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1. Fairground reopened; poultry shows unaffected by flu [IN]
By Local Sources
DuBois County Free Press
February 2, 2016
The State Board of Animal Health has downgraded the response to the Avian Influenza outbreak in Dubois.
The Dubois County Fairgrounds had been used by responders as a staging area for equipment during the response and was closed to residents during that time. It has reopened at this time.
"First, let me state that the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) is extremely grateful to the Dubois County Fair Board and Extension team for your willingness to support our avian influenza response activities, including allowing responders to use the facility as a home base and staging area for our work," State Veterinarian Bret D. Marsh, DVM said. "The facility was exactly what we needed when we needed it, and had a direct and significant impact on our and USDA's ability to respond. Thank you."
Marsh again reassured the public the flue was not a food safety hazard; properly cooked egg and poultry products are safe to eat, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that this virus has never been associated with human cases in the United States or the world.
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2. Four Steps to prepare for on-farm VFD implementation
Beef Magazine
February 1, 2016
Just as sure as April 15 is tax deadline, the Veterinary Feed Directive will fully become reality on Jan. 1, 2017. Are you ready?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) new VFD rule for managing antibiotic use in livestock will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, which means now is the time for producers to update their herd-health plans. Elanco has developed informational resources about the VFD, and suggests four steps farmers and ranchers can take to meet this deadline.
"With just 11 months until the final VFD rule is in place, it's important that every cattle operation start preparations so there are no surprises," says Kerry Keffaber, D.V.M., advisor for scientific affairs and policy at Elanco. "Collaboration plays a critical role in implementing these updated regulations successfully. That is why working closely with your veterinarian and feed supplier is the first of four steps we recommend for good antibiotic stewardship."
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3. Sunland Park Horsemen Urged to Keep Up Biosecurity Practices
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
February 2, 2016
More than a week after the first case of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) was confirmed at Sunland Park Racetrack, in New Mexico, horsemen and women at the track are being urged to continue practicing basic biosecurity measures to help end the outbreak so quarantines can be lifted and the track can return to racing as soon as possible.
New Mexico's acting state veterinarian Alexandra Eckhoff, DVM, was among those who spoke to owners, trainers, and grooms who gathered on Feb. 1 for a pair of meetings-one in English, one in Spanish-hosted by racetrack officials.
Eckhoff urged horsemen and women to continue to:
- Wash their hands before and after working with a horse;
- Disinfect their clothing and footwear before and after working with a horse;
- Wash and disinfect any items-feed/water buckets, grooming gear, saddles, other tack, etc.-that horses have touched or might touch;
- Avoid walking through barns where they have no horses; and
- Take the temperature of their horse(s) twice a day, then record and report that information daily by order of the New Mexico Racing Commission (NMRC). Fever is often the first indicator of EHV-1.
The NMRC last week said horsemen and women who fail to take and report the temperatures of their horse(s) risk being fined $250 and/or having their license suspended.
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4. 'Is this pork humanely raised?'
By JoAnn Alumbaugh, Editor
PORK Network
February 1, 2016
It's true that we presently have more pigs than there is slaughter capacity, and that productivity is at an all-time high. But in addition to these factors, social attributes are becoming part of the cost of doing business. Dr. Glynn Tonsor, with the Department of Ag Economics at Kansas State University, believes that even though social attributes typically are less than 20 percent in the minds of average consumers, they're increasingly important. And just because producers aren't getting a premium for those attributes doesn't mean they won't happen.
Last year, Tonsor spoke to a group of pork producers about consumer attitudes. He used an analogy of phone technology: We've gone from rotary dial, to hand sets, to cell phones and watches, and they're getting smaller and smaller with higher capacities.
"Consider how much they've changed. We're doing much more with our phones now - we've added value," Tonsor said. "There are lots of examples of items we've improved that we use every day and the same is true in the pork industry."
With the exception of 2014, when Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus wiped out a good portion of the pig population, pork has become cheaper every year since 1980, said Tonsor.
"We've lowered the cost of production. What I want you to think about is not how that happened, but why the industry made pork cheaper without charging more," he said.
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5. Veterinary student debt summit on the horizon
Industry leaders will convene in April to explore student debt issues and solutions.
By dvm360.com staff
DVM360 Magazine
February 1,2016
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Association and American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and Michigan State University (MSU) are teaming up to host a veterinary student debt summit in April, according to the AVMA's website, avma.org.
In November 2015 the AVMA aimed to set the stage for this spring's summit by holding a workshop at its Schaumburg, Illinois, headquarters. According to the avma.org, that workshop group, made up of deans, students, recent graduates, employers and governmental agencies, suggested that "it's critically important for veterinary stakeholders to collaborate on and commit to a goal that lowers the debt-to-income ratio for veterinarians." They settled on four strategic initiatives: tuition reduction, value of the veterinary school graduate, debt reduction and practice economics.
These strategies will be the focus of this April's summit, to be held April 20-22, 2016 at the MSU campus, and will involve up to 200 people, according to avma.org.
"What we're talking about is student education economic issues, which goes beyond debt. These meetings will discuss all relevant factors, from starting salaries to the cost of education to the debt students incur and how they service it," said AVMA's then-CEO Ron DeHaven at the AVMA Board of Directors' meeting Sept. 10-12, according to avma.org.
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6. Backed by agribusiness, Clemson seeks funding for regulatory, research, Extension
The Easley Progress
February 2, 2016
COLUMBIA - Funding to bolster South Carolina's defense against a disease that could severely damage the state's poultry industry tops a list of Clemson University budget requests presented to a House Ways and Means Subcommittee.
Together with some of the state's top agribusiness leaders, Clemson administrators made the case for a total of $5 million to enhance and expand research and extension programs designed to support the state's $42 billion agribusiness industry.
"We have a simple formula that we follow," said George Askew, vice president of Clemson Public Service and Agriculture, the extension and regulatory arm of the university. "We listen carefully to the needs of our citizens, we research solutions to those needs and we impart what we learn back to those citizens through our Extension Service. Clemson University is the research and development arm for South Carolina farmers and landowners."
The request, presented last week, includes $750,000 to strengthen the state's animal and infectious disease prevention program against the threat of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and other animal diseases. The state's Livestock Poultry Health unit is part of Clemson Public Service and Agriculture.
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7. United approach developing vaccine
Chris McCullough International Correspondent
AgriView.com
February 2, 2016
A team of poultry specialists from the United Kingdom are working together to develop a new autogenous vaccine against campylobacter. The team is comprised of staff from the English poultry company Banham Poultry, the University of Swansea, Ridgeway Biologicals and Crowshall Veterinary Services.
The project is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council; its goal is to identify so-called "survivor strains" of the campylobacter bacteria. Survivor strains are those that survive in the bird through processing to the point of consumption. When the team can identify these strains they then can be incorporated into vaccines, with the aim to prevent birds becoming infected at the farm level.
After forming a health plan, the next approach is then to vaccinate breeding stock, providing immunity to the broilers. Maternal antibodies from the parent birds would help delay the colonization of survivor strains. The work forms part of Banham's wider strategy for controlling campylobacter, which includes both farm and factory interventions.
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