The top concern for producers attending the Pork Industry Forum in Kansas City last week is foreign animal diseases and specifically African Swine Fever. USDA Undersecretary Greg Ibach told the delegates they’ve developed a plan to deal with ASF should it ever occur in the United States. Iowa Pork Producer Association Director Bill Tentinger says USDA is still working to keep ASF from reaching the U.S. but has put together a response just in case it appears.
He says should ASF show up in the U.S., the Agriculture Secretary would declare an extraordinary emergency which would put USDA as the leader of a coordinated national approach to control and eradication.
Tentinger says if ASF were detected in the U.S., the USDA would enact a national standstill to give officials time to assess the situation and do what they could to stop the disease from spreading.
Tentinger is pleased the USDA is taking an active role in putting together a unified national plan.
