MN CropCast: Kelsey Andersen Onofre: Kansas Wheat, Fusarium Head Blight, and the US Scab Initiative

Nov 06, 2023

In today’s CropCast, Seth Naeve welcomes Kelsey Andersen Onofre, an Assistant Professor and Wheat and Forage Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University. Kelsey is joining us through a collaboration with the US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative, a national multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium whose goal is to develop effective control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium Head Blight (scab) for producers, processors and consumers of wheat and barley. USWBSI funds over 150 research projects in 30 American states. You can learn more at scabusa.org.

Kelsey discusses the 2023 wheat crop in Kansas and highlights the drought impacts on production. Seth and Kelsey chat about the impact of wheat scab and its presence in years like the current one. They discuss the impact of Fusarium Head Blight and the economic impacts. Management through variety selection and fungicide application is possible, but it can be especially challenging for producers in areas with either infrequent challenges from scab or low-yielding environments where intensive management can be economically infeasible.

Source : umn.edu

Video: Managing Severe PRRS Outbreaks - Dr. Claire Mtezankuni

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Claire Mtezankuni, Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, discusses the growing severity of PRRS outbreaks in sow farms. She explains how respiratory disease and sow mortality are changing outbreak response, why necropsies and bacterial cultures can guide treatment, and how vaccination, biosecurity, pain management, and clear team communication support recovery and elimination. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Emerging PRRS strains can produce severe reproductive and respiratory disease simultaneously, creating substantial health challenges across sow farms during acute outbreaks.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Claire Mtezankuni / claire-mtezankuni-2529b1b3 is a Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service in Illinois, where her work includes commercial farm veterinary leadership, herd health, disease elimination, and veterinary internship coordination. She holds a DVM from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master of Veterinary Science in Livestock Systems Health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Learn more from Dr. Claire Mtezankuni on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.