Weekly livestock news: June 15, 2020

Farmers find ways to save millions of pigs from being euthanized

Despite predictions only a month ago that farmers would have to euthanize millions of hogs, producers in the hardest-hit states of Minnesota and Iowa have had to kill and dispose fewer than 200,000, NPR reports. “Farmers are pretty inventive people,” said David Preisler, CEO of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association. He said farmers made quick adaptations: They converted older buildings into additional housing for hogs, fed the animals low-energy rations that kept them from gaining weight rapidly, and sent some of their animals to local butcher shops. Other hogs were shipped out of state, to Pennsylvania or California, where processing plants could handle them. In Iowa, the state is offering financial help for farmers who need to euthanize their hogs. Farmers applied for funding to dispose of about 25,000 animals but haven’t yet said how many were actually euthanized.

Indictments could be a sign of increased antitrust enforcement in farm sector

Farmers are cautiously optimistic about federal investigations into alleged antitrust violations in the chicken and beef industries, Successful Farming reports. Indictments of four chicken industry executives in a Department of Justice investigation could be a sign that more charges will come, said Peter Carstensen, an emeritus law professor at the University of Wisconsin. “There’s a real possibility that this was a shot across the bow of the companies and the other executives,” he said. The indictments are “the government saying they’re not blowing smoke.” According to one industry expert, farmers who have been worried about consolidation in the meat industry “sense that this is long overdue.”

Net farm income forecasts drop because of COVID-19

The short-term contraction of the economy during the pandemic is likely to have longer-lasting effects, according to an update from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. FAPRI projects net income in 2020 to decline by 11%, or about $3 billion, despite government payments of $33 billion, Feedstuffs reports. Net cash income is expected to drop $18 billion this year. Net farm income, on the other hand, is able to stay consistent for 2020 thanks to government aid, but it will likely drop significantly next year, from $90.6 billion in 2020 to $79.4 billion in 2021.

China says clinical trials show ASF vaccine is safe so far

An African swine fever vaccine in China appears to be safe in clinical trials now underway, state-owned news agency Xinhua reported. Clinical trials were approved in March and have been underway since then on 3,000 pigs in three locations, Xinhua said. The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said it was running clinical trials to test the effectiveness of the vaccine. Reuters has the story.

European Commission approves Elanco acquisition of Bayer Animal Health

The European Commission has granted conditional approval of Elanco’s pending acquisition of Bayer’s animal health business, Elanco announced. The closing is expected to happen August 3. “Approval from the European Commission is an important milestone toward the completion of our acquisition of Bayer Animal Health,” Elanco president and CEO Jeff Simmons said. “As the transaction edges closer to fruition, we look forward to turning our full attention to delivering innovation and an expanded portfolio of solutions for farmers, veterinarians and pet owners across the globe.”

EPA cancels dicamba

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a cancellation order regarding the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ June 3 decision to vacate three dicamba registrations: Xtendimax, Engenia and FeXapan. The cancellation order stops distribution or sale of these three dicamba products. But farmers and commercial operators may use existing stocks of the herbicides through July 31. Some states have earlier cutoff dates. For example, farmers in Minnesota can’t apply dicamba after June 20, Successful Farming reports.