Italy

African Swine Fever Culls Near 100,000 Pigs in Italy in 2024

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:05:06 GMT

Northern Italy pig culls related to African swine fever (ASF) are nearing the 100,000 mark in 2024, reports UKR AgroConsult . The number of infected pig farms in 2024 has grown to 31.

The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said 2024 has been the heaviest by far for Italy since genotype II of ASF emerged in the country in 2022, first in wild boar, then in domestic pigs, the article said. The 2024 culls have been taking place in a large zone in the north of Italy made up of parts of four regions.

Lombardy, traditionally the most important swine producing region of Italy, had 22 pig farms confirmed positive for ASF virus this year. The result was almost 75,000 culls, per EU regulations.

The article said the majority of the infected pig farms were located in the Lombardian province Pavia (14); the others occurred in the provinces Lodi (6) and Milano (2). From the most recent outbreaks in September and October, no detailed data are yet available through WOAH, so the official death toll is likely to rise, UKR AgroConsult reports.

Most infected farms were commercial facilities, and the largest of the infected farms had 19,615 pigs on-site, according to WOAH.

The northern region Piedmont also suffered some heavy losses of 23,626 pigs culled from eight farms in 2024.

“Apart from the north, genotype II of ASF virus emerged in 4 separate areas throughout the country in the last two years, but on the basis of data the situation appears to be very calm there,” the article said.

ASF poses no food safety risks and is a disease of pigs only.

Your Next Read: African Swine Fever: What it means for America if it were to get into the country

African Swine Fever Outbreaks Plague Italian Pig Farmers

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:24:50 GMT

African swine fever (ASF) is ravaging pig farms in Italy, with at least 24 separate outbreaks and hundreds of farms affected, the Daily Express reports. In total, more than 60,000 pigs have been culled.

Italian pig farmers have warned that the outbreaks could have major ramifications for the country’s sausage, prosciutto and pork sales which are worth a combined total of $9 billion, the article said.

The government of Georgia Meloni recently appointed a Director General of Animal Health, veterinarian Giovanni Filippini, to deal with the worst outbreak of swine fever in Italy since the 1960s.

Filippini has noted18 swine fever hotspots in Lombardy, five in Piedmont, and one in Emilia Romagna. Italy is home to nearly 9 million pigs and the industry employs around 50,000 people.

To contain the outbreaks, Italian soldiers have been deployed to use drones and thermal imaging to help track animal movements, the Daily Express reports.

The president of Confagricoltura Swine Producers Rudy Milani said there is one word to describe the sentiment of Italian pig farmers now: terrified.

Although this virus is deadly to pigs, it poses no food safety or human health risks. Pork is safe to eat.

However, the economic impact is devastating not only on culled animals, but by the loss of export markets. Pork exports to China, Japan, Asia in general and some American countries were blocked a few days after Italy first discovered the virus, the article said. It is estimated that producers have lost nearly $550 million since January 2022 due to lost exports.

The presence of the virus in wild boars poses the biggest threat to attempts to contain the virus within Italian borders and not spread to neighboring Spain, the article explains. EU experts are warning people not to hunt wild boars in response, fearing it will cause migration of the boars.

Your Next Read: ASF Virus DNA Discovered in Non-Biting Flies Collected from Outbreak Farms

Which Foreign Country Owns the Most Farmland in the U.S.? Hint: It's Not China

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 17:24:37 GMT

Controversy continues to grow across the U.S., and China is the primary target of the new rules. However, China doesn’t own the most farmland in the U.S., according to a new USDA report. It’s actually Canada, which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres.

Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%. Together, citizens in those countries hold 13 million acres, or 29%, of the foreign-held acres in the U.S. China owns less than 1%, or 349,442 acres.

(Farm Journal)

All told, 43.4 million acres of forest and farmland in the U.S., or 3.4% of all ag land, is foreign owned as of Dec. 31, 2022. Roughly 30 million of those acres are reported as foreign-owned, with the remainder primarily under a 10-year-or-longer lease. Of the 30 million, 66% is owner-operated, 14% has a tenant or sharecropper as the producer and 12% report a manager other than the owner or a tenant/sharecropper as producer. The remaining 7% are “NA.”

USDA says the two biggest Chinese-owned companies with land holdings in the U.S. are Brazos Highland and Murphy Brown LLC, which owns Smithfield Foods. Brazos Highland reported owning 102,345 acres, and Smithfield owns 97,975 acres.

(Farm Journal)

The top five states with the largest Chinese holdings are:

Texas at 162,167 acres
North Carolina at 44,776 acres
Missouri at 43,071 acres
Utah at 32,447 acres
Virginia at 14,382 acres

USDA reports those five states combined account for 85% of China’s farmland ownership. In Texas, USDA reports China has long-term leases associated with wind energy, and in North Carolina and Missouri, ownership is tied to Smithfield and producers who contract for pork production.

More States to Take Up Possible Bans in 2024

Foreign-held farmland has become a hot button topic on Capitol Hill. Farm Journal Washington correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer thinks it will continue to gain momentum in 2024 as a political ploy used by candidates.

“It’s an emotional issue, and it’s not a simple issue either,” Wiesemeyer says. “I was recently in Missouri, and some commodity leaders worry about the negative consequences of going too far. No one’s saying China should not be watched relative to buying farmland near airports, national security is involved in that case, but more than a few farmers are looking at the potential downsides for pork producers who contract with Smithfield and the number of acres they own.”

One of those unintended consequences is playing out in Arkansas.

“I’m announcing Syngenta, a Chinese state-owned agrichemical company, must give up its landing holdings in Arkansas,” says Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, referencing a 160-acre research site owned by Northrup King Seed, a Syngenta subsidiary.

Eric Boeck, president of Syngenta Seeds North America, told Farm Journal editor Clinton Griffiths: “EPA and USDA many times require us to do work and permitting right in the same state as we’re going to sell products. One of the first things we have to make sure we figure out is how we work with the local community to make sure we’re still getting products tested in their backyard, so we have the ability to sell those products.”

(Farm Journal)

Syngenta argues if they sell that particular farm, Arkansas farmers will be at a disadvantage because research can’t be done in the same weather and soil conditions.

“We’re heavy in the soybean market in Arkansas, some of those maturity zones, we have a very significant market share and savings,” Boeck says. “We want to make sure we’re protecting those farmers’ abilities to be able to use our products.”

Wiesemeyer says the bigger issue for U.S. farmland might be solar panels, with farmers in states like Missouri reporting companies have offered to pay more than $1,000 per acre cash rent to put solar panels on their farm. At such a high price, he says it’s eating up acres of farmland, with the potential to grow even more in 2024.

Italy Confirms Case of African Swine Fever in Wild Boar

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 22:00:03 GMT

A case of African swine fever (ASF) was detected in a wild boar in Italy, authorities said on Friday. This is the first reported case on Italy’s mainland since the virus arrived in Western Europe in 2018, Phys.org reports. Italy is the European Union’s seventh largest pork producer with a $9.1 billion industry.

ASF is highly transmissible and almost always results in death for pigs, but the virus presents no human health or food safety risks.

The case was discovered in the region of Piedmont, Phys.org reports. Piedmont’s regional health department confirmed the case following tests on a wild boar which was found dead in Ovada in the northern region.

Crisis units are being set up at the local, regional and national level, while meetings are being held with authorities in veterinary services, forest management and wildlife and hunting, the article said.

In Italy, ASF has been endemic on the island of Sardinia since it first appeared there in 1978.

In western Europe, the virus was reported in Belgium in 2018. Germany confirmed its first case in a dead wild boar in 2020. After Germany’s first case, Italy activated a EU-approved surveillance and prevention plan, the article said.

The country plans to do everything possible to prevent the virus from spreading and is doubling down on its efforts to cull wild boars.

Learn more about ASF here.