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1. National summit to focus on antimicrobial stewardship
By The Farm Foundation
Bovine Veterinarian
December 30, 2015
A national summit highlighting policy, education and economic issues surrounding the stewardship of antimicrobial drug use in food-producing animals will take place Jan. 20-21 in Washington DC.
A collaboration of the Farm Foundation, the Association of American Veterinary Medicine Colleges and several other organizations, the summit will highlight the diverse issues involved in antimicrobial stewardship, organizers said.
Targeted to veterinarians, livestock producers, feed suppliers, academics and government agency staff, the summit is an opportunity to advance the conversation about the changing landscape of antimicrobial drug use, according to a Farm Foundation news release.
The summit will include a report of findings compiled by Farm Foundation after conducting 12 workshops across the nation on new policies issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals, the news release said.
The summit also will focus on how agriculture and animal health can be full partners with the human medical community in an integrated national action plan to reduce and mitigate antibiotic resistance, the Farm Foundation said.
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2. Can Hoof Wall Radiographs Help Identify Early Laminitis?
By Casie Bazay, NBCAAM
TheHorse.com
December 30, 2015
When it comes to diagnosing acute laminitis, radiographs can be a veterinarian's best friend. But even radiographs have limitations and, historically, have often only been helpful after significant changes have occurred within the hoof.
From using MRI (which is rarely used for laminitis diagnosis due to its expense and limited availability) to examine cadaver hooves, researchers know that four layers exist within the hoof wall. Conventional radiography only identifies one layer, which appears as the dorsal hoof wall. However, with the advent of digital radiography, veterinarians have been able to distinguish between both the superficial and deep layers.
To help diagnose laminitis earlier, a group of researchers from the University of Montreal recently set out further examine these two layers radiographically and assign them a normal range of values (or measurements).
"In a laminitic horse, the deep layer increases in thickness and actually is the main contributor to the total dorsal hoof wall thickening," said researcher Julien Olive, DVM, now a veterinary radiologist at the Animal Oncology and Imaging Center in Switzerland.
"The purpose of the study was to officially describe the two layers that are visible on digital radiographs, as this description was only anecdotal so far, and to provide reference measurements of these two layers," said Olive.
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3. Four Colorado counties quarantined horses [VS - edited]
9News.com
December 30, 2015
BROOMFIELD - The Colorado Department of Agriculture's State Veterinarian's Office has nine locations in four different counties under quarantine after horses, mules and cattle herds tested positive for vesicular stomatitis.
The counties are: Delta County, Garfield County, Mesa County, and Rio Blanco County.
"Now that all areas of the state have had freezing temperatures, the insect populations are dormant," State Veterinarian Dr. Keith Roehr said. "The remaining quarantines are in western slope beef herds that likely became infected prior to the weather changing. We are releasing quarantines based on the time from when the last new case of VS was recognized on a facility. At this time, it is anticipated we will be releasing the remaining quarantines in early January."
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4. Texas WNV Case Count Rises to 38 [edited]
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
December 30, 2015
The total number of Texas horses testing positive for West Nile virus (WNV) has reached 38.
Typically, WNV cases are not diagnosed this late into the year; however, this year suspect specimens were sent to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) into December. It is expected that WNV cases will drop off as the weather across the state cools and the environment for the mosquitoes that are the vector for the disease diminishes.
"The number of West Nile virus cases we have seen in 2015 points out the risk to our equine population and the importance of vaccination," said TVMDL Assistant Director Terry Hensley, MS, DVM. "The horses represented in these cases were either unvaccinated or had lapsed in their vaccinations. The majority of the horses exhibited classical neurological signs which indicates the importance of diagnostic testing as an aid in confirming a clinical diagnosis."
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5. Wearables Are Turning Your Pets and Other Animals Into Big Data
By Marc Prosser
SingularityHub.com
December 30, 2015
Wearable and ingestible tech for animals is found on and in creatures such as bees and cows, and your dogs and cats. The amount of data generated by the devices is exploding, providing new insights into and a much better understanding of the lives of the creatures around us.
I do not think M�linda will mind me sharing some very personal information about her: she struggled to produce milk in the time after her firstborn.
Luckily, a new diet changed things for the better, and her milk production shot up.
I have never met M�linda - and in all likelihood never will. She lives not far from Quebec in Canada, while I live in Tokyo, Japan.
The reason I know about her troubles, and could tell you intimate details about her current health and even what she is eating, is an electronic sensor that sits in her stomach.
Each time M�linda passes a Wi-Fi point, data from the sensor about pH levels in her stomach and her temperature are transmitted to a local database, and from there can be sent all around the world.
In fact, I am pretty certain M�linda does not mind her data being shared, as she is a Holstein Friesian cow.
She is one of an ever-increasing number of livestock, pets, and wild animals that are being equipped with wearable or ingestible tech.
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6. Costco pledges 100% cage-free
By Krissa Welshans
Feedstuffs
December 30, 2015
Costco announced this week that it will eventually source only cage-free eggs, becoming the first major grocery chain to do so in about 10 years. Whole Foods is currently the only other grocery chain that sources 100% cage-free eggs. Costco did not set a timeline for when the transition would be fully implemented.
"Costco is committed to going cage-free for its egg procurement," company said in a statement. "We are working with our suppliers toward a complete and sustainable transition to a cage-free supply chain. This transition, however, will take time because currently over 90% of the supply of eggs is from caged hens and because other retailers and restaurants are also moving to cage-free requirements, placing greater demands on the limited supply."
Since 2006, Costco said it has substantially increased the percentage of cage-free eggs it offers. In fiscal 2006, cage-free eggs represented 2% of eggs sold at Costco, while today they represent 26%.
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7. AFBF launches survey to collect farmer feedback on USDA programs
By American Farm Bureau Federation
AgProfessional.com
December 30, 2015
A new online survey* launched by the American Farm Bureau Federation will collect feedback from farmers and ranchers about their experiences with 10 Agriculture Department programs housed in three agencies. Results will be used by AFBF to develop recommendations on how USDA can enhance its programs and make them more useful to farmers and ranchers.
[* See: http://usdaprograms.questionpro.com/ ]
All farmers and ranchers, not just Farm Bureau members, are encouraged to take the survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete.
"Farmers and ranchers sometimes find it confusing and complex to participate in USDA programs," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "At the same time, USDA staff are concerned that farmers and ranchers who could benefit from a number of different programs frequently do not apply."
The survey focuses on the following USDA programs from the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Rural Development:
Environmental Quality Incentives Program;
Conservation Stewardship Program;
Conservation Reserve Program;
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program;
Value-Added Agricultural Producer Grants;
Rural Energy for America Program;
Farmers' Marketing and Local Food Promotion Program;
Direct Farm Ownership Loans;
Direct Farm Operating Loans; and
Guaranteed Farm Loans (farm operating and farm ownership).
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