WOAH Adopts International Standard for ASF Vaccines

What happened: The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) at its recent 92nd General Session in Paris adopted an international standard for vaccines used to combat African swine fever (ASF). The standard, according to the animal health organization, demonstrates the commitment of WOAH member countries to addressing the disease using safe, compliant vaccines and provides members and manufacturers minimum criteria for safe and effective vaccines.

Under the standard, vaccines must be effective in reducing the severity of ASF, limiting transmission of the virus, and providing immunity to animals. They also must not harm the environment or contain “wild” ASF viruses or other harmful agents; vaccines must match a region’s circulating ASF genotype to ensure effectiveness and limit the risk of different strains combining to form a new, harder-to-manage strain.

NPPC’s take: NPPC is pleased to see the adoption of standards for ASF vaccines by WOAH. As the virus continues to spread into new regions of the world, additional research and development of management tools, including vaccines, is critical. However, priority must be given to the quality, safety, and efficacy of a vaccine, which is what these standards look to address.

Why it matters: An outbreak of ASF in the United States would immediately stop exports of U.S. pork, which last year were more than $8.6 billion and accounted for 25% of total U.S. pork production.

Groups Ask White House to Support International Ag Institute

What happened: As the Trump administration reconsiders U.S. funding of various international organizations, NPPC and other agricultural groups asked White House officials to bolster one specifically set up to help farmers and ranchers in North and South America.

In a June 2 letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer, 44 U.S. agricultural organizations expressed their strong support for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. The IICA, which includes the United States and 33 other countries in the Americas, helps member states improve the productivity and competitiveness of their agriculture sector, strengthen agriculture’s contribution to the development of territories and rural well-being, enhance agriculture’s capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change and make better use of natural resources, and improve agriculture’s contribution to food security.

While the agricultural groups back the administration’s efforts to limit international investments to those that help the United States maintain its global competitiveness, they noted that the IICA is a “highly effective and trusted partner in this effort.” The institute “will strengthen American leadership, expand export opportunities, and reinforce the science-based trade systems that help U.S. farmers and ranchers compete – and win – on a fairer global playing field,” said the organizations.

Why it matters: The IICA helps prevent the spread of transboundary animal diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture, reduce non-science-based trade barriers, and strengthen partnerships and technical alignments with key U.S. trading partners in international forums, including such international standard-setting bodies as the U.N.’s Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Organization for Animal Health.

NPPC’s 37th Annual World Pork Expo a Big Success

What happened: An estimated 10,000 people attended the 37th annual World Pork Expo – the world’s largest pork industry-specific trade show – at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines June 4-5.

The NPPC event brought together pork producers and industry professionals from around the globe for two days of education, innovation, networking, and pork. Dozens of media covered Expo, which saw nearly 400 pork industry companies from North America, Europe, and Asia displaying their products and technologies throughout more than 300,000 square feet of exhibit space at the fairgrounds.

During a media briefing, NPPC President and Ohio pork producer Duane Stateler; CEO Bryan Humphreys; Maria C. Zieba, vice president of government affairs; and Kylee Deniz, Oklahoma Pork Council executive director, outlined how a comprehensive, coordinated advocacy strategy is delivering results for America’s pork producers. They emphasized that challenges facing producers, from local legislation to global trade, require alignment across all levels of policy influence – state, federal, international, and corporate. Read more about this panel discussion here.

Dignitaries attending the event included Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig and Iowa Pork President Aaron Juergens, who addressed NPPC Strategic Investment Program (SIP) investors at an exclusive luncheon.

For the second year, NPPC held its Young Pork Advocates Issues Meet, a speaking competition for young people aged 17-22. Competitors engaged in open dialogues on pork industry’s issues, discussed solutions, and developed motions for addressing the issues, a method identical to NPPC’s process. After two rounds of competition on Wednesday, four finalists vied for top honors on Thursday, with North Carolina’s Karla Branch winning a $2,500 scholarship and a trip to Washington, DC, for NPPC’s fall legislative fly-in. The second, third, and fourth place winners – Illinois’ Drew Mickey, Kansas’ Mason Springer, and Minnesota’s Mary Lanoue, respectively – also received scholarships.

Why it matters: World Pork Expo is the pork industry’s occasion to showcase its latest products, innovations, and technologies, exchange ideas, and educate the public about pork production and its challenges and opportunities.