Weekly livestock news: May 31, 2021

New African swine fever variants detected in China

Scientists in China have detected at least four natural variants of the African swine fever virus, Feed Strategy reports. While variants of this specific genotype—ASF genotype II virus—are less lethal than the earlier type I, they make it even more challenging to control and eradicate the disease, reports say. Researchers at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute said the variants probably aren’t new but are likely to have been the cause of persistent or chronic infections and mortalities on pig farms for some time.

Seaboard Foods fails to delay U.S. hog slaughter limits

A U.S. judge has denied Seaboard Foods’ attempt to delay a federal court decision that would force the company to slow the speed of hog slaughtering at a large Oklahoma pork plant, court records show. Seaboard, the nation’s second-largest pig producer, sought in April to pursue a 10 ½-month delay of the decision after a federal judge ruled against a Trump administration policy that allowed pork plants to slaughter pigs as fast as they want, as long as they prevent food contamination. Seaboard was the first U.S. pork company to invest in machinery to run slaughter line speeds faster under the rule, so it stands to lose from the decision, according to Reuters.

JBS leaves National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, has left the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Politico reports. This came shortly after NCBA, the beef industry’s main lobbying operation in Washington, D.C., joined other industry groups to call for more transparency in the market and to ask the Department of Justice to publicly report on its ongoing antitrust investigation. Cameron Bruett, a spokesperson for JBS, said the company “suspended” its membership in NCBA a year ago as part of an internal review about the “benefit and effectiveness of our trade association investments.” The Brazil-based company said it plans to stay involved with the group.

Debt relief for minority farmers coming in June: USDA

USDA said it will begin in June erasing an estimated $4 billion in debt for minority farmers, in an effort to address racial discrimination, Reuters reports. Black and other minority farmers for decades have lost farmland in legal disputes and have been denied loans and government assistance. The American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed in March, directed USDA to pay off all farm debt held by “socially disadvantaged” minority farmers. The law doesn’t allocate a specific amount, but USDA estimates $3.9 billion in farm-related debt is owed by minority farmers to the federal government and private banks.

Why vaccinating young livestock is the practical thing to do

Vaccinating young cattle and sheep is important and the economical thing for producers to do, said Dr. David Fernandez, a livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas. The price of a single calf, lamb or kid lost to a preventable disease would pay for the vaccination program for a producer’s entire herd or flock in most cases, he said. “Vaccines only cost $15 per calf and 50 cents to $1 per lamb or kid,” Fernandez said. With live calf prices around $1.45 per pound, as little as 10 pounds lost to disease would pay for the cost of vaccines, he said. Kids and lambs are worth about $2 per pound, which more than pays for the cost of vaccination. Delta Farm Press has more.

Gene editing faces uphill battle with dairy farmers: survey

More than 60% of dairy farmers in a recent survey said they’re worried consumers won’t accept dairy products from gene-edited cows. Overall, the survey of about 500 American dairy farmers found that the farmers weren’t ready or willing to adopt gene-edited technology. Forty-two percent of the respondents said they believed animals shouldn’t be genetically engineered or gene-edited. Farmers were also concerned milk from gene-edited cows could lose market access because of consumer resistance, and they worry milk prices will drop. “For the companies hoping to get this technology on the market, these concerns represent the main hurdles that they’ll need to address to get the technology past the first gatekeepers of the market,” researchers write in Feedstuffs.