American agriculture got a good scare with the detection of an atypical case of BSE discovered at a South Carolina slaughterhouse. While it’s not expected to shake the markets, The National Pork Board warns another disease, while not yet found in the U.S., could be catastrophic if detected.
They’re talking about African Swine Fever.
The Pork Board says an outbreak would be devastating and says a recent study shows the pork and beef industries would lose nearly 80 million dollars and as many as 60,000 thousand jobs if the disease is found in a U.S herd.
Ag researchers at Iowa State University tell Brownfield Ag News the impact would ultimately depend on exports and how other countries respond to an outbreak here.
The National Pork Board is encouraging producers to enroll in AgView in order to have tractability data as part of their production records.
AgView is the pork industry’s tool to help reduce foreign animal disease outbreaks. It allows for more timely sharing of information with state animal health officials. Hundreds of producers have created an account, which is paid for by checkoff dollars.
