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1. Texas Horses Confirmed Positive for EHV-1
By Erica Larson, News Editor
TheHorse.com
June 6, 2016
Seven horses in Cooke County, Texas, have tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) caused by the neuropathogenic form of the virus, a representative from the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) confirmed June 6.
"All seven cases are at the same barn at breeding facility in Cooke County," Callie Ward, TAHC public information officer, told The Horse. The affected barn houses 40 horses, she added.
Ward said the first case was confirmed on May 24, the second on May 25, and the other five were confirmed on May 26. Two of the cases have exhibited neurologic signs while the remaining five have not.
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2. Missouri Representative pushing a house bill making animal health and environmental protection issues exempt from Sunshine Law
Dennis Gonnerman, Agriculture Reporter
Marshall News
June 6, 2016
Missouri Representative Jay Houghton (R-Martinsburg) is sponsoring House Bill 1414, which would make "any data collected for the purpose of animal health or environmental protection" a closed record and therefore exempt from not only Missouri's Sunshine Law, but the federal Freedom of Information Act. He is also chair of the committee.
The bill is currently under fire by several organizations including the Missouri Press Association and the Human Society of the United States for its vague wording.
"No premises registration data, animal identification data, environmental data, or animal tracking data collected by any state agency from participants under the federal Animal Disease Traceability Program, nor any data collected for the purpose of animal health or environmental protection shall be subject to disclosure under the Missouri sunshine law in chapter 610," is the way the bill reads currently.
This means that any number of environmentally hazardous encroachments such as toxic spills, air pollution, pollution of waterways, and hazardous farming techniques by farmers, could be completely sealed from public view. According to the Missouri Press Association, part of the information that could be included covers tracking diseased animals.
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3. National genotyping lab in Fargo, N.D. now functional [edited]
By Mikkel Pates, Forum News Service
Prairie Business Magazine
June 6, 2016
FARGO, N.D. -- The new National Agricultural Genotyping Laboratory is up and running in Fargo, N.D., and officials who made it happen want all to see it.
An open house will be from 12:30 to 4 p.m. June 21, at the laboratory located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Biosciences Research Laboratory.
Megan Palmer, NAGC lab manager, says the lab is designed as a resource for the producers. They'll "have a place to go to get the questions that they need answered, answered," she says. "So we're here to fulfill that need for the farmers, the producers, other companies and clients, whether it's animals, plants or a combination of the two."
Farmers and customers can bring samples of plants and animals to run through a series of laboratory spaces with various biological safety levels, and high throughput extraction and purification of DNA and RNA for analysis.
Other equipment detects and amplifies the target substances the research projects are looking for. The main technique is polymerase chain reaction, which makes millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence.
Assay tests
The rest of the work will be in developing tests for DNA, proteins and nitrogen-containing compounds among them. A herd of deer or cattle can be tested for the presence of protein-related disease -- Chronic Wasting Disease, mad cow or scrapies -- without killing the animal. "This is a huge technological breakthrough," Vierling says.
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4. State's animal health agency: Horse owners should vaccinate against West Nile virus [NM]
New Mexico Livestock Board Press Release
June 6, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE - As mosquito season approaches, the New Mexico Livestock Board is encouraging horse owners across the state to vaccinate their horses against West Nile virus (WNV). "Horse owners are encouraged to contact their veterinarian about vaccinating their horse or horses," said acting state veterinarian Dr. Alexandra Eckhoff.
According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, horses represent 96.9 percent of all reported non-human cases of West Nile virus in mammals. Symptoms include fever, lack of coordination, difficulty or inability to rise, drooping lips, weakness, muscle twitching, and sensitivity to sound and/or touch. Approximately one-third of horses affected can die from the virus, and those that survive may have permanent neurological damage.
The virus is carried by many different mosquito species, which transmit it from infected birds to horses, humans, and other mammals. It is not transmissible from horse to horse or from horse to human. Both horses and humans are dead-end hosts for WNV, meaning they cannot pass the virus on to other biting mosquitoes.
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5. Transitioning to antibiotic-free? Tighten up these five areas of pig production
National Hog Farmer
June 2, 2016
Is 2016 the year of antibiotic-free products? After a brief look at the supermarket shelves today, many may say yes. Antibiotic-free brands, such as Open Prairie Natural Pork, Applegate Natural & Organic Meats, Farm Promise Pork and Niman Ranch, are popping up in meat counters across the United States.
According to Dr. Tom Gillespie, a veterinarian with Rensselaer Swine Services, this shift in production is likely to grow and stay.
"The movement has finally impacted consumer choices in the grocery stores, and ultimately the societal change has given the opportunity for independent producers and even integrators to respond by raising antibiotic-free pigs to meet this new demand," said Gillespie.
Since production costs and health challenges can be quite different from conventionally-raised pigs, Gillespie suggests producers' expectations need to be open to different types of challenges when raising antibiotic-free animals.
"There are numerous risks that can lead to a higher cost of production," said Gillespie. "In order to address these issues, the producer has to reinforce biosecurity practices and implement a nutritional program that is designed to strengthen the animals' natural immunity."
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6. Wisconsin State Firm Develops Fitbit-like Device for Cows
By: Nate Beck, USA TODAY Network -Wisconsin and the Associated Press
AgWeb.com
June 6, 2016
It's a hot, hazy morning under the awning where cattle congregate at Abel Dairy in Eden, Wis., 2,200 miles from Silicon Valley.
This doesn't feel like tech start-up country, but it is, USA Today Network-Wisconsin reported.
Over five years, David Cook, a co-owner of Eden start-up BoviSync, developed software that organizes and analyzes the health of a herd of cows. Dairy owners can use the software to learn why milk production has dipped, how illnesses have spread through their herd and other ways.
With a smartphone strapped to his wrist, Cook uses a wand to scan an electronic chip embedded in dairy cows. Think Fitbit for cows. Each animal's vital signs can be relayed to BoviSync's system, then broken down into scatterplots and spreadsheets.
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7. Applications Open for 2016 AAEP Foundation Research Fellows
By Edited Press Release
TheHorse.com
June 6, 2016
Applications are being accepted until Aug. 1 for the 2016 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation Past Presidents' and EQUUS Foundation Research Fellows.
These annual scholarships are awarded to AAEP-member veterinarians who are beginning careers in equine research. Each recipient will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship during the AAEP's 62nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 3-7, 2016.
The AAEP Foundation Past Presidents' Research Fellow and the EQUUS Foundation/AAEP Foundation Research Fellow, established in 2006 and 2011, respectively, emphasize the importance of equine research while rewarding researchers for their personal contributions.
Acknowledging the increasing need to train future equine veterinary researchers, the Foundation created the research fellows to help supplement post-graduate and residency research fellowship salaries and benefits. These scholarships are made possible through the monetary contributions of AAEP past presidents and The EQUUS Foundation.
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