The Iowa Pork Producers Association held its annual meetings at the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines this week. As can be expected, the African Swine Fever virus was a central topic of discussion.
The national pork board recently put together a trip to Europe to study the effects of African Swine Fever and how countries in Europe are living with and dealing with the virus while trying to eradicate it.
Al Wulfekuhle a board of directors member with the Iowa Pork Producers Association says that the members of that trip to Europe returned to the United States with some key takeaways from the trip. They brought back ideas that could be implemented in the U.S. to improve preparedness and develop a response to African Swine Fever if the virus were to reach the United States.
Wulfekuhle says that wild pigs are the conduit for the virus in Europe.
He says the National Pork Producers Council has worked in conjunction with government agencies who have stepped up biosecurity efforts in regards to international travel.
Producers should know what African Swine Fever looks like and how the testing is being performed for trying to identify potential ASF cases.
For more information visit https://www.iowapork.org/
