Livestock News for June 25
According to Reuters, Vietnam has culled more than 2.5 million pigs to contain the spread of an African swine fever outbreak that is in danger of infecting every province of the country, an agriculture ministry official said last week. The virus, which is deadly to pigs, was first detected in Vietnam in February and has spread to farms in 58 of the country’s 63 provinces, according to Nguyen Van Long, head of epidemiology at Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health.
CattleTrace partners with Oklahoma
According to Feedstuffs, the CattleTrace program continues to expand to additional states as a partnership was announced last week with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and Oklahoma beef industry stakeholders to evaluate the functionalities and capabilities of the program in the state. Ultra-high-frequency readers will be installed in two livestock markets in Oklahoma, and approximately 20,000 tags will be distributed to producers who choose to participate.
EU hails draft deal to boost U.S. beef imports
The Associated Press reported that the European Commission says it’s reached an agreement with the United States to allow more hormone-free U.S. beef into the European market. The commission said the “in-principle” deal would allow U.S. farmers to export 35,000 tons of beef to the bloc. The increased tonnage will be phased in over seven years. Other countries will share a further 10,000-ton beef quota. It could end a long-running dispute over EU beef import restrictions.
Deracin® cleared for use with Denagard® for swine
Pharmgate Animal Health announced Deracin®, a generic (ANADA) alternative to Aureomycin®, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in combination with the antimicrobial Denagard® for swine. This combination of Deracin® (chlortetracycline) and Denagard® (tiamulin hydrogen fumarate) is approved for the treatment of swine dysentery, enteritis and pneumonia. Deracin® is a broad-spectrum medicated feed article (MFA) that is effective against gram-positive and gram-negative organisms that cause diseases such as enteritis, pneumonia, ileitis, leptospirosis and jowl abscesses. Deracin® is readily absorbed via oral administration, so it quickly reaches effective blood and lung concentrations. It is a veterinary feed directive (VFD) drug to be used by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian
House members seek to add farmers and ranchers to debt forgiveness program
Feedstuffs reported that to address the critical shortfall of skilled young and beginning farmers and ranchers, House members introduced the Young Farmer Success Act in Congress. The bill aims to incentivize careers in agriculture by adding farmers and ranchers to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, an existing program that currently includes teachers, nurses, first responders and other public service professions. Under the program, eligible public service professionals who make 10 years of income-driven student loan payments can have the balance of their loans forgiven.
