in and would assist and work with contractors to do depop and disposal, very similar to how it worked out with the avian influenza experiences that we have had here in Minnesota and some other parts of the country.” That was far from the case this time, he said. National Hog Farmer reports.

Germany uses dogs, drones and fences to stop spread of ASF

German officials have launched a strong effort to keep African swine fever from spreading in the country, after the first cases appeared there in wild boar in September. The government is building miles of fences, using search dogs, drones and helicopters with thermal imaging technology to scour the land, and offering 110-euro ($128) rewards for carcasses, Bloomberg reports. At publication, the country had reported just 34 cases within a small radius. But German pork exports outside the European Union—a $2.4 billion industry—have already been hit, including a ban on sales to top customer China. Prices have dropped to a four-year low, and losses could mount if the outbreak isn’t controlled. “If it were to spread widely, the risk would obviously be very serious,” said Max Green, a meat and livestock analyst at IHS Markit. “The crucial thing now is to identify exactly how far it’s spread already.”

Delicate rebalancing ahead for global dairy sector

The global dairy sector is in for a delicate rebalancing of supply and demand, according to the new RaboResearch “Dairy Quarterly for Q3 2020” report. Global dairy trade during the first half of the year was better than anticipated, up 3% from last year, but Rabobank suggested the recent trade strength may be at risk in the second half as government stimulus packages abate, the global recession fully takes hold and importers seek policies that enhance domestic production, Feedstuffs reports. The pandemic will continue to affect global demand as countries struggle with new outbreaks and food service demand remains well below last year’s levels. For most of the world, economic growth will likely occur in 2021, although Rabobank said this will hardly lift the economy to the level seen before the pandemic. Milk production growth is expected to continue into 2021. Prices have been resilient, but it will take time to recover milk production growth and consumption, Rabobank said, suggesting the global market fundamentals will remain weak into the second quarter of 2021.

Bovine vets discuss major dairy health issues

Two dairy industry veterinarians talked to Bovine Veterinarian about significant health issues dairy farmers are facing today. “Transition cow diseases are the most significant health issue facing the dairy industry,” said veterinarian Gabe Middleton, of Ohio. “Many herds have done a better job of reducing them, but industry-wide the rate of many of these diseases does not seem to be improving year over year. These diseases carry both financial and welfare challenges.” For Marissa Hake, Salmonella Dublin is one of the biggest issues. “I saw this as a significant issue within the calf rearing industry, and it can be really challenging for producers,” Hake said. “Stringent biosecurity and control measures are a significant challenge when trying to control this pathogen.”

Merck awards bovine veterinary student scholarships

Merck Animal Health announced it’s awarded $90,000 in scholarships to 18 exemplary bovine veterinary students. The company presented each student with an American Association of Bovine Practitioners Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award, as well as a $5,000 scholarship, at this year’s AABP conference. The scholarship is available to vet students in their second or third year of school, with selections made based on academic achievement, career goals, work experience and interest in veterinary medicine.

Meatpackers in the Americas accelerate automation after COVID outbreaks, lagging Europe

The United States, Canada and Brazil, all major meat producers and exporters, have adopted technology at a slower pace than Northern Europe or Japan, and lagged other industrial factories in automating their operations, Reuters reports. The concentration of COVID-19 outbreaks in the meatpacking industry in the Americas partly reflected its greater reliance on elbow-to-elbow working conditions. Accelerating the move to automation would increase food security and improve plant safety. But those plans come with costs that some find unaffordable in a faltering economy, and workers fear they’re being replaced, not protected. Representatives at Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS SA, some of the world’s largest packers, said they have automation plans under way.