Great folks

One of the best parts of being Secy of Ag is having reasons to meet and talk to great folks. Today I will get to see an long time family friend, Harry Stine, and have lunch with a friend that I met through activities at the Department including State Fair activities, Jamie Romer.

World Pork Expo

Yesterday afternoon I got out to join the pork industry folks at the World Pork Expo. A great chance to catch up with some folks and enjoy some good pork. I'm not sure I will make it this evening or tomorrow, but there will be plenty of pork to go around at the BarbeQlossal.

Right now the industry needs all the demand it can get. So whether you can make it or not eat some pork - and down it with an extra glass of milk!

Month After H1N1 Flu Outbreak 16 Countries Continue Ban of Safe Pork Products

Sixteen countries continue to have official or unofficial bans on U.S. pork imports. They took action in response to the H1N1 flu outbreak despite the fact that properly cooked and handled pork and pork products are safe, as confirmed by U.S. and international health organizations.

It has now been over month since the H1N1 flu outbreak and it is vital that these countries reopen their markets to U.S. pork. While the initial action by these and other countries to ban U.S. pork were unjustified, the fact that the restrictions persist show that these trade barriers are not, and never have been, based on science.

The Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, St. Lucia, Indonesia, Thailand, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and Armenia have banned all U.S. pork. Russia and China only have bans in place for some states and Korea has banned the import of live hogs. Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Macedonia also have unofficial bans in place.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture 8,758 Iowa farmers raised over 47 million hogs with a value of $4.8 billion.

Iowa is the number one pork producing state in the nation and Iowa farmer who raise hogs face significant hardship due to the actions of these countries. Now that we have entered prime summer grilling season it’d be great if Iowans threw an extra pork chop on to help Iowa’s hog farmers.

Planting

Planting progress continues, but warmer weather is still needed to aid emergence. Both field work and crop development are well ahead of last year, but are either right inline with or slightly behind the five-year average. So, we need continued good weather so farmers can stay in the fields.

USDA’s Organic Agriculture Survey

I encourage Iowa farmers with organic crops to participate in USDA’s survey of organic agriculture. This will be USDA’s first large scale survey focused on organic production. The survey will be going to farmers during the month of May and the deadline to respond is June 17th. The results will be made available late this year. This will help us get a better understanding of the amount of organic production taking place in the state and the issues organic farmers are facing.

Influenza A/H1N1 Outbreak in U.S. (Formerly known as "Swine" Flu)

First and foremost I think it’s important to say that Iowa’s pigs remain healthy and there is no evidence of this strain of flu in the swine in our state. There are no reports of the virus currently causing these illnesses being found in the U.S. swine herd. In cases discovered in the U.S. so far, the patients report no direct or indirect contact with pigs.

The State Veterinarian’s office is working with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Federal Veterinarians and those in private practice to have a system in place to monitor Iowa’s pig population for significant disease, and those efforts continue around the current outbreak.

The State Vet’s office encourages pork producers to exercise extra diligence in their long held bio-security practices to continue to protect the health of their animals. These steps include limiting access to building to only essential works; thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting equipment; and making sure workers are disinfecting their shoes, clothes and hands. In addition, any workers experiencing flu-like symptoms should be kept from entering facilities
If producers do observe any respiratory illnesses in their pigs, it is important that they do contact a swine veterinarian.

We are working diligently communicating with veterinarians across the state about the situation as needed through the Iowa Rapid Veterinarian Information Network (IRVIN) as a precaution.