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Epidemiological model helps prevent the spread of Aujeszky’s disease in pigs

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

Infectious diseases are among the factors that most limit the efficiency of livestock production, since its appearance entails losses associated with increased mortality, a decrease in the feed transformation index, increased veterinary costs and the loss of value of infected carcasses. 

A good example of this can be found in the pork sector, which currently provides the most widely consumed red meat worldwide, and in the health and economic risk that the Aujeszky’s disease, one of the most important swine virus diseases. In Spain, Aujeszky’s disease has been eradicated in domestic pigs, but it is present in wild boar, which carries a significant risk of reinfection of the domestic swine herd. The direct economic losses associated with an outbreak of Aujeszky’s disease for a pig farm free of the disease could be between €350 and €800 per adult female per year.

A new epidemiological model, developed by researchers from the University of Lleida and the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), has revealed the effects of combining management practices and vaccination on the control of Aujeszky’s disease in a standard pig production system under different epidemiological scenarios. It is a computational model of population dynamics (known as the “PDP model” for its acronym in English: Population Dynamics P systems), a novel tool that is especially suitable for studying complex dynamic problems efficiently, since it allows to simultaneously consider a large number of interactions between different processes.

The model results indicate that, once a diagnosis of infection is confirmed on a farm, early vaccination of the majority of the population (we are talking about more than 75%) is critical to reduce the spread of the virus and minimize its impact on pig productivity. For their part, management practices seem to have an insignificant effect on virus control, which could be associated with its great ease of spread.

Peroxide found most effective in hatching egg sanitation

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Poultry.

Peroxide was found as the most effective egg wash sanitizer to both remove Salmonella from the shell’s surface and to keep the cuticle intact in a recent research study. “Salmonella is frequently found on hatch eggs even after they go through the sanitation process,” said Ted Brown, Cargill Global Food Safety & Scientific Services, at the 2024 International Production and Processing Expo. “So, we conducted research to find a sanitizer that is effective at reducing Salmonella on hatch eggs without damaging the cuticle.”

The study evaluated how multiple egg wash sanitizers, including thymol, peracetic acid (PAA), bromine, peroxide and quaternary ammonium, reduced Salmonella levels on the surface of inoculated eggs, without damaging the egg cuticles, when compared to an unwashed treatment. Specifically, the peroxide product was the most effective egg sanitizer, reducing Salmonella prevalence on the egg surface by over 73%. The thymol product was the least effective sanitizer and only reduced Salmonella prevalence by less than 5%.

Brown explained that the project was conducted to update producers on new and current egg wash processes. Currently, chlorine is the primary sanitizer used by breeders for egg sanitation in the processing plant, explained Brown. However, chlorine dissociates quickly in the presence of organic loads, can be corrosive to equipment and requires strict management to use effectively.

In the future, Brown said that he hopes to conduct an additional study to ensure that the hatch rate is not negatively affected by the sanitizers.

Better pig performance with seaweed polysaccharides

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

A team of Chinese researchers supported by a US-based researcher investigated whether weaner pigs are provided with polysaccharides from a Japanese seaweed known as “kombu” or Laminaria japonica. The team published about their findings in the Journal of Veterinary Sciences in a research article published in December 2023. They investigated the effects of adding L. japonica polysaccharides to the diet on growth performance, faecal digestive enzyme activity, serum biochemical indices, and free amino acids in weaned piglets. The team looked into these kombu polysaccharides as they are comprised of a combination of different sugar residues. Those compounds exhibit a variety of beneficial biological functions.

The research team selected 120 healthy barrows for this study, which lasted 21 days. They assigned all piglets randomly assigned to 4 treatments according to the initial body weight. The team supplemented each concentration of L. japonica polysaccharides (0, 100, 200, or 400 mg/kg) to the basal diet. The research team computed average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F). At the end of the experiment, a single piglet from each pen, with a body weight closely aligned with the pen’s average, was selected, and the team obtained blood as well as faecal samples.

