The Swine report

hio Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Adopts Iowa State University Disease Diagnostic Codes

The Ohio Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has successfully adopted Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory "Disease Diagnostic Codes" developed by Iowa State University. A Swine Health Information Center funded project has resulted in the successful adoption by the Ohio Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Disease Diagnostic Codes developed by Iowa State University. SHIC Executive Director Dr. Lisa Becton says the goal of the project was to make better use of diagnostic data when assessing trends for disease detection on a case basis, rather than just looking at PCR results. Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center: When tissue cases are submitted, a lot of times there is information that is provided by the attending veterinarian that is not always in a standardized framework. The system that Iowa State University VDL developed provides for a standardized coding framework and this is important because it allows further capture of the different pRead More

Pork Market Outlook: Tight Packer Margins Pressure Hog Prices

Pork packer margins were pressured further this week and that does not bode well for the CME index, at least in the near term. Our calculation of a gross packer margin (what packers receive for wholesale pork and byproducts minus what they pay for hogs) last week was around $30/head, $5 less than the previous week.  Current margin is 17% lower than a year ago and the lowest it has been in over 10 years. That’s in nominal dollars.  When adjusted for inflation current margin is probably the lowest for this time of year since 2008. There is no clean way to calculate margins given the level of vertical integration and the various ways in which hogs are priced. So rather than focusing on the absolute value, the charts below are more useful for looking at the trend. Usually packer margins get a boost in Q4 as hog supplies increase and packers gain leverage in negotiating hog prices. However, persistent weakness in the cutout has created significant headwinds for packers. This will have a twoRead More

USDA Awards $51.9 Million to Combat Feral Swine, Strengthen Agricultural Protection Across 13 States

New federal investment expands coordinated feral swine control efforts as invasive populations continue to threaten agricultural operations, natural resources and livestock health. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $51.9 million to 29 partnership projects across 13 states, expanding efforts to control feral swine populations and reduce the damage these invasive animals cause to American agriculture. The funding, announced November 3, forms part of a broader $105 million federal investment in the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program, bringing together USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), state agencies and local agricultural partners. For the pork industry, the initiative carries significance beyond crop and property damage. Feral swine can carry diseases affecting domestic pigs, creating additional challenges for herd health protection, disease surveillance and biosecurity. A Growing AgriRead More