Boehringer Ingelheim provided the opportunity for the big questions to be asked about the PRRS virus during their recent PRRS Seminar in Chicago. Swine Vet Center’s, Dr. Tim Loula, shared his insight into effective PRRS protocols and how to better utilize ARC programs. Dr. Loula said that the current vaccination for PRRS could be better, but right now it’s all …
PRRS Research At It’s Finest
The PRRS virus is nothing new to swine producers across the country and has been around for years. But that doesn’t mean research has ceased. During Boehringer Ingelheim’s PRRS Seminar in Chicago, Dr. Scott Dee, director of research at Pipestone Vet Clinic, shared with his peers the research he has conducted regarding the PRRS virus found in the air surrounding …
Application of PRRS Control Protocols
The recent Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS Seminar in Chicago, IL, brought swine animal health experts from around the world together to discuss research studies and compare and contrast notes on the PRRS virus. I spoke with Dr. Clayton Johnson after his presentation on the application of PRRS control protocols. Dr. Johnson is the Director of Health at The Maschhoffs. “We were …
Update on PRRS Diagnostic Testing
As part of the 2013 North American PRRS Symposium, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health hosted the BIVI PRRS ARC&E Seminar. It was a morning full of experts discussing PRRS Area Regional Control, as well as what is being done in the field. The morning started off with Dr. Rodger Main, Director of the Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory at Iowa State University. He …
BIVI Introduces FLEXcombo HSB Swine Vaccine
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), has made it easier to vaccinate swine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, two of the most economically important swine diseases, in a single injection with FLEXcombo. Because every swine herd is unique, FLEXcombo, one of the products in the FLEX Family of vaccines, allows producers and veterinarians to customize vaccination programs …
Pork Production and Profitability
Economist Dennis DiPietre shared his insights on the cost of production and profitability in the U.S. pork industry during the Boehringer Ingelheim North Carolina Health Seminar last week. Dennis is a frequent guest speaker at this event because he always entertaining and enlightening. His main point this time was “all the world is a distribution” which he used to illustrate …
Risk Factors for Salmonella in Swine Production
Food safety is one of the major factors driving consumer food demand which makes salmonella a food safety priority for the pork industry. Dr. Marcos Rostagno with USDA-ARS at Purdue University told producers at the Boehringer Ingelheim North Carolina Health Seminar that awareness of the on-farm risk factors for salmonella contamination is the first line of defense. “Particularly paying attention …
Minimize Exposure and Maximize Immunity
A systematic whole herd approach to controlling all types of swine respiratory diseases hinges on the two-pronged effort of minimizing exposure and maximizing immunity. Dr. Eduardo Fano, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica‘s technical manager for the Americas, explained the approach during the North Carolina Health Seminar for producers on Friday. “You can do it through the whole production/infection chain,” said Dr. Fano. …
PEDv Update for Swine Producers
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus became a brand new problem for the U.S. swine industry to deal with this past spring, and Dr. Darin Madson with Iowa State University gave an update on the situation to producers at the Boehringer-Ingelheim North Carolina Health Seminar on Friday. “Basically what we determined is that this virus, previously not known to be here, …
New Guy With BIVI
Meet Del Birkhofer, the brand new executive director of the swine business for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc (BIVI). Del has 26 years of experience in the animal health industry, working with Merck and Merial, and he is happy to make this move to BIVI at this point in his career. “I was looking at my future and BI is one …