CSI: Circovirus Swine Investigation

Cindy Zimmerman August 14, 2006

Pigs are dying. The question is why?

Is it simply the presence of PCV2, which is found in virtually every swine herd worldwide?

Or is it the co-factors? PRRS? Mycoplasma? Salmonella? What is their motive?

That is what the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) project known as MAGIC – or Monitoring Assignment for a Global Insight into Circovirus associated diseases – is trying to find out. Much like the popular TV show which celebrates the skills of crime scene investigators, researchers are digging deep and looking at every possible factor to determine what is causing what they are calling PCVAD, Porcine Circovirus Associated Diseases, characterized by progressive weight loss, lesions, infections and elevated mortality in mainly early finishing pigs.

In the picture taken at the BIVI PCVAD update meeting last week, Dr. Ken Schwartz of Iowa State University posts a recently deceased pig that might have had PCVAD and demonstrates the proper way to take all the necessary tissue samples for the MAGIC project. Samples are placed in carefully labeled bags and jars to be sent to the lab for study.

Here’s a 4:00 interview with Klaas Okkinga, BIVI swine marketing manager, with more about PCVAD and MAGIC. Klaas Okkinga.

Animal Health, Swine

Norwegian Culture On Display

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

Last post of today. We had a wonderful dinner tonight but more on that later.

I thought I’d leave you with this image. You identify the man with the arrow. It will all make sense when I get caught up tomorrow.

For now though, it’s late and we’ve got an early tour departure time coming up. Plus they have this stuff called Aquavit that makes it very difficult to get anything accomplished. More on that too.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ

Berry Picking In The Rain

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

Did I mention it rained today? Off and on, hard and soft. But we didn’t really care.

Take this happy IFAJian out in the rain, happily picking his wild blueberries.

They were very good and not the only wild berries we found in this beautiful mountain stop.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ

The Moose Man Speaketh

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

When we visited the Rustad-Skog moose lodge we all fit into a 250 year old cabin to listen to owner, Nils Rustad give us a history of the place and how they manage the moose population in Norway.

After Nils spoke we got to sample some very tender moose meat and drink the spring water that he sells from his property and which represents half the income of the “farm.”

You can listen to part of Nils’ presentation here: Nils Rustad Remarks (8 min MP3)

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

Audio, IFAJ

Looking For Moose

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

After our group got a taste of the forestry business here in Norway we moved on out into the mountains and communed with nature.

We visited Rustad-Skog which is a moose hunting lodge. On the way out of the place people on the front of the bus said they saw a moose but those of us on the back did not.

We had rain off and on but it was beautiful either way. We learned how intertwined nature is to Norwegian people and everything they do, including farming.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ

Applying The Glue To Lumber

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

At the Moelven tour stop we got to walk through the workshops and see them taking an agricultural product (trees) and turning them into functional elements of office buildings, ampitheaters and basically all kinds of buildings.

The Moelven company oversaw the construction of multiple 1994 Winter Olympics facilities like the one here in Hamar that housed the skating competition.

Here you can see a board moving through the assembly line. It’s being coated on one side with glue before it gets put into a stack and pressed together to form a laminated building material.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ

Trimming The Trusses

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

There were 3 separate tours going on today at the IFAJ Conress. I got picked to go on the forestry and nature tour. We started out at the Moelven company timber plant where they mainly make laminated trusses.

Here you can see a worker trimming a curved truss that’s made out of many separate boards of pine wood.

To get a better perspective you can watch a short video clip of this guy at work: Trimming a Truss (2 min WMV)

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ, Video

A Jarlsberg Reception

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

At our opening night reception and dinner we heard from the CEO/President of Tine, the Norway dairy cooperative that makes Jarlsberg cheese. This year is the 50th year since they began making this great cheese. You can see the nice display of food we had with a Jarlsberg cheese wheel centerpiece.

I interviewed Tine President Hanne Refsholt prior to the reception and asked her to describe Tine and the dairy business in Norway. It sounds like dairy producers here have some of the same concerns as dairy producers in the United States.

Listen here to learn more about the dairy business in Norway: Hanne Refsholt Interview (6 min MP3)

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

Audio, Dairy, IFAJ

Interview With IFAJ Congress Organizer

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

The president of the IFAJ Congress 2006 organizing committee is Mari Bjorke, Geno (pictured here with one of our tour bus drivers).

I finally got a chance to interview her late yesterday. Since I’m on the committee that’s planning the IFAJ 2009 Congress in Ft. Worth, I asked her about what it took to put together this meeting. She says they started almost 7 years ago.

Listen to Mari tell us how the Norwegians are going to “feed our senses” while we’re here: Mari Bjorke Interview (3 min MP3)

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

Audio, IFAJ

Touring a Timber Company

Chuck Zimmerman August 14, 2006

Karen Simon (L), Iowa Soybean Association and Diane Johnson (R), Livestock Publications Council, wanted their picture on AgWired today, so here they are.

They’re posing at the Moelven company office where we learned about the forestry industry in Norway today. The little munchkins with them are the mascots from the winter Olympics that were held in this area in 1994.

I’ve got a lot more to post for you but it’s going to have to wait until later this evening after dinner since we’ve got to go get on another bus.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2006 is sponsored by:

IFAJ

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