Weekly Livestock-Equine News: January 13, 2025

January 2025

Time for USDA to consider vaccination against HPAI

The U.S. industry needs limited strategic and monitored vaccination against highly pathogenic avian influenza as an adjunct to biosecurity, argues Simon Shane, B.V.Sc., a consulting poultry veterinarian, in Feedstuffs. Both failure to suppress the ongoing epornitic in commercial flocks and the remote risk of an emergent zoonotic strain should compel APHIS to consider application of preventive vaccination.

 

North American export picture could change in 2026

U.S. Meat Export Federation Vice President of Economic Analysis Erin Borror says exporters will be watching discussions with all trading partners, but two key regions stand out. That’s because the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which delivered tariff-free trade and minimal sanitary and phytosanitary barriers across North America, is slated to be reviewed in 2026.

 

Fifteen additional states enroll in USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy

The addition of 15 states to the program, designed to fight the spread of H5N1, brings to 28 the total number of states participating. The 15 states enrolling as of Jan. 8 are Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

 

Imports of feeder cattle from Mexico to resume

Imports of feeder cattle from Mexico are expected to partially resume the week of Jan. 20. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had suspended imports of live cattle and bison from Mexico on Nov. 24, 2024 following the detection of New World screwworm along Mexico’s southern border. Since then, both countries have agreed on testing protocols but must complete facility inspections.

 

 

Argentina introduces genetically edited horses
Argentine scientists from biotech firm Kheiron S.A. introduced what is said to be the world’s first five genetically edited horses. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology, they modified the MSTN gene, which regulates muscle growth. The process involves selecting cells with specific mutations and ensuring traits — in this case potentially leading to increased speed and endurance in athletic horses – are heritable.

Rock River Laboratory expands with new South Dakota location

Feed and forage analysis company Rock River Laboratory Inc. is taking over the former AgLab Forages in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rock River reports it uses Near Infrared Spectroscopy to offer a wide array of comprehensive analysis options and decision-making tools.

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