Weekly Livestock-Equine News: November 4, 2024

First H5N1 detection in swine

The USDA and Oregon state veterinary officials have confirmed that a pig in a backyard farming operation was infected with H5N1, marking the first detection in swine in the U.S. The livestock and poultry on the farm shared water sources, housing, and equipment; in other states, this combination has enabled transmission between species.

KSU seeks dairy producer input on Beef x Dairy

Kansas State University is conducting a survey designed to enhance the understanding of the beef x dairy market, focusing on the underlying motivations driving adoption, the various marketing methods utilized, and producers’ willingness to pay for select beef genetic attributes as indicated by EPD (Expected Progeny Difference) selection.

Lawmakers question Pure Prairie Poultry funding

Republican lawmakers have called on USDA to explain its oversight of Iowa-based Pure Prairie Poultry Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in September 2024 after receiving $45 million in grants and loans in 2022.The company announced that due to its bankruptcy, it could no longer afford to buy feed for its flock living on 14 Iowa farms. The Iowa Department of Agriculture euthanized roughly 1.33 million chickens.

Alveo Technologies launches avian flu test

Alameda, California-based Alveo Technologies Inc., provider of decentralized molecular diagnostics, announced the launch of its first animal health diagnostic product, the Alveo Sense Avian Influenza Test, said to provide quick results in the field with geotagged results and cloud-based analytics. The product is launching in partnership with Netherlands-based Royal GD and UK-based x-OvO.

A dairy ‘renaissance’

“We are experiencing a dairy renaissance,” Dairy Management Inc. President and CEO Barbara O’Brien told dairy farmers and industry representatives at the October 2024 joint annual meeting of the United Dairy Industry Association, National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and National Milk Producers Federation. Year-to-date consumer spending and volume sales for dairy are up 3% and 2%, respectively, she said, adding that millennials (ages 28-43) are responsible for driving dollar and volume growth.

Update on EIA Quarter Horse outbreak in Southwest

A total of 23 Quarter Horses have tested positive, 21 have been confirmed as euthanized, and a 22nd died as a result of an outbreak of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in the barn of Quarter Horse trainer Heath Taylor, according to the Equine Disease Communications Center. Taylor has been suspended from running horses in New Mexico, where the outbreak is reported to have started.