When we hear hoofbeats, we should first think horses, but we cannot forget zebras exist. | File photo

New and emerging swine diseases deserve close watch

Veterinarians are taught that when we hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras. This is sage advice to help maintain a diagnostic process based on probabilities. If I come across a nursery pig that has died suddenly with organs that have tiny hemorrhages and slightly enlarged lymph nodes, I will request tests to confirm a […] Read more

Blond woman at a podium with the words "World Pork Expo" displayed upon it.

Three-in-one vaccine difficult to accomplish

DES MOINES, Iowa — It might sound easy to take three vaccines, mix them up and stick them in a bottle. It’s anything but in the real world of scientific limitations, commercial management and regulatory requirements. That daunting combination was on display when Merck Animal Health unveiled its Circumvent CML vaccine. Multiple studies examining the […] Read more

African swine fever has been found in samples from pigs in the Dominican Republic. | file photo

African swine fever found in Dominican Republic

CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — African swine fever has reached the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed yesterday that the deadly hog virus was found in samples from pigs in the Dominican Republic, fuelling concerns about the disease creeping closer to the North American mainland. The news prompted the Canada Border Services Agency to […] Read more


Swine nutrition experiences decade of advances

Changes in swine nutrition over the past two decades have been sweeping, and the namesake for the London Swine Conference’s new CFM de Lange Lecture in Pig Nutrition played a pivotal role. “Kees (de Lange) was certainly a pillar in the swine nutrition community,” Mike Tokach, a Kansas State University animal sciences and industry professor, […] Read more

PED is expected to return to U.S. barns this year, but most expect it won’t be as serious as last year.  |  File photo

PED impact in U.S. less than expected

Hog herd dips slightly | The USDA’s Hogs and Pigs report shows only a 2.7 percent drop in numbers from last year

Porcine epidemic diarrhea is still out there and likely to stage a comeback, but it probably won’t have the shock factor of its initial outbreak, says a leading hog market analyst. “I think this winter we’re going to lose fewer pigs to PED than we did a year ago,” said Ron Plain of the University […] Read more


Kyle Favel, owner of Favel Transportation, said all the hassles of biosecurity are worth the effort if it keeps PED out of most of the western Canadian herd.  |  Ed White photo

Sask. trucker taking steps to minimize PED threat

High standards for biosecurity | Kyle Favel says all of his trucks 
are washed twice, treated with a heated drying system and tested

DES MOINES, Iowa — Meet the guy who’s doing everything right: Kyle Favel. And it’s not him saying that. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus experts told their audiences at the recent World Pork Expo that truckers who haul breeding stock and sows should wash, disinfect and dry their trailers between every load. That’s what happens at […] Read more

Pork producers can reduce human traffic in barns and enforce protocols on transport trucks to help guard against porcine epidemic diarrhea, the deadly virus which has killed millions of piglets in the U.S.  |  File photo

PED demands strict biosecurity

Reducing traffic | Veterinarian optimistic spread of deadly virus can be contained

Pork producers should try to envision their entire barn and its contents covered in red paint. Then they should figure out how to keep that paint from touching anything else. It’s a good way to consider biosecurity measures that can keep porcine epidemic diarrhea from entering hog operations and infecting pigs, said swine veterinarian Dr. […] Read more

Hundreds of thousands of doses of a vaccine developed for porcine epidemic diarrhea have been administered but have failed to control the virus in the United States.  |  File photo

Pork virus vaccine proving ineffective

Virus management Long-living virus poses unique challenges for swine researchers and producers

A vaccine developed to fight porcine epidemic diarrhea is ineffective in protecting piglets, says a swine veterinarian. Dr. Egan Brockhoff of Prairie Swine Health Services told a Feb. 19 meeting of hog producers in Lethbridge that a vaccine developed in the United States by Harrisvaccines may reduce viral shedding but will not keep the disease […] Read more


Hog farmers facing higher feed costs are reducing litters. That is lifting hog futures, but profits will be elusive until a bigger corn crop is produced.  |  File photo

Hog producers reduce farrowing

USDA Hogs and Pigs report | Pork prices are high but high feed costs are eating profits

Hog farmers are doing what they can to align themselves with the markets, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. However, expensive feedgrains will likely delay a return to profitability until late next spring. The report released Sept. 28 showed American farmers cutting back on breeding for the […] Read more

Rise in swine dysentery prompts biosecurity reminder

The re-emergence of swine dysentery in Western Canada has officials reminding producers about the importance of biosecurity. The disease was first discovered in the 1970s, but incidents have been rare on the Prairies since the mid-1990s. However, there have been 25 cases in Saskatchewan and Alberta since 2009, said John Harding of the University of […] Read more