Avian Flu Strikes more US Turkey Farms

Feb 02, 2023

More highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks have been reported in poultry in five states, including commercial turkey farms in Iowa and Virginia, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in updates over the past few days.
Iowa's outbreak occurred at a turkey facility in Buena Vista County that houses 27,700 birds, marking the state's first outbreak of 2023, following seven outbreaks at the state's turkey farms in December. In Virginia, the virus struck a turkey farm that has 10,600 birds, the second affected farm in Rockingham County in less than a week.
Meanwhile, more outbreaks in backyard flocks were reported in New York, Oregon, and New Hampshire.
Since the Eurasian H5N1 strain was first detected in US poultry in February 2022, outbreaks have led to the loss of 58.2 million birds across 47 states.
So far 7 human cases
Globally, the virus continues to strike poultry and wild birds on multiple continents, and the H5N1 clade circulating in poultry has sickened several mammal species and was recently found to transmit among minks at a commercial mink farm in Spain, heightening concerns about further adaptation to mammal airways, including humans.
Seven human infections have been reported, all in people who had close contact with sick poultry. Some were mild, but some were severe or fatal.

Source : umn.edu

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.