Posted June 9, 2014
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $26.2 million fund to fight porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), according to USDA press release available here. The Wall Street Journal also published an article here, Reuters here, and Bloomberg here. A recent blog post was published on PEDv here.
These diseases do not pose a threat to human health or food safety, but they have a significant impact on pork producers.
“In the last year, industry has estimated PEDv has killed some 7 million piglets and caused tremendous hardship for many American pork producers,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The number of market-ready hogs this summer could fall by more than 10 percent relative to 2013 because of PEDv. Together with industry and our State partners, the steps we will take through the Federal Order will strengthen the response to PEDv and these other viruses and help us lessen the impact to producers.”
The federal order requires producers, veterinarians, laboratories, or any others aware of the disease’s presence, to report all cases to the USDA and animal-health officials. Failure to comply will result in potential fines or other penalties, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The $26.2 million in federal funding will support the development of disease vaccines and testing, management, and control activities at the state and federal levels.
“More money may be needed in the future, but $26 million in an environment like we have right now is new money,” said Howard Hill, president of the National Pork Producers Council and an Iowa hog farmer, according to Reuters.
The USDA has not yet identified the cause of PEDv, which makes it harder to eradicate, according to Bloomberg.
For full details of the Federal Order and program requirements, along with a Q&A on this topic, visit the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website here.
For more information on animal feeding operations, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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