Testing saliva for human diseases has been around for as long as a century, but it was only about a decade ago that someone thought it might work for livestock as well. The swine industry is getting very close to being able to detect the presence of disease in a herd using a rope that pigs can chew on and …
Evaluating Prevention vs Treatment of Swine Diseases
Swine producers need to carefully evaluate the costs of prevention versus treatment when it comes to disease in their herds. “We need to try to categorize the different types of diseases, as to whether it has a real good type of treatment, a low cost type of treatment, or maybe a high cost animal health problem if we do get …
Air Filtration Provides Promise for PRRS Control
Better control of the air that hogs breathe offers the greatest promise for preventing the transmission of PRRSv that the industry has ever seen. That is what Dr. Scott Dee with the Swine Disease Eradication Center in Minnesota told producers attending the Boehringer Ingelheim swine health seminar in North Carolina. We have chatted with Dr. Dee before here on Agwired …
Golden Rule of PRRSv Control
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) is passionate about pigs, which is why working with producers to control PRRSv is so important to them. Dale Polson, with technical resources in the swine segment of BIVI, was first up on the company’s annual swine health seminar in Carolina Beach today and his presentation talked about the “Golden Rule” of PRRS control. “Transmit …
BIVI Swine Health Seminar Starts With a Bang
The annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) North Carolina Swine Health Seminar started off with a seafood supper and fireworks on the beach Thursday night. The location is beautiful Carolina Beach at the Courtyard Marriott and the weather was beautiful this evening. The event will include a day long business session on Friday featuring the latest in swine health information …
Plant Disease Experts Prepare for Ug99 Wheat Stem Rust
Plant disease experts at the American Phytopathological Society annual meeting are preparing to potentially do battle with a new strain of wheat stem rust. Washington State University plant pathologist Tim Murray says wheat stem rust has been in the United States since the early 1900s but this new strain could pose new problems. “The Ug99 strain is a new strain …
Corn Grower Conference to Focus on Land Use
If you are concerned about the indirect land use change (ILUC) issue, you should plan to attend the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Ethanol Land Use Conference in St. Louis on August 25-26. Registrants can participate in a myriad of topical sessions including land use change, nitrous oxide, new technologies and their effect on greenhouse gas emissions, domestic and international …
Arenus Acquires Equilite
Holistic health for horses just got a little better. Horse and pet nutrition and health products company Arenus of St. Charles, MO recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc. According to a press release, Equilite provides many all-natural herbal health products that are safe for horses, horse owners and the environment. Ingredients are human grade …
IFAJ/AMS Leaves Mark on Texas
One of the coolest parts of the IFAJ/AMS Big Ol’ Western Welcome Party was pretty hot – branding boards with personal brands. Dozens of ag media types, both American and international, took the branding iron in hand and left their marks. Our buddy Harlen Persinger – photographer extraordinaire – really got into it and designed a nice brand for himself. …
The Great Debate
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by: and It was the Flinchbaugh-Stenholm show Sunday morning at the first combined session for the IFAJ Congress and the Ag Media Summit. A full house was entertained by the musings and mutterings of “The Great Debate” between former Texas congressman Charlie Stenholm and retired K-State ag economist Barry Flichbaugh. The crowd had …