By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

ALCESTER, S.D. — With the expansion of the current outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in China, U.S. pork industry groups are working even more closely together to help keep the United States free of ASF and all other foreign animal diseases (FADs).

These groups include the National Pork Board (NPB) and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) in Des Moines, and the American Assoc. of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) and the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) in Ames, which will be working with the USDA to focus directly on imported feed ingredients – a key area of potential high risk of disease transport.

“Keeping trade-limiting foreign animal diseases such as ASF out of the United States is critical to pork producers,” said Steve Rommereim, NPB president and an Alcester, S.D., farmer.

According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), signs of ASF can be variable but often include high fever, decreased appetite and weakness. The skin may be reddened, blotchy or have blackened lesions. Infected pigs may also have diarrhea, vomiting, coughing and difficulty breathing. Right now, no vaccine or treatment exists.

IDALS added the virus is easily spread between pigs by direct contact or indirectly from contact with contaminated objects, and can also survive in the environment, on shoes and clothing, vehicles and in feed components. Moreover, uncooked or undercooked meat (including refrigerated and frozen products) can carry the virus, making the feeding of food waste to pigs a pathway to spread the disease. Ticks, flies and other bugs may also spread the virus.

Although spread by direct or indirect contact, viruses can live on most surfaces for short periods of time, including feed that comes in contact with infected animals.

In addition to China, the disease had previously been detected in Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

Paul Sundberg, DVM, director of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), said swine industry experts will use pork checkoff-funded research conducted after the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) to look at ways to mitigate the risk posed by ASF in China and other countries, which includes work done on imported feed ingredients.

According to Sundberg’s SHIC-funded research, viruses have the potential to travel long distances via feed ingredients, which proves the theoretical ability of a foreign animal disease pathogen to reach U.S. shores.

He said the development of the points to help start the discussion about feed and feed ingredient risk was done with review and input by the American Feed Industry Assoc., the National Grain and Feed Assoc., Kansas State University and the University of Minnesota, applying to producers’ immediate feed suppliers and some feed ingredient suppliers.

To help prevent this risk from becoming reality, swine industry experts have compiled the following seven critical points for pig farmers to raise with their feed and ingredient suppliers, with the objective of starting a dialogue about feed ingredient safety:

•Describe the facility’s biosecurity program to minimize the spread of pathogens from people, vehicles and ingredients

•Describe the facility’s employee training on feed safety

•Describe the facility’s pest control program

•Describe the facility’s traceability program

•Describe the facility’s supplier approval program

•Is the facility certified by a third-party certification body for food safety? Third-party certification programs may include the Feed Additives Manufacturers (FAMI-QS), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Safe Quality Food (SQF), Safe Feed/Safe Food and more

•Does the facility utilize ingredients that were manufactured or packaged outside of the United States?

To better manage a particular farm’s risk of FAD transport via a feed ingredient, Sundberg advises U.S. producers to use the newly-developed virus transport in feed ingredients decision tree matrix (see diagram). “It was developed to help pork producers work with their feed suppliers to minimize risk from feed ingredients,” he explained.

Along with specific feed-related questions to improve on-farm biosecurity, Dave Pyburn, DVM, pork checkoff vice president of science and technology, advises producers to review the Foreign Animal Disease Checklist offered at www.pork.org/FAD

“By going through the items on this list, you can improve your biosecurity plan and prepare to register for the voluntary Secure Pork Supply plan (www.securepork.org), which will help participants maintain business continuity in the event of a FAD,” he said.

Use domestic feed

A delegation of NPB, NPPC, AASV, SHIC and USDA officials, including U.S. Chief Veterinary Officer Jack Shere, met last month in Washington, D.C., to discuss a renewed and collaborative effort to help protect America’s pig farmers and the entire industry from the threat posed by ASF – and all FADs.

The United Soybean Board (USB) is monitoring and responding to the recent outbreak of ASF in Chinese swine herds, and U.S. farmers are being encouraged to take extra measures to mitigate a potential domestic outbreak by using U.S.-produced soybean meal.

“I raise both soybeans and livestock, so I have a personal appreciation for the concerns of the animal agriculture industry,” said Lewis Bainbridge, USB chair and an Ethan, S.D., soybean farmer.

He said the soy checkoff has consistently participated in efforts to control FADs, including projects to mitigate and eradicate threats such as ASF and PEDv, as well as other diseases. “We know U.S. soybean meal is a nutritious, reliable product for our animals, and the U.S. soybean industry is committed to providing this abundant supply of feed for poultry and livestock.”

He added the USB efforts related to pathogens include cross-industry discussions with the organization’s feed technical team, which will continue to coordinate during this latest occurrence.

“U.S. soybean farmers know we are providing global pork producers with a wholesome, quality feed ingredient – U.S. soybean meal,” he said. “Through our checkoff, we’re working closely with the pork industry to produce the soybean meal that meets their needs.”

As the nation’s top pork-producing state, Iowa’s agriculture officials – such as IDALS and the Iowa Pork Producers Assoc. – are encouraging producers to be on the lookout for clinical signs of the disease and to contact their veterinarians if they have herd health concerns.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig highlighted the importance of strict biosecurity by pork producers, immediately following the confirmation of several cases of ASF in China.

“Unfortunately, we have seen a number of cases of African swine fever confirmed in China across a large geographic region,” he said. “China has about 700 million pigs, or half the world’s swine population, so these discoveries are a serious concern.”

Dr. Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University professor of agricultural economics, said losses from ASF could total as much as $8 billion for the pork industry in year one alone, which doesn’t include related losses of $4 billion for corn and $1.5 billion for soybeans.

“While this virus poses no threat to human health or any food safety concern,” Naig said, “it could have a devastating economic impact if it would be found in the U.S. Our pork producers do a great job with biosecurity and protecting pig health, and the new cases highlight the importance of everyone remaining diligent in their biosecurity efforts.”

According to IDALS, farmers can take some steps to protect their animals and prepare for a possible FAD event, with maintaining a high level of on-farm biosecurity as the best protection:

•Ensure biosecurity plans are up-to-date and being implemented, which includes using a disinfectant specifically labeled for ASF

•Proactively follow industry best management practices if hosting international visitors or traveling abroad – more information is available online at www.pork.org/production/animal-disease/foreign-animal-disease-resources

•Obtain or update the premises identification number for each location where swine are located; forms to complete or update premises ID information is available at www.iowaagriculture.gov/animalIndustry/pdf/premiseIDapp2.pdf

If farmers have questions, they can contact the department’s animal ID coordinator toll free at 888-778-7675 or by email at idals_id@iowaAgriculture.gov

•Work with a veterinarian to use electronic certificates of veterinary inspection or Swine Production Health Plan herd agreements for all animal movements

“It’s reassuring to know that we are using our collective resources to work with the USDA to help put real measures in place that can help protect our farms from this potentially devastating disease threat,” Rommereim said.

“However, as always, it’s up to each of us to do our part to proactively protect our farms from outside threats, as we strive to do what’s right for people, pigs and the planet. We all need to improve the overall level of FAD preparedness. We hope for the best, but we must prepare for the worst.”