Take Necessary Precautions Hauling Manure

Apr 04, 2014

The presence of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in South Dakota and region requires producers, manure haulers and land owners to cooperatively work together to reduce the risk of disease spread during the manure application season, explained Erin Cortus, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Environmental Quality Engineer.

"Biosecurity measures during the manure hauling season are not new to pork producers, but it never hurts to take a fresh look at procedures on your operation, especially in light of new and ongoing research," said Cortus. "Heat and time combinations can deactivate the virus, and limiting exposure can help reduce the risk of spreading this virus."

What research says

Ongoing research by Dr. S Goyal at University of Minnesota titled Environmental stability of PEDv has shown PEDv can survive in slurry for 14 days at room temperature, which is 77 degrees Fahrenheit. At storage temperatures of -4 degrees Fahrenheit and 39 degrees Fahrenheit, the virus was still alive after 28 days.

Fresh fecal material stored at temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity between 30 percent and 70 percent survived for up to seven days. A deactivation period of seven days at room temperature was also measured by Iowa State University Researchers.

Another separate study titled, Evaluation of time and temperature sufficient to kill PEDv in swine feces on metal surfaces, provides more research data to work with.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.