On June 12, the final round of testing for pseudorabies (PRV) will be completed within the 2-mile radius of the first case confirmed in Iowa since PRV was eradicated from the U.S. commercial swine herd in 2004. As the pork industry awaits the results of this final step, Pat McGonegle, executive director of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says he couldn’t be more grateful for the speed and collaboration that has taken place so far.
“That collaboration between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, USDA, the National Pork Producers Council and the Iowa Pork Producers Association was critical for us to move quickly,” McGonegle said at the World Pork Expo.
One Decision at a Time
Thousands of decisions needed to be made in a very short period of time, he explains. The decisions ranged from testing to how farms deliver feed.
“Rob Brenneman texted me 700 times that week to move faster, and I get it,” McGonegle says. “We moved as fast as we could, but it’s never fast enough.”
He says one of the biggest takeaways, and there have been many, is how every decision can impact the export market.
“It changed my perspective 1,000% because you think, ‘Oh, we’ll just do this,’ but markets in Mexico or Colombia or Japan will look at it differently then. So, you back up and say ‘All right, what’s best for the producer, for disease management and for the export market?’ Balancing all those is critical.”
After the final tests are over, McGonegle plans to sit down with everyone involved to discuss what they learned and how they can do better next time.
“For our producers, particularly those in the five-mile circle, it was an early opportunity to see what a foreign animal disease outbreak might look like,” he says. “In that circle, we had about 32 herds, with 4-H kids, potbellied pigs and commercial herds, so it was typical Iowa.”
The cooperation from the producers was amazing, McGonegle points out. Farms were bleeding pigs in less than 24 hours – an amazing response. He credits Iowa State University’s new diagnostic lab for its speedy response. The lab is set up to receive samples at noon on June 12. McGonegle says they will run the tests that afternoon so results are done by 5 p.m. that day.
“You don’t do that without cooperation and collaboration,” he says. “I want to give kudos to them and the National Animal Health Monitoring System lab in Ames. If you don’t think that was a good example of collaboration, I’d like to have you find me a better one?”
Maria Zieba, vice president of government affairs at the National Pork Producers Council, says this is a powerful reminder of how funding makes a difference.
Last year Congress was looking at cutting things in the farm bill reconciliation package, but when it came to the animal health section, Zieba says the pork industry got 100% of what they had been asking for.
“That’s really important to highlight because it goes back to the ability for NPPC and producers to advocate on what is important and Congress to have the foresight to invest in the health and safety of animals and for rural America,” Zieba says. “It’s also a reminder that you may not see the results immediately, but you will see them some day when we are able to do these amazing things in a warp speed.”
A Confidence Boost for U.S. Trading Partners
Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, says U.S. trading partners should have more confidence than ever in the U.S. pork industry’s foreign animal disease response.
“As we’re talking to our trading partners, we can clearly demonstrate the way it was handled – the professionalism and open communication of the state of Iowa and USDA – was fantastic,” Humphreys says.
Brenneman says he received several calls from producers and veterinarians who asked how they could help. As he points out, that is what the pork industry is all about – showing up and doing whatever is needed to help.
“I think this really showed us the importance of biosecurity and testing,” Brenneman says. “You can’t do too much testing – it’s important to know where you are healthwise. We take thousands of samples a week on our farms. If anything, make sure you take away the importance of biosecurity from this situation.”
There is no question the pork industry is better today and will get even better tomorrow, McGonegle says.
“I am thankful for all the foreign animal disease preparedness activities we have done as a state,” he says. “For example, we’ve been working for nine years in Iowa on our premise ID for swine farms. When we started, we didn’t have many registered. But in this 5-mile circle, we were only missing one premise ID. That gives you some confidence that our system is getting better.”
