In the face of rising feed costs and tightening credit markets and in an effort to stem mounting financial losses, the U.S. pork industry has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for assistance.
Monthly Archives: April 2008
How much do swine veterinarians make?
Good question! To find the answer, AASV is conducting its third survey of member salaries. To obtain a valid answer, we need your help: if you’re an AASV Active Member(non-retired veterinarian) in the US and Canada, please participate in the survey today! It’s easy: just go to http://www.aasv.org/members/ to obtain a security code (click “Generate a code” under Member Preferences). Then click the link provided to access the brief (less than 20-question) survey. The survey does not collect personally identifiable information. When the survey is complete, we will pool the results and share them with you (AASV members, that is). Don’t delay; the data collection period will end soon!
Illness in Pork Plant Workers ? Update
There are now 24 confirmed cases of Progressive Inflammatory Neuropathy (PIN) involving employees at 3 pork processing facilities according to researchers presenting data at a neurology conference in Chicago on April 16.
Responses to delayed estrus after weaning in sows using oral progestagen treatment
Oral progestagen treatment extends the weaning-to-estrus interval (WEI) in weaned sows. Particularly in lower parity sows, this allows recovery from lactational catabolism and improves sow productivity. However, the optimal duration of progestagen treatment in contemporary dam-line sows is unclear.
Russia Bans Pork Imports
Russia has banned the importation of pork products from four U.S. plants citing findings of tetracycline residues in imported meat.
Virulence Genes in Escherichia coli Populations Are Lost During Manure Storage on a Commercial Swine Farm
Confined livestock production farms typically store their wastes prior to land application. Here, we employed three complementary approaches to evaluate changes in the population structure and stability of virulence genes in E. coli during manure storage on a commercial farm that housed healthy swine. Isolates were genotyped by rep-PCR using the BOXA1R primer, and evaluated for the presence of selected virulence genes by PCR. Isolates obtained from the manure holding tank (n= 392) carried estB, fedA, Stx2e, astA, paa, aidA-I and sepA at a lower frequency than isolates obtained from fresh feces (n= 412). Fresh fecal material from the barn was added into diffusion chambers, and immersed in the manure holding tank for seven weeks. The fecal E. coli population was initially dominated by a single genotype, all isolates of which carried fedA and aidA-1. Following seven weeks, a genotype that did not carry any virulence genes dominated the surviving population. In a second experiment, 48 fecal isolates of E. coli that varied in their genotype and virulence gene complement were incubated in diffusion chambers in the manure holding tank for three weeks. Over 95% of the inoculum population carried at least one virulence gene, whereas after three weeks 90% of the recovered isolates carried no virulence genes. Taken together, these results indicate that during commercial manure storage, there was a significant reduction in the carriage of these virulence genes by E. coli. We propose that loss of virulence genes from enteric pathogens in the farm and in natural environments may, if generalized, contribute to the attenuation of public health risk from contamination with agricultural wastes.
Welfare and Epidemiology Conference
Iowa State University, the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science will co-host an international symposium July 14-16, 2008 entitled ” Across species, across disciplines, across borders; opportunities for welfare and epidemiology scientists.”
Position Announcement: Swine Veterinary Extension Specialist
The University of Missouri is seeking a Swine Veterinary Extension Specialist to work on the Commercial Agriculture Swine Focus Team. The Swine Focus Team is an interdisciplinary group of economists, engineers, nutritionists, geneticists and veterinary medicine swine specialists who conduct applied research and develop and deliver advanced educational programs and seminars. The team also provides on-site consultation to the commercial swine industry and associated agri-businesses. As the veterinary medicine component of the team, this person will be responsible for developing state-wide programs related to swine health and reproduction. Attention should be directed toward programs that focus on the adoption of new technology, quality assurance and economic viability.
AASV Summer Conference attendees: Reserve your hotel room by May 6
If you’re planning to attend AASV’s “Advanced Techniques for Swine Veterinarians” conference, make sure your hotel reservation is in place. Call 515-292-8600 or 888-497-1273 before the cut-off date of Tuesday, May 6 to receive the room block rate of $99 per night. There is still room for AASV members and student members to register for AASV’s 2nd annual “Summer” Conference, to be held May 28 & 29 in Ames, Iowa, although registration is limited to 80 veterinarians and 40 veterinary students on a first-come, first-served basis. The program and online registration are available at http://www.aasv.org/summerconf.
Air Emissions Conference Scheduled — Early Registration Deadline
The Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in conjunction with University Extension is pleased to host a national conference entitled: “Mitigating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations: Exploring the advantages, limitations, and economics of mitigation technologies” to be held May 19 – 21 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, IA.