Iowa producers do all they can to protect herds from African swine fever

No sign yet in North America

A mass outbreak of African Swine Fever in China, home to half the world’s hog population, over the past year has Iowa pork producers on edge.

The World Organization for Animal Health told the Des Moines Register on Thursday that the spread of the fever could result in the mass death of at least a quarter of the world’s swine population. Since news of the outbreak in China, African Swine Fever and other foreign animal diseases has become a hot topic in Iowa farming households and throughout the pork industry.

Foreign animal diseases impact agriculture by restricting the export of the product to other countries, says Jen Sorenson, communications director at Iowa Select Farms. “That would be something that would have a tremendous bearing and impact on Iowa agriculture, because we export a quarter of our hogs.”

Iowa is the leading pork producing state in the nation by a long shot. According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association, nearly one-third of the nation’s hog population is in Iowa. If African Swine Fever were to reach Iowa, it would mean bad news for a lot of the ag industry.

“That would not only impact pork producers, but it would impact grain farmers that would raise the corn and soybeans that would feed the pigs and all the other businesses and agribusinesses that support pork producers,” says Sorenson. “It would be really devastating.”

While African Swine Fever has not been found anywhere on the North American continent, Iowa farmers are not taking any chances and are taking biosecurity measures more seriously than ever. Sorenson explains farmers have hundreds of practices and protocols they adhere to for health and safety reasons, including the prevention of foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever. 

“I don’t think any producer could ever say we’re 100% positive that we have removed all of our risk, [but] we can say that we’re confident we have reduced the risk considerably,” Sorensen says of biosecurity measures.

She also mentioned that pork producers and veterinarians are not only well-versed in the prevention of foreign animal diseases, but also have been trained in how to respond to a disease outbreak.

Iowa was among 14 of the top swine producing states that participated in a four-day simulation of exercises and drills specific to African Swine Fever led by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from Sept. 23-26. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said that he was pleased with the outcome of the simulation. “We’ve discovered what works well and identified a few scenarios we still need to talk through so we can respond quickly if a real outbreak occurs.”

African Swine Fever is highly infectious to pigs but does not pose a threat to human health and is not a food safety issue. However, because it causes high hog herd mortality rates, it is a detriment to any economy that gains large contributions from the pork industry. According to a press release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the pork industry contributes $36.7 billion to Iowa’s economy.

*Originally published in The Storm Lake Times.