Sigh of relief: new tool detects disease

May 15, 2018

A start-up company is developing a device to measure breathing rates in pigs

By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Pork producers could identify diseases in their herds more quickly, thanks to a team of two individuals from Mankato, Minnesota.

Kenny Strobel and Ryan Kruse, co-founders of Krobel Corp., designed a device to monitor the respiratory rates of individual hogs.

Producers will place the devices on their animals’ snouts. Then, from nursing through to finishing, the tools will track the animals’ breathing rates by measuring the air temperatures as they inhale and exhale, the Krobel Corp. website stated.

The devices will continuously collect and analyze data over a ten-day period to establish an expected range for each animal’s respiratory rate. If a pig’s rate leaves the pre-determined bounds for a prolonged period, then the tool will notify the producer.

Since a high respiratory rate can be a symptom of many diseases, the tool could allow producers to efficiently identify and treat sick animals.

“Currently, the standard way to determine a hog's health is to walk through the barn once or twice a day and look at each hog for visible symptoms,” the website states. “Building on this process, our device will limit human error, expand (on) the types of diseases that can be caught and provide (producers with an opportunity) for earlier (disease) identification.”

The team will participate in the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator’s start-up program to further develop and market their invention.

Through the program, which accepted five start-up companies into its 2018 cohort, the inventors will receive intensive mentoring and $40,000 in seed funding, an Accelerator release stated.

Farms.com has reached out to a co-founder of Krobel Corp. for further comment.

Evgeniy1/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan | Made by Producers for Producers

Join Jill Brokaw, a third-generation pig farmer and staff member of the National Pork Board, as she dives into the vital role of the US Swine Health Improvement Plan, also known as US SHIP. The program establishes a national playbook of standards for monitoring African swine fever and classical swine fever.

Why Should Pork Producers Care? If a disease breaks out, officials will establish a control area to help contain the disease. This plan is designed to mitigate risk and demonstrate freedom of disease at the site level. The goal is to support business continuity outside of the control area in case of an outbreak.

How Will the Pork Industry Use US SHIP? US SHIP uses already existing programs to support the standards for biosecurity, traceability and disease surveillance.

Biosecurity: This plan uses your completed Secure Pork Supply plan to demonstrate compliance with the biosecurity program standards and shows your ability to reduce the risk of disease introduction.

Traceability: AgView can be used to demonstrate compliance with the traceability standards and the ability to electronically provide State and Federal agencies the traceability information they need to determine where disease is and isn’t.

Disease Surveillance: The Certified Swine Sampler Collector Program helps expand the number of people certified to take samples. In the event of a large-scale foreign animal disease outbreak, we will need a trained group of sample collectors to help animal health officials find where the disease is present. This is to help you demonstrate freedom of disease and support the permitted movement of animals.

Getting Started with US SHIP:

1. Enroll in U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan

2. Share 30 days of movement data

3. Have a completed Secure Pork Supply Plan

4. Become U.S. SHIP certified

5. Maintain communication with your state

Takeaway: U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan helps safeguard animal health. Together, we're creating a sustainable future for pork production in the United States and taking steps to strengthen the business of U.S. pork producers everywhere