The results showed that polysaccharide supplementation at dosages of 200 and 400 mg/kg showed a significant enhancement in the ADG and ADFI of weaners during days 0-21.  Better growth performance was due to the improved digestive enzyme activities in the faeces and increased appetite and energy absorption of piglets. Polysaccharide supplementation at dosages of 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly increased the faecal amylase activity of piglets, due to the polysaccharide’s prebiotic activity, which promotes starch digestion and absorption. In addition, the polysaccharides linearly increased faecal amylase and lipase activities.

Regarding amino acid content in serum in the 400 mg/kg group increased levels of histidine and asparagine were observed in piglets due to increased protein digestion and absorption. In addition, polysaccharide supplementation at a dosage of 200 mg/kg reduced serum methionine and phenylalanine contents compared to piglets supplied the polysaccharides at a dosage of 100 mg/kg. At all levels (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg), polysaccharide supplementation did not impact the serum levels of e.g. glucose, total cholesterol and ammonia of weaned piglets. That is probably due to the short experimental period.

The authors concluded that supplementation of 200 and 400 mg/kg of L. japonica polysaccharides to the feed could increase growth performance and the amylase activity in the faeces of weaned piglets. They expect this to improve the nutrient metabolism ability of weaned piglets.

Calls for EU lawmakers to ban cages for layers

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Poultry.

Calls for the European Union to deliver on its promised ban on the use of cages for farmed animals have been made by animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming in its latest EggTrack 2023 report. The report shows that food companies are focused on providing a cage-free life for egg-laying hens, despite the ongoing challenges posed by avian influenza, inflation and the war in Ukraine. But it says that without their actions being reinforced by legislators, there will not be a final eradication of cages.

Such legislation, it argues, would broadly reflect consumer attitudes, pointing to the 1.4 million EU citizens that signed the ‘End the Cage Age’ initiative in 2020 and the 2023 Eurobarometer report which found that 91% of European believe that protecting the welfare of farmed animals is important and 84% saying animals should be better protected than they are currently.

During the year, 444 companies were monitored by Egg Track. Between them they have made 715 cage-free commitments of which 511 (71%) are reporting progress, with an average of 75% transition to cage-free eggs. They straddle all sectors: 51 manufacturers, 195 retailers and meal kit providers, 111 restaurants, 13 producers and 74 food service and hospitality companies are represented.

Figures differ across the globe. The highest average transition to cage-free eggs in Europe was 80%, while in the US it was 73% and in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region the figure was 57%. A total of 9 companies made new global cage-free commitments.

As regards legislation, France has banned the installation of new cages and all cage systems for hens are already banned in Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have enacted bans that will come into force in the coming years. The US is also making strides with bans on battery cages across 11 different states.

Role of three key molecules identified in the immune system of pigs against PRRSV

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the most dangerous pathogens for the swine sector. In addition to affecting the reproductive system in breeding sows and the respiratory tract in young animals, it is usually associated with other secondary diseases, which is why it has become the health problem that generates the most economic losses in the swine industry worldwide.

In their research on PRRSV, researchers from the University of Córdoba (UCO) in Spain investigated the role of so-called ‘transcription factors’, which are molecules responsible for the differentiation of cells of the immune system, and concludes that three of these molecules are expressed with greater intensity in the most virulent strains of the pathogen.

The UCO research team led by Librado Carrasco has managed to identify the role of three key molecules in the immune defense against this pathogen in three target organs of the pig: the lung, thymus and tracheobronchial lymph node. Precisely, three fundamental organs in triggering the immune response and in which the virus replicates the most once it comes into contact with the body.

To do this, the research work has analyzed these organs from 70 pigs in three different groups, one of them not infected by this pathogen, which functions as a control group, and two other groups infected with two strains of different virulence of the virus. Specifically, the study has focused on what is known as ‘transcription factors.’ Again, these molecules regulate the differentiation of cells involved in the immune system. In this sense, as highlighted by researcher Inés Ruedas-Torres, one of the main authors of the study, the results indicate that three of these molecules (called T-BET, FOXP3 and EOMES) are expressed with greater intensity and earlier in the strain analyzed with the highest virulence.

“Immune defense is not based on a single response but on a sum of several elements,” said Irene Rodríguez-Gómez, another of the researchers who participated in the work. Along these lines, as reflected in the study, each of these three proteins that research has revealed as fundamental in the immune response plays a different role in the body’s defense. While the first of the three molecules analyzed (T-BET) is related to the activation of macrophages that phagocytize the virus, the second (FOXP3) prevents, among other functions, the inflammatory response of the infected organism from being too intense. For its part, the third molecule (EOMES) is responsible for the activation of lymphocytes responsible for inducing the death of cells infected by the virus.

Currently, there are several types of commercial vaccines against PRRSV, but none of them, the researcher emphasizes, prevents secondary infections or offers complete protection due to the high mutation of the virus. The long-term objective, therefore, is to develop new vaccine candidates that offer total immunity against the different strains of the pathogen.

Cameras monitor bovine respiratory disease

Written by c001os on . Posted in Cattle, Nutrinfo.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), also known as shipping fever, is one of the most common and costly diseases that affect the North American beef cattle industry. Mainly affecting the lungs of cattle, BRD is highly prevalent during the first week or two after animals arrive at a feedlot. Weaning and shipping — two of the high-stress events that happen before calves arrive at feedlots — can depress their immune systems and increase their chance of developing disease. However, an accurate and timely diagnosis of BRD can maximize the effectiveness of subsequent antibiotic treatments.

Precision technological advancements allow beef cattle feedlot employees the opportunity to monitor and flag cattle showing signs of illnesses like BRD. “The huge challenge with all of these [precision technologies] is you can invent a system to track behaviour, but you still have to come up with an algorithm for the behaviours that accurately predict respiratory disease”, says Dr. John Campbell, a professor and beef cattle specialist at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). 

Using cameras placed above the pen of the subjects, the researchers at WCVM observed any behavioural changes that occurred in the cattle following treatment for BRD. Since the cameras allowed for continuous video collection, team members completed analyzing all of the footage with the goal of identifying the specific behaviours indicative of recovery. “All cattle are somewhat prey animals, so they are good at disguising when they feel sick. You’re looking for fairly subtle signs. [But] the current case definition is very vague: ‘They look sick and have a fever.’”

The common observable clinical signs of BRD include nasal discharge, depression, reduced feed intake, separation from herd, changing respiratory rates and coughing. Since some of these behaviours last only a short time, they can be easily missed during routine pen checks.

“I think we will gradually see more and more as some of these systems get cheaper. We are seeing adaptations coming in industries such as dairy already, so it is probably just a matter of time [for the beef cattle sector],” says Campbell. “At the end of the day, it does come down to cost though. You are still going to need people to go in and select the sick cattle and bring them out of the pen and treat them, so you cannot completely eliminate your labour costs.”

US agriculture is set for its biggest price slump in 18 years

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo.

A sharp drop in crop prices coupled with rising production costs is set to slash U.S. net farm income this year, though inflation may be masking the significance of these price and income declines, especially in relation to past years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week forecast 2024 net farm income at $116 billion, down from $156 billion in 2023 and a record $186 billion in 2022, all in nominal dollars. That would be the fifth-highest on record after the past three years plus 2013.

But inflation-adjusted, the 2024 forecast is 4% below the 20-year average and down 41% from 2022. That would mark the biggest two-year decline in net farm income by percentage since 1983, when the U.S. rural economy was caught in a major agricultural crisis. Net farm income of $116 billion in 2024 would be down 27% from the inflation-adjusted 2023 total, and would represent the largest annual decline since 2006.

Some inflation-adjusted commodity prices are not far off 2020’s low levels, and 2020 would have been an extraordinarily difficult year for farmers if not for massive government payments for both trade war- and pandemic-related losses. Direct government payments were responsible for about 48% of U.S. net farm income in 2020, the highest share since 1983. Discounting government payments, total inflation-adjusted net farm income in 2020 was the lowest since 2002.

Trade war dollars could become relevant again in 2025 pending the outcome of the U.S. presidential election later this year, as candidate and former President Donald Trump earlier this month pledged to enforce steep tariffs on Chinese goods if elected. USDA’s forecast implies direct government payments will account for nearly 9% of net farm income in 2024, a three-year high but well below average, pre-trade-war levels.

Ukraine denies it is considering a compromise on agriculture in EU talks

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo.

Terms for the integration of Ukraine’s agricultural sector into the European Union will be determined during negotiations, two ministers said in mid-February, denying that Kiev was considering easing the EU’s green deal. However, a senior official earlier told Reuters news agency that Ukraine could consider giving up EU farm subsidies in exchange for a softening of the green deal during accession talks starting in March.

“The terms of Ukraine’s agricultural sector’s accession to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be determined during the negotiation process,” Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna and Farm Minister Mykola Solsky said in separate statements. “There can be no talk of any abandonment of subsidies and grants, as the rules should be the same for everyone,” they said.

Ukraine, which has a huge agrarian complex capable of feeding hundreds of millions of people, was invited to join the EU last year and will start sectoral talks on its accession in March to harmonise its legislation with EU requirements. Integrating Ukraine’s vast agricultural sector, which before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 was the world’s fourth-largest supplier of grain, into the EU is likely to be highly sensitive, both politically and economically. Kyiv could be eligible for 96.5 billion euros ($104 billion) in subsidies from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy over seven years, if current rules are applied to an expanded union.

“It seems to me that the ideal negotiating strategy (is to achieve) fewer restrictions on trade, fewer restrictions on the environment (for Ukrainian farmers) and we are willing to trade this for subsidies,” the official said. The official requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. A European Commission spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The talks come at a sensitive time, with farmers across Europe taking to the streets in protest in recent weeks at the EU’s Green Deal regulations on animal welfare and pesticide use, as well as the need to leave 4% of farmland fallow. The subsidy payouts to Kyiv could also force cuts in farm subsidies to existing member states of about 20%, the Financial Times reported last autumn. The EU’s decision to waive import duties on all Ukrainian food in 2022 has already fuelled protests in neighbouring bloc members as farmers struggle to compete with cheaper Ukrainian farm products.

The European Commission last month said it would extend the suspension of its import duties on Ukrainian exports. But it also proposed measures to limit agricultural imports from Ukraine and offer greater flexibility on rules for fallow land in a bid to quell protests by angry farmers in France and other EU members.

European Commission breaks by the growing protests of farmers

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo.

As the farmers protests in the European Union intensify, the European Commission has cracked and made some concessions to try and ease the situation. Following protests in Germany earlier this year, thousands of farmers blocked the main roads in France with their tractors. And in the first days of February, thousands of Belgian farmers with around 1,300 tractors blocked the road in front of the European Parliament in Brussels. These most recent protests have seen dozens of farmers in France arrested as they tried to block off Rungis, a main food distribution hub that feeds 12 million people. The French government had previously warned the farmers that any disruption at Rungis would cross a red line and posted hundreds of riot police there. In Brussels, farmers threw eggs at the Parliament buildings and lit many fires across the region. Slurry and farmyard manure was also spread across many of the European Parliament buildings in France and Belgium. The farmers are angry the European Commission continues to cut financial support for agriculture from the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), designed to protect farmers from falling prices and cheap imports. They are also seething that more environmental regulations are being introduced which they argue are impossible to meet, while trying to produce food for a fast-growing world population.

Isabel Proost, a farmer from Flanders in Belgium, said: “We are here to defend our agriculture. For 3 years, we have been unsuccessfully trying to draw the attention of the Belgian government to our issues. We must finally wake up and, together with all of Europe, fight for a common cause: the ability to pursue the profession of farming for us and our children.” A major bone of contention for the farmers is the European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe carbon-neutral by 2050, and the law on nature restoration, designed to “improve biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems”. Another farmer in Brussels, Bart van Rooyen, said: “The CAP is designed to support us financially to ensure we can continue producing food that is affordable by consumers. However, the European Commission continues to hit our pockets by reducing subsidies, making it impossible for us to compete with cheaper imports. These factors, together with endless environmental regulations, more red tape, and a continuance to hammer farmers, means we have to take decisive action. Enough is enough. The Commission must hear us.”

However, the European Commission insisted it was listening and allowed some concessions to farmers such as allowing them to bring land that was dedicated as fallow, for environmental purposes, back into production again. Under pressure, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said a proposal to work on reducing administrative burdens would be presented at an upcoming meeting of EU ministers. Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, said: “In proposing this temporary derogation, the Commission demonstrates flexibility and solidarity with European farmers in the face of exceptional difficulties. By enabling the production of nitrogen fixing crops and catch crops, without the use of plant protection products, this derogation strikes a balance between the short-term necessity of supporting farmers and the long-term need to protect our climate, soil health, and biodiversity.”

At the beginning of February, the joint farm lobby groups Copa-Cogeca sent a letter to Von der Leyen, outlining the Commission’s shortcomings. It said: “We must listen to the echoes that are reverberating throughout our countryside from the west to the east of Europe. Farming communities are facing enormous challenges and pressures, which have only accumulated in recent years. Economic burdens and bureaucracy are strangling farmers across the EU. The effects of climatic and geopolitical crises are impacting our farms considerably. And all this with the feeling that more constraints and more European regulations are going to be imposed on farms with severe and irreversible consequences on productions, income and increase of imports with less environmental and social standards. “Over the last few years, we’ve spoken out vigorously, but we haven’t been heard! As a result, the situation is currently very tense in many member states, with farmers taking to the streets, as the survival of the European family farming as it is known today, is in danger.” All eyes will be on the politicians as European Parliament elections are set for June this year. MEPs are concerned far right parties, which are attracting more farmers, could possibly make gains in the voting.

Can generative AI make poultry farms more efficient?

Written by c001os on . Posted in Nutrinfo, Poultry.

Poultry producers collect a lot of data. New technology that combines the internet of things (IoT), causal analysis and generative AI could put that data to work to help optimize decisions affecting bird health, production and overall profitability.

At the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit, Evan Sadlon, data science manager, MTech Systems, discussed how this technology could provide more accurate answers to questions such as: What are the effects of different pre-heating regiments on average daily gain?; How does the amount of starter per bird change the inflection point of the growth curve?; and, When should I be running different ventilation programs to minimize feed conversion ration (FCR)?

To illustrate what causal analysis is, Sadlon shared a chart that links drownings to watching Nicholas Cage movies. “According to this chart, all we have to do to save lives is bar Nicholas Cage from starring in any more movies,” he said. “How do we separate Nicholas Cage drowning people into actual causation? That’s what casual analysis is. It seeks to find what actions actually lead to specific outcomes.” Poultry producers can make the same mistakes at their farm with data collection. Sensors in the poultry house use IOT to collect information on a variety of factors, from bird health to environmental conditions within the house. But, without causal analysis, producers may not be able to actually use this data to help improve outcomes, he said.

The addition of generative AI can improve the decision-making process even more. This technology is commonly described as the next generation of artificial intelligence because it can build on the data it collects. Generative AI can help poultry data scientists build on and improve the coding and analysis that they use to make decisions about how the birds are raised and fed.