Foreign Animal Diseases are a Bigger Threat Than COVID-19

June 8, 2020 | Volume 115

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June 18th - WLIC Annual Meeting

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WLIC Trivia

Milk contains how many essential nutrients in every serving?

See answer below!

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Foreign Animal Diseases are a Bigger Threat Than COVID-19

When walking into the JWV Pork office in Washington, Iowa, be prepared to sanitize. For pork producers such as Heidi Vittetoe, biosecurity and being ready for the next threat is nothing new.

COVID-19 is a concern, Vittetoe says, but it’s different than foreign animal diseases, especially African swine fever (ASF).

ASF preparation was already keeping organisms and animals separate, she adds. The changes brought on by COVID-19, such as locking the office door to keep traffic to a minimum and people not having childcare, are different.

“For ASF preparation, we had gone to using clean trailers to do our top outs when we sell at barns,” Vittetoe says. “We also make sure there are no building breaches, like the bottom of doors aren’t eroded away where rodents can get in.”

2020 World Dairy Expo Cancelled

For the first time in its 53-year history, World Dairy Expo has been cancelled. On Thursday the World Dairy Expo Executive Committee reached this difficult decision based on the public health orders and restrictions related to COVID-19, in place and issued by Public Health Madison & Dane County.

In 2020, WLIC will be hosting the Annual Member Meeting virtually, June 18th from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Please register below to save your spot and confirm your attendance from your home or office.

In the News

More Wild Deer Test Positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in WI

The number of wild deer testing positive for chronic wasting disease continues to rise in Wisconsin. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shows the number of positive detections for the deadly deer disease rose 25 percent in the last year.

Don't Take Your Eyes Off of African Swine Fever

Foreign animal disease prevention and preparedness have not gone away even though they appear to have taken a backseat to the pandemic. If anything, the COVID-19 crisis is teaching the pork industry a hard lesson about disease outbreaks: more work is needed.

Technology's Role in Traceability

An unexpected outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic is the growing consumer interest around traceability. The supply chain challenges faced by the livestock industry have been front and center in the news and on social media. The stress this placed on prices and availability of meat and milk at the consumer level led to panic buying and ultimately consumers increasingly asking where their food comes from.

Trivia Answer

Milk provides nine essential nutrients in each serving: protein, calcium, phosphorus, , vitamins A and D and four B vitamins—B12, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin. That’s quite a glassful!