The Pork Checkoff hosted the USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report on Thursday, June 29, 2017. This quarterly teleconference featured three agricultural economists and their reactions to the report. Panelists included: Dr. Lee Schulz, Extension Livestock Economist, Iowa State University Dr. Scott Brown, Assistant Extension Professor, University of Missouri-Columbia Joe Kerns, President, Kerns & Associates, Ames, IA Reports seemed to …
A World of First’s in PRRSV Research
The world’s only provider of mucosal PRRSV and flu vaccines, Aptimmue, officially launched during the 2017 World Pork Expo. The vaccine utilizes the BARRICADE proprietary technologies and takes advantage of high-titer PRRSV antigen produced on ZMAC, the world’s only commercially available porcine based alveolar macrophage cell line. During the launch, I sat down with Dr. Jianqiang Zhang, Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, …
Aptimmune Launches World’s First Mucosal PRRSV Vaccine
On opening day of World Pork Expo, Aptimmune Biologics launched the world’s first commercially available mucosal PRRSV vaccine for swine administered via nasal spray. Aptimmune’s autogenous mucosal PRRS vaccine utilizes the BARRICADE® proprietary vaccine technology, which offers producers and veterinarians a revolutionary approach to PRRSV management. The mucosal vaccine offers a new class of vaccine to combat a devastating and …
#WPX17: A Showcase of the Pork Industry
This week we hit the agriblogging highway for the 2017 World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) hosts the annual event taking place June 7-9 and will feature the world’s largest pork-specific trade show, educational seminars, youth and open swine shows, market outlook sessions and of course pork of all …
Aptimmune’s Barricade, A Vaccine Formulation Tech for Pigs
Founded in 2010 by Dr. Federico Zuckermann, Aptimmune Biologics has meshed together some of the best in class technologies into a product able to deliver revolutionary results to producers. Barricade is the latest in vaccine formulation technology brought to producers exclusively by Aptimmune. Launched as an autogenous product, the intranasal mucosal inactivated vaccine for PRRS, brings together the best concepts …
Measure, Model, Fix – Big Data’s Role in Animal Ag
When the term ‘big data’ is used in agriculture, we generally think crops. However, we are hearing it more and more in animal agriculture circles. “Big data and models: Are they really useful in disease management?” turned the conversation towards swine health at the 2016 North American PRRS Symposium as Dr. Jim Lowe, University of Illinois, took the stage during …
Swine Health Monitoring Project Update
The 2016 North American PRRS Symposium took place over the weekend in Chicago, IL and researchers and swine vets from across the globe gathered to continue the control of the deadly swine disease. Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) once again sponsored a session focused on prevention. Bob Morrison, University of Minnesota, started off the morning by giving an update on …
#HamsAcrossAmerica Encourages Giving
This Giving Tuesday, the Pork Checkoff is encouraging pig farmers to pay-it-forward with a new holiday campaign called #HamsAcrossAmerica. This first annual event encourages farmers and others involved in the pork industry to show their appreciation for friends, family and neighbors through the gift of ham – in the form of gifts or donations of ham or ham-based products. “For …
Passing of Ag Industry Leader Doug Wolf
We were saddened to hear of the sudden passing recently of Wisconsin pork producer and industry leader Doug Wolf, 61. Wolf, who was past chairman of the National Pork Producers Council and served on the board of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), was a partner in Wolf L&G Farms LLC, which he ran with his wife Kris and …
Creating Solutions – R&D in the Field with #BIVIswine
Research and development in animal health is all well and good, but a strong team of professional services veterinarians to help implement and communicate to the producers is needed to ensure lab creations are effective. While visiting Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.’s (BIVI) new R&D facility in Ames, Iowa, I sat down with Dr. John Waddell, senior associate director, professional services …