A34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 27,1981
Pseudorabies program
(Continued from Page Al)
Present regulations in the state
prohibit all infected or exposed
swine from being transported
within the state or into Penn-
sylvania without a permit. All
breeding swine unported into the
Commonwealth need prior permits
and numbers which identify the
purchaser, where the hogs are
going, where they’re coming from,
die number of swine purchased,
and their complete description
including ear tag number, sex,
age, breed, registered name and
number or ear notch.
For buyers who purchase a large
number of out-of-state hogs
throughout the year, a blanket or
cpen prior permit can be issued.
The stipulation for getting one of
these permits is that the buyer
agrees to purchase only swine that
comply with Pennsylvania's im
port regulations. This permit is
issued for a 12-month period. These
buyers still need to have the in
terstate health certificates for all
breeding swine, with complete
identification information.
All breeding swine coming into
Pennsylvania must be tested
pseudorabies negative within 30
days of import or they must come
from a pseudorabies free herd.
These breeding swine must be
isolated for 15-30 days after unport
and then be retested at the owner’s
expense. If all swine test negative,
they can enter the herd.
If, instead, the swine test
positive for pseudorabies, they are
placed under quarantine. And, if
the isolation and retesting is not
done immmediately after the
farmer brings the out-of-state hogs
home, the entire herd is quaran
tined. The only way the quarantine
is lifted is after two negative
retests are obtained during a 15-
day period.
Any swine showing a positive
test are sent to slaughter and the
herd is retested after 30 days at the
owner’s expense.
Imported and breeding swine
that test positive for pseudorabies
must go directly to slaughter under
permit without any side routes.'
Feeder swine, raised m the state,
can either go directly to slaughter,
through an approved slaughter
swine auction, or into a quaran
tined feedlot.
Imported breeding swme and
feeder swine do not need a
pseudorabies test if they are: kept
separate during transport (a state
and federal .requirement); have
interstate health certificates with
individual identification and point
of origin; and are from a state that
requires all pseudorabies positive
tested swme to be quarantined.
No swme that have been vac-
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cmated for pseudorabies aie
allowed entry into Pennsylvania.
And, any exhibition swine taken
out of state must be isolated on
their return and retested in 15 to 30
days unless all the swine at the
event were tested and negative
within 30 days prior to the show.
In Pennsylvania to date, there
have been 63 herds infected with
pseudorabies smce its outbreak m
Pennsylvania in January, 1960.
Currently there are 47 herds under
quarantine, with 45 of those herds
being located in Lancaster County.
A recent survey in a 50 square
mile area in the northern part of
Lancaster County identified 22
infected herds m addition to the
previous 25 quarantined herds n
the state. The sui vcy u tum.
of 207 herds, and 2,197 hogs were
bled.
Since the outbreak began a year
and a half ago, 16 herds have been
released from quarantine after
depopulating.
According to Dr. Max Van
Buskirk, chief veterinarian of the
state’s Bureau of Animal Industry,
the proposed pilot program would
require testing of every hog m the
infected area. This program, he
estimated, would not get underway
for at least six to eight months
pending federal funding and other
constraints. He, too, expressed
optimism that Pennsylvania is
competitive with other states for
funding.
Since the completion of the
Lancaster County survey, Van
Buskirk has submitted policy
changes to Secretary Hallowell for
the Department head's con
sideratiOQ concerning swine
movement within Pennsylvania
and from other states.
“Pennsylvania cannot
unilaterally limit imports to
pseudorabies free hogs we need
federal support,” he said. "We’re
hoping to write regulations that
are effective, not burdensome. The
trouble is what the financial im
pact will be on the farmer with
only a few pigs.
"Certifymg the baby pigs as
pseudorabies free will be a
significant cost to the small far
mer, whereas it is not
unreasonable for the commercial
hog producer.
“Writing regulations is easy
it’s control that’s tough,” Van
Buskirk remarked.
One of the major problems m
regulation control is identification.
If there are going to be regulations
to control movement of swme,
there has to be a method of tracing
that movement and proving those
positive pigs came from a certain"
herd.
"Something is needed to tie the
pigs to their health sialeinuii,'
Van Buskirk observed, admitting
ear tags are not necessarily the
solution since tney don't stay on
the pigs. “Ear tags make the pigs’
ears sore, so the tanner cuts the
small tags out or the hogs rub them
off,” he said. “They’re not ef
fective tor long.”
Van Buskirk suggested ear
notching, tatoomg or branding
might be feasible alternatives in
identifying pigs. “I’d like to see all
pigs tatooed preferably m the
ear, but they could be tatooed in
the flank area. Tatoomg is an ef
fective identification that is not
easily tampered with if done
properly,”
Speaking for the Pennsylvania
Swine Breeders Cooperative,
President Dennis Grumbine
echoed cry for more
uniform pseudorabies control on
the federal level.
“The federal government needs
to outline regulations that are good
for every state and everybody
must participate,” Grumbme
stated emphatically. “Our U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture is a hog
producer-who knows our-disease
problems. He could have enacted
legislation, but he sat on his
hands.”
Grumbme stressed the need for
all hog producers to get mvolved,
stating “I can’t believe how many
hog producers are ignoring the
problem. Them negative attitude
shocks and disturbs me.”
Referring to the situation m
Lancaster County, Grumbme said
some of the farmers are refusing to
depopulate. He pointed out the key
to controlling pseudorabies is
depopulating.
Grumbme said purebred swine
breeders are willing to do anything
to get nd of the stigma surroun
ding swine m southeastern Penn
sylvania these days. However, he
noted, the problem with
pseudorabies isn’t in the purebred
herds since they are already
required to blood test.
One way of curtailing the spread
of pseudorabies in-the state, said
Grumbme, is to allow no more
swine to be unported into the state.
This would benefit Pennsylvania
swine breeders, he said.
Gnunbme questioned the ef
fectiveness of writing regulations
for commercial hog producers
because of the difficulty of policing
them.
“Out m the Midwest, there are
check stations on all the mam
arteries travelled by the truckers.
There’s none in Pennsylvania.
Here you can almost walk a boar
from one farm to the next,” he
mused. “So, all their regulations
end up m the purebred breeder’s
lap. Here their regulations can be
enforced simply while feeder pigs
keep running up and down the
coast.
(Continued from Page Al)
“Considering what it costs daily
to buy the hogs and what it costs to
slaughter them, compared to what
we get when we sell the meat, Penn
Packing couldn’t continue to
operate.
“We’re closed indefinitely until
economic conditions might change
to warrant reopening.”
Among the financial troubles
cited by Lipoff were its labor costs
in the slaughter and cutting
processes. Penn Packing did no
further processing operations.
"Our base rate for employees is
$9.06 an hour,” he said.
“To that must be added between
s4.soandss.oom fringe benefits.”
He denied that the firm was
experiencing any higher absentee
rate among employees than others
in the packing industry.
One report listed absenteeism at
about 10 percent, though.
Penn Packing has a work force
of about 600 employees. Dunng-the
past peak season, slaughter bad
been running about 30,000 or 31,000
head a week from September to
March. The firm had been
operating five days a week and
some Saturdays.
Recently before closing, kills
had been cut back to four days a
week.
Besides the station at Ephrata,
Penn Packing had received hogs in
Delaware, Maryland and Illinois.
A large number of hogs had been
trucked in from the Midwest.
During the last week of
operations, a large number of
these Midwest bogs died in the high
temperatures and humidity on
Tuesday, June 16.
Reportedly, 500 or more hogs
died when a convoy of some 10
trucks arrived at Penn Packing
and became backed up '
(Continued from Page AX)
North Dakota co-op, calling for
indirect member solicitation.
Krzymmski explained Land ‘O
Lakes defended; them (Land O
“But the commercial producer
cares less about disease control
and seed stock. The purebred
breeder, who’s in the minority,
pays the penalty. When you're
trying to market animals for
between $l,OOO and $5,000, you have
to depopulate or never sellanother
hog. You have to maintain your
credibility.
“1 suppose it’s going to have to
hurt everyone’s pocketbook more
than it is now before the state’s
pseudorabies problem will be
solved,” Grumbme concluded.
Big piggies
Despite efforts to hose them
down and keep them cool, the high
death toll resulted.
The incident had no effect on the
decision to cease operations, ac
cording to Lipoff. The loss was that
of the truckers, not Penn, he said.
Until the marketing situation
stabilizes, the total impact of the
Penn Packing closing will not he
known.
But hog auctions in Lancaster
County already saw an increase in
-the number of head consigned this
week. Some were up about 400
head.
The question of auction price
quotes has arisen several" i mes in
contacts with both buyers and
farmers. Some claim that lo.ver
prices are being dropped off the
quotes.
Thus if the lower prices are
dropped off auction. reports, it
serves to "inflate” the price range
that is actually paid for hogs on
any given day.
Also, it was reported that efforts
had been attempted by the auc
tions to secure prompt, daily
payments from buyers since the
auctions make payments to con
signing farmers on the day of the
saie. But it was reported that such
efforts were abandoned by some
auctions when buyers let it be
known that . they favor the
traditional several days lag time in
making payment to the auctions.
And thus as the rhyme goes:
•‘This little piggy went to
market.'
"And this little piggy stayed at
home.”
Still to be seen are how they will
continue to go to market and when.
And hopefully, as many farmers
explain, the pigs won’t be staying
'home too long, eating unnecessary
feed and putting on excess fat.
FEC denies
Lakes) request by claiming in
dividuals in' locals had a greater >.
overall influence or a more direct
relationship with Land 'O Lakes.
The large co-op also argued that
under federal 13601* regulations, a
federated labor assocahon can
from members of local
unions, a' point that had not sur
faced at-the Midstate hearing, said
Krzynunski.
Currently an advisory com
mittee to the National Council of
Farmer Cooperatives is preparing
a draft for a petition to amend the
regulation. However due to a
‘‘cumbersome regulatory
process, ” explained Krzynunski, it
may be another six months before
legislative wheels move in jthe
direction of a change.