Weekly livestock news: March 14, 2022

FDA approves gene-edited cattle for food production

U.S. regulators last week approved the sale of beef from gene-edited cattle after concluding the animals raise no safety concerns, the Associated Press reports. The cattle by the gene editing company Recombinetics had genes edited using the CRISPR technology to have short, slick coats that let them more easily withstand hot weather. This could reduce heat stress so the cows gain weight more easily, making for more efficient meat production. The cows are the third genetically altered animals approved for human consumption in the United States after salmon and pigs. While the company did not say when the beef will be available for sale, the FDA said it could reach the market in as early as two years. The approval process took months rather than years since gene alterations in some conventionally bred cattle result in the same extremely short, slick-hair coat as that of the gene-edited ones, according to the announcement from the FDA.

Merck receives FDA approval for drugs to treat swine and bovine respiratory diseases

Merck Animal Health announced it has received FDA approval for two livestock drugs to treat swine and cattle infections. Nuflor-S (florfenicol) injectable solution and Arovyn (tulathromycin injection) both treat swine respiratory disease. Arovyn also received FDA approval for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease, foot rot and pinkeye in cattle. Both Nuflor-S and Arovyn are veterinarian-prescribed.

Avian flu now detected in 12 states, 1.9 million birds

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been identified in three more states—Missouri, Maryland and South Dakota—USDA reported. Since the first U.S. case this year was confirmed in Indiana in early February, highly pathogenic bird flu has been found in 21 domestic flocks in 12 states. Nearly 1.9 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, have died, either from the disease or from culling to prevent its spread. The largest loss so far was of 1.2 million commercial birds in New Castle County in northern Delaware. This year’s outbreaks are the first appearance of HPAI in domestic flocks in two years, Successful Farming reports. More than 50 million chickens and turkeys died in an HPAI epidemic from late 2014 to mid-2015.

A new ‘pig translator’ could be used to improve livestock welfare, scientists say

A new “pig translator”—an artificial intelligence algorithm that analyzes pig sounds to determine the animals’ emotions—could be used to monitor well-being and lead to better livestock treatment on farms, scientists say. An international team of researchers trained a neural network to learn whether pigs were experiencing positive emotions, such as happiness or excitement, or negative emotions, such as fear or distress, using audio recordings and behavioral data from pigs in different situations, from birth to death. They used the technology to analyze 7,414 pig calls recorded from more than 400 animals, most of which were on farms and in other commercial settings. “We have trained the algorithm to decode pig grunts,” said Dr. Elodie Briefer, an expert in animal communication at the University of Copenhagen who co-led the work. “Now we need someone who wants to develop the algorithm into an app that farmers can use to improve the welfare of their animals.” The Guardian reports.

Livestock veterinarian loan assistance program dies in Idaho legislative committee

An Idaho Senate committee killed a bill that would have established a loan repayment program for veterinarians who treat livestock in rural areas. The bill died after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus over whether it should go to the full Senate or stay in committee, and a replacement bill is possible, Capital Press reports. Under the bill, 10 qualified applicants would have been eligible for assistance of $25,000 a year for up to three years. Those already receiving repayment assistance from another program would be ineligible. Committee members’ concerns included that the legislation doesn’t establish a minimum length of stay for veterinarians who receive the benefit and doesn’t call on the livestock industry to contribute financially. A fund would have been set up to receive private donations and federal money in addition to state money.

U.S. farmers are improving climate-friendly practices, but there’s ‘more work to do,’ USDA says

Farmers in the United States have adopted conservation strategies that have led to gains for climate-friendly agriculture in recent years, but the Department of Agriculture has “more work to do” as it attempts to address climate change, according to a new report from the agency. The findings are based on a survey by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service of farming practices between 2013 and 2016, comparing those findings to a prior survey that collected data between 2003 and 2006. In the decade between the two surveys, farmers implemented practices like building buffers or windbreaks around fields to prevent soil erosion and fertilizer runoff into waterways. They also used conservation tillage techniques, which reduce soil disturbance, on more than 210 million acres across the country, a 34% increase since the first survey. But adoption of other conservation practices, like cover crops, has been slower, Reuters reports.