Understanding how early in the production chain a disease actually starts will give veterinarians a better chance at stopping it before it becomes a problem. “Twenty percent of those pigs are coughing before our brain will let us hear that,” Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois, told attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health …
Vaccination Sharply Lowers In Utero Disease Transfer
In utero transmission of Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCV2) is more common than we might think, and vaccinations can make a world of difference to lower those transmissions from sows to their unborn piglets. That was the message veterinarians at the at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar heard in San Diego. Dr. Darin Madson, Assistant Professor of …
PRRS Like Waterfalls, Waldo & National Debt
Analogies are a great way to illustrate your point, and Dr. Dale Polson, technical resources specialist with Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI), really used them in talking about vertical transmission of PRRS at the BIVI Swine Health Seminar for swine vets in San Diego. Polson compared PRRS waterfalls, Where’s Waldo and even the national debt, among others, to talk about how transmission …
BIVI: Control More than Vaccination or Medication
Controlling disease in swine herds is more than vaccinating or medicating your livestock … that’s the message attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in San Diego received before the American Association of Swine Veterinarians annual meeting. During a session titled “Infection Chain – A New Perspective on Disease Management,” Dr. Edgar Diaz, associate director of swine …
BIVI Invites Swine Vets to Live the Adventure
The annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar for swine vets was quite the adventure this year. BIVI addressed the issue of vertical transmission of pathogens in swine herds, featuring presentations by members of the BIVI swine vet team and other veterinary professionals. BIVI Director of Swine Technical Services Dr. Tyler Holck is very proud of their team. “It’s a …
NPPC Talks Trade Agreement With EU
Trade and pork exports were among the topics addressed by the National Pork Producers Council during Trade Talk at National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. Nick Giordano, Vice President and International Trade Counsel for NPPC, sat down with me to discuss NPPC’s role in protecting US pork producer’s interests both inside the US and abroad. “National Pork Producers Council is …
A Rich History at The American Royal
The 2012 American Royal runs from Sept.9 – Nov. 17 and is chalk full of events for friends and family to partake in all promoting the wonderful world of agriculture. This event has such a rich history founded on the agricultural industry. In 1899 the very first American Royal took place in a tent at the Kansas City Stockyards as …
Livestock 101 at NAMA Boot Camp
Animal agriculture seems to be under a constant fire from those who don’t understand it. During the recent NAMA Boot Camp, Dr. Dan Thomson, Assistant Dean of Outreach and Professor at Kansas State University Vet School, addressed the basics of the industry along with issues and challenges so agri-marketers could help educate the growing population of non-ag consumers. “I think …
Pipestone System Explained at BIVI Swine Seminar
One of the presentations at the recent 12th annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar held in North Carolina included information about the Pipestone System in Minnesota. “The Pipestone System is an organization of about 250 farmers who own their sows and hire us to manage them,” Barry Kierkart, one of the managing partners at the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic explained …
Come for Beach, Stay for Info at BIVI Swine Seminar
Lots of good information and a chance for plenty of questions at the recent 12th annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar held in North Carolina. I talked with Mike Neil with Murphy Brown in Virginia. While he (kiddingly) said he comes for the beach, it’s really the amount of information valuable to his company that brings him there. “It …