A bit of a paradox – that’s how Clayton Johnson, DVM, with Carthage Veterinary Services would describe the pork industry today.
“You talk to some folks, and the conversations are fantastic, especially around profitability. We’re staring at a year right now where we expect good returns and to be blunt, everybody needed that,” Johnson says. “For the folks you that are down in the dumps right now, it comes down to disease.”
Unfortunately, especially on the wean-to-finish side of the business, Johnson says producers are not capable of keeping all the pathogens out that they would like to keep out. The industry has seen a lot of disease transmission in the last few months.
“So, it’s a paradox. The business side of things is good and needs to be good,” he says. “But producers are having to deal with some sick pigs, and the uncertainty about the future always weighs over you.”
Why is PRRS Ramping Up?
U.S. pork producers are dealing with increased virulent strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Johnson works with pig farmers all over the world and points out that the U.S. isn’t alone in dealing with this terrible disease. But he’s quick to add that nobody has it worse than the U.S. right now.
“PRRS challenges have historically gone through waves,” he explains. “We have periods where the sky is falling and lots of farms are getting sick. Then after that, we build some collective herd immunity. The highest risk farms tend to get sick first. They build up immunity, and eventually the virus runs out of susceptible pigs to find, kind of like a fire that runs out of wood.”
However, the industry is always producing new pigs.
“Raising healthy pigs for a while is like building the fire pit up with dry wood,” Johnson says. “Eventually it just takes a match to go in there and start a new fire.”
The industry has had a lot of PRRS activity this year. He says it’s unusual that the bad part of the PRRS cycle is happening in June.
How Can Producers Beat PRRS?
When producers ask Johnson to talk about PRRS management, he says they expect a vaccine and treatment protocol. But his first piece of advice is always this: focus on biosecurity.
“They like to remind me, ‘Hey, we’re talking about PRRS management.’ And I tell them, ‘I am talking about PRRS management.’”
As a veterinarian, Johnson says he is fortunate to go to farms. There are a lot of people working in the swine industry that don’t get to go to farms.
“The reason I’m so passionate about biosecurity is I see the downside of it. Nobody calls me up and says, ‘Clayton, come to the farm – things are great.’ When I go to the farm, things are almost always a challenge. PRRS is a viral disease. It is miserable for the people and pigs when you go into that situation. I don’t have an antibiotic to come and save the day.”
He says beating PRRS starts with biosecurity and ends with biosecurity. It requires honesty about your farm’s biosecurity capabilities and efforts.
“If you’re not doing a good job with supply entry or mortality management, if you’re still rendering your mortalities, it doesn’t make sense to filter the farm,” Johnson adds. “That’s a level that we want to get to, but we have got to check the box on the basics first.”
Rebreaks: A Dangerous Word
Rebreaks are a big challenge now, and Johnson says they are a bit of a dangerous word.
“I don’t know that there’s a perfect definition,” he says. “When I say rebreak, I’m talking about a sow farm that has had an issue maybe 3 to 5 months ago, they’re on the path to recovery, and we think things are going really well. Then, all of a sudden, it’s not going well again. One of the challenges with PRRS is creating good and lasting immunity.”
Sows will clear the virus, particularly from their bloodstream, fast, Johnson explains. But when they go back through that farrowing house, they become immunocompromised and have a bunch of little baby pigs that may be shedding the virus right next to them for the next three to four weeks.
“It’s a vicious cycle where they become reinfected, unfortunately,” he says. “The dynamics of our production flow make that difficult to manage. We do know some lineages are a little bit more susceptible to it.”
He recommends producers sequence their PRRS strains, so they know what lineage it fits in. Then, work with their veterinarian to see if this lineage is more susceptible to rebreaks.
“We may not be able to prevent it, but if we can project it, we can better manage that situation or at least not be surprised by it,” Johnson says. “Then, we can be ready to move forward with whatever steps are needed.”
Don’t Let Best Be the Enemy of Better
Johnson says he’s excited about the possibilities of disease resistance through gene editing.
“This is a breakthrough technology for our industry and for many industries,” he says. “The science is pretty clear that this is going to be a technology that can help us dramatically with PRRS. Some people may say, ‘Well, I don’t know if it’ll be perfect.’ Don’t worry about that. In the grand scheme of things, don’t let best be the enemy of better.”
Although no one knows what the future holds, Johnson says genetic editing is a no-brainer technology to fix the biggest disease problem in the U.S. year after year after year.
“Having PRRS on your farm is a miserable experience for the pigs and the people,” he says. “If you see PRRS and other diseases coming in, consider it a biosecurity opportunity. The most important metric to measure biosecurity is the number of outbreaks you have. If you’re having disease outbreaks, it’s time to make some changes. Be open to new ideas and better ways to try and prevent those bad diseases from coming in.”
Listen to Johnson discuss the state of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), African swine fever (ASF) and more on The PORK Podcast. You can watch on YouTube or listen anywhere podcasts are found.
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