Day-to-Day Focus on Biosecurity Key to Avoiding Introduction of Disease onto Swine Farms

Jul 22, 2024

North American pork producers are being encouraged to take every precaution and to focus on day-to-day biosecurity to keep disease causing organisms off the farm.The Swine Health Information Center's monthly domestic and global swine disease surveillance reports, released as part of its July eNewsletter, indicates African Swine Fever remains the dominant concern globally and the disease we're seeing the most.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says African Swine Fever is still active and, for example, we are seeing outbreaks continue in Germany, South Korea, Latvia and India.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

In Germany especially its concerning because we're seeing wild boar become positive in areas in the western part of the country that have never been identified before and so that tells us wild boar still present a significant risk for ASF spread.However, in other countries and on other farms we still see commercial swine becoming positive and so I think the big take home is to focus on what are biosecurity things that we can do to exclude and prevent the virus from ever getting into farms and then also focus on day-to-day biosecurity.

While we don't have ASF in the U.S., we do have other diseases and basic biosecurity steps can reduce the risk and the potential for them coming into the farm.Some focus areas include who comes in and out of the farm, where have the been before, looking at transportation and sanitation but then also how do we bring in supplies and feed and prevent people from bringing some of their foods into the farm that could potentially expose swine to ASF.For exclusion from the boar standpoint, it really is looking at different biosecurity methods that we can perform to prevent wild boar from getting into a farm or getting access to around the farm such as fencing and reducing feed spills in and around the barn.

SHIC's global and domestic swine disease surveillance reports can be accessed at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.

Source : Farmscape.ca

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.