Weekly livestock and equine news: November 23, 2020

Meat suppliers need to do more to contain disease, investor group says

Some of the top meat suppliers aren’t doing enough to prevent infectious disease outbreaks, underscoring the need to improve measures from biosecurity to animal welfare, a $25 trillion investor coalition said. About three-quarters of the 60 largest publicly traded suppliers of meat, dairy, fish and eggs were deemed high-risk when it comes to containing potential future zoonotic diseases, according to analysis from investor group FAIRR. More than half of the companies scored high-risk on criteria including the use of antibiotics, working conditions and animal welfare, the London-based group said. The pandemic has highlighted poor working conditions at many meat plants, which struggled to contain the virus, and the link between animal farming and spreading diseases. A coronavirus outbreak at Danish mink farms and bird flu cases in parts of Europe recently have added to those concerns. Public health officials have also warned that the farming sector’s over-reliance on antibiotics is contributing to growing microbial resistance. Farm Progress reports.

World Dairy Expo launches new podcast

World Dairy Expo announced the launch of a new podcast, “The Dairy Show.” Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and online at WDE’s website, new episodes are added on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The podcast features a new guest each episode discussing topics related to the dairy industry. “Without the global dairy industry gathering in Madison, Wisconsin, for World Dairy Expo 2020, we wanted to give people a place to still gather, just digitally,” said Katie Schmitt, WDE’s communications manager and host of the podcast. “‘The Dairy Show’ is focused on discussing topics ranging from cows to the colored shavings to cutting-edge technology while introducing a new guest during each episode to provide unique perspectives.”

IPPE will host virtual event in January

The International Production & Processing Expo will host its annual event digitally January 25-29, Meat + Poultry reports. “While we are disappointed that we will not be hosting an in-person event in 2021, we heard very clearly from our IPPE community of attendees and exhibitors that they still want to connect,” IPPE said. Through the IPPE Marketplace, more than 1,000 exhibitors will be connected with the event’s audience of more than 30,000 invited participants, officials said. The event will include live and on-demand, free and paid education programs during the week.

Three European countries team up to control ASF

Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic are teaming up to control the spread of African swine fever. Germany’s agriculture minister, Julia Klöckner, said all ASF outbreaks in the country so far have been near the Polish border. Control of the disease can only be achieved if the three nations work together, she said. The countries’ ministers agreed that more carcass testing should be carried out. Hunting in border areas will be coordinated as well. Feed Strategy reports.

Blanketed horses eat less hay than unblanketed horses: study

Blanketed horses in a recent study ate 8% less free-choice hay than unblanketed horses while maintaining similar body conditions, The Horse reports. In the study, the research team blanketed eight adult horses housed in a dry outdoor paddock in Wisconsin from December to January. Nearby in a second dry outdoor paddock, they left eight other adult horses, similar in breed, body weight and body condition, without blankets for the same time period. Each group of horses had access to identical bales of grass-legume hay and could eat as much as they wanted. The researchers found that on average the horses’ weight and body condition remained similar between groups throughout the study. But the unblanketed horses ate a daily average of 2.51% of their body weight, while the blanketed horses consumed 2.31%.

FarmLink moves surplus food from farms to food banks

Since launching last spring, FarmLink has moved 15 million pounds of surplus food from farms to food banks and distribution centers, AgWeb reports. “The way we do that is largely by cold-calling farmers, explaining what we do and letting them know that we’re a resource for them to contact if they have a contract that’s slashed or any sort of reason for a surplus—that we can take the food and get it to people who need it,” said Aiden Reilly, FarmLink’s cofounder. Reilly started the project with a friend to help combat hunger, food waste and unemployment. Reilly said the largely volunteer-run organization can often even help farmers harvest the food if they need the assistance. Some corporate partners, including Valent USA, have provided financial support to the project.