Weekly livestock news: March 22, 2021

App helps diagnose swine diseases

A new app helps swine industry members diagnose diseases, offering guidance on therapeutic and prophylactic measures. It was developed by the industry website 333 in a partnership with MSD Global. According to the announcement, the app is meant to be used for consultation and should only be used as an indicative guide, potentially serving as a swine health surveillance training tool. Users can select the age of the pigs and their symptoms. The app displays a list of the diseases that could cause those symptoms and offers descriptions, with images. Additionally, the app allows users to create a report after a farm visit, then geolocate, save and manage farms.

United States and Canada release trade protocol for ASF outbreaks in feral swine

U.S. and Canadian officials have developed a protocol to ensure trade between the two countries continues if African swine fever is detected in feral swine. The protocol covers cases when ASF is detected in feral swine in either country while remaining absent in domestic swine. Swine-related trade would initially stop between both countries if ASF is detected. It would then be reimplemented in three phases for live swine, swine germplasm and untreated swine products. The countries will continue to modify their export certificates to allow trade of live swine and related products in case of an ASF outbreak in domestic pigs.

Education initiative helps producers adopt conservation practices

Trust in Food, a Farm Journal initiative working to accelerate adoption of sustainable agriculture practices, has completed its first wave of regional conservation programming for farmers in five states. The initiative, which received financial support from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, organized virtual continuing education, promotional outreach and guidance for producers to help them adopt conservation practices. Organizations and companies that collaborated on the initiative include American Farmland Trust, Corteva, Sanderson Farms and the National Pork Board, among others. All conservation events delivered in 2020 with support from NRCS are available online. They cover topics such as soil health, water quality, water quantity and nutrient management.

Project eradicates pesticide-resistant ticks on Puerto Rican cattle farm

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service announced a vaccine used in combination with safer pesticides has eradicated a multi-pesticide resistant population of cattle ticks from a dairy and beef production farm in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Multi-pesticide resistant Southern Cattle Ticks (Tropical Cattle Ticks) were detected in Yabucoa and considered a threat to the cattle industry. These ticks are vectors for pathogens that can cause significant morbidity and mortality in Puerto Rico’s cattle population. To address the threat, the Agricultural Research Service partnered with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as well as Puerto Rico’s Department of Agriculture to establish an ad-hoc research team to manage and prevent the ticks from spreading. The vaccine they used was developed by Zoetis.

Elanco receives FDA approval for swine respiratory disease treatment

Elanco Animal Health announced it received FDA approval for Increxxa (tulathromycin injection) to treat swine respiratory disease. “With the availability of Increxxa, producers now have another strong option to support the responsible use of antibiotics in their herds,” said Jose Simas, executive vice president of U.S. farm animal business at Elanco. According to the company, Increxxa, which has a long half-life, controls swine respiratory disease while providing pigs more time to mount an effective defense against the disease.

Agriculture schools need $11.5 billion for repairs, study finds

Nearly $11.5 billion is needed for repairs at certain federally funded agriculture schools, according to a new study from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The study examined 97 land-grant universities receiving USDA research funding. Sixty-nine percent of the buildings at these schools are more than 25 years old and require urgent upgrades to remain safe and useful, the study found. Without action, the declining state of these facilities threatens to hinder critical research on food safety and security, natural resources, climate change and other important issues. The report calls for state and federal investment for repairs that would ensure research and other critical functions can continue.