Understanding PRRSV: Research, Challenges and Industry Efforts With Dr. Brent Pepin

Dr. Brent Pepin, NPB’s director of swine health, takes a deep dive into managing Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRSV). NPB has played a key role in advancing PRRSV research and supporting producers with resources to mitigate disease risks.

Background Information

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been a devastating disease for pork producers since its discovery in 1991. PRRSV continues to be a major challenge affecting production, pig health and welfare. PRRSV infection can cause respiratory disease and mortality...

US Meat Trade Faces Uncertainty Ahead of Tariff Implementation

On Thursday, President Trump reaffirmed his plan to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, set to take effect on February 1, 2025. He is also considering an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports.

The announcement has heightened uncertainty across many industries, including the livestock and meat sectors. The tariffs threaten to significantly disrupt live cattle shipments from Mexico and Canada, both key suppliers...

Compounding these challenges, a ban on feeder cattle imports from Mexico remains in effect following...

Morocco Stops German Feed Grain Imports Over Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Morocco has halted imports of feed grains from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the head of Morocco's grain trade federation (FNCL) said on Thursday.

The import suspension affected "all untreated plant-based feed intended for animal consumption from Germany due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak there," Omar Yacoubi told Reuters.

A source at Morocco's food safety agency ONSSA confirmed that plant-based imports from Germany for animal feed had been "suspended" until Germany is declared free of foot and mouth again or certifies local regions that are free of the disease...

Muyuan Group Sells 71.6 Million Pigs in FY24

Muyuan Group, a large scale Chinese livestock producer, has released its live hog sales data for December 2024, the fourth quarter, and the full fiscal year.

In December 2024, the company sold a total of 8.6 million pigs, including 8.2 million commercial pigs, 360,000 piglets, and 31,000 breeding pigs. These sales generated revenue of CNY 15.4 billion (approximately USD 2.1 billion). Among the total sales, 2.2 million pigs were sold to Muyuan’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Muyuan Meat Co., Ltd., and its subsidiaries.

The average sales price of commercial...

ANALYSIS: Rising Hog Slaughter and Market Supply

As of yesterday's close, the year-to-date total hog slaughter reached 82,805,400 head, marking a 1.2% increase compared to