Weekly livestock and equine news: February 7, 2022

JBS reaches $52.5 million settlement agreement in beef price-fixing case

JBS has agreed to pay $52.5 million to settle litigation accusing it and other meatpacking companies of a price-fixing scheme in which they allegedly conspired to limit supply to inflate prices and boost profit. The preliminary settlement by the Brazil-based company and its U.S. units with so-called direct purchasers was announced early last week and is the first in nationwide antitrust litigation over beef price-fixing, Reuters reports. Lawyers for the purchasers called the settlement an “icebreaker” and said the proposal was good, citing JBS’ 2020 settlement of $24.5 million with pork purchasers. JBS said it didn’t admit liability but that settling was in its best interest. It also said it will defend against beef price-fixing claims by other plaintiffs. The agreement is awaiting approval in federal court in Minneapolis. Other defendants in the lawsuit include Cargill, National Beef Packing Co. and Tyson Foods.

Veterinarians can help overcome COVID vaccine hesitancy among farmers, University of Pennsylvania dean says

Dr. Andrew Hoffman, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, spoke with the university’s news outlet about rural COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the role veterinarians can play to help overcome that hesitancy. “Veterinarians are one of the top-most trusted professions,” Hoffman said. He added that “the goal is to leverage that trust to be an access point for medical knowledge. As a veterinarian, there are things you observe on the farm: who may be unvaccinated, who has a chronic disease that needs to be managed, who has issues with mental health, substance abuse….Veterinarians have a perspective on everything: climate change, racism, pandemics, food insecurity. We need to speak up.” Hoffman recently published an op-ed in Lancaster Farming arguing that the COVID vaccine serves to mitigate risk in people the same way common animal vaccines do in livestock. “Why are we willing to take that risk upon ourselves and our families that we would certainly not take on for our livestock and poultry, or even our pets?” he wrote.

Thai government, accused of cover-up, continues pig cull after detecting African swine fever

Thailand’s government has now detected African swine fever in 13 provinces and culled more than 400 pigs on affected smallholder farms, according to a government official. The virus was confirmed last month after officials had insisted it wasn’t present. One opposition lawmaker accused the government of a years-long cover-up, which the government denied. “There’s no way they (authorities) didn’t know. Pigs died all over the country and they still said no outbreak,” said Thai pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus. Small farmers’ herds have dropped significantly in recent years, and the national herd is now at 10.85 million, down 17% from last year. Most pig deaths have been due to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, said the government official. The reduction in livestock has pushed domestic pork prices to an all-time high, according to Reuters.

Ear tag helps producers identify sick cattle

Merck Animal Health has released SenseHub Feedlot, a product from Allflex Livestock Intelligence. The electronic ear tag detects cattle with conditions including bovine respiratory disease earlier and more efficiently than visual observation, according to the announcement. The ear tag tracks behavioral and biometric data including body temperature and activity levels, comparing individual animal information with aggregated data to identify cows that vary from baseline norms. “Cattle’s defense mechanisms mean they often hide symptoms of illness, making it very challenging for even experienced pen riders to find sick animals,” said Dr. Jason Nickell, director of insights and outcomes at Merck. “SenseHub Feedlot assists the pen rider by removing the guesswork.” More information on how the device works is available in the announcement from Merck.

Merck joins Trust In Beef program to support sustainability in beef production

Merck Animal Health is joining the Trust In Beef program, which launched last fall to support beef producers making improvements in sustainability. Merck will be a founding partner. “Through our biopharma and animal intelligence portfolio, combined with the expertise of our veterinarians and nutritionists, Merck Animal Health is in a unique position to provide leadership and innovation in the area of environmental sustainability,” said Kevin Mobley, executive director of Merck’s U.S. cattle business.

Florida veterinarian found guilty in federal horse-doping trial

Dr. Seth Fishman, a Florida veterinarian, was found guilty last week in connection with a scheme to create and distribute “untestable” performance-enhancing drugs for racehorses throughout the country. Fishman was one of more than 30 defendants charged in four separate cases in March 2020, all of which resulted from investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, according to a press release from the district attorney, Damian Williams. “As an ostensible veterinarian—sworn to the care and protection of animals—Fishman cynically violated his oath in service of corrupt trainers and in the pursuit of profits,” Williams said. Fishman was found to have peddled dozens of unsafe and untested performance-enhancing drugs that he told clients were untestable under typical anti-doping screens. The scheme lasted nearly 20 years, and participants tried to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and the United Arab Emirates, “all to the detriment and risk of the health and well-being of the racehorses,” according to the district attorney’s announcement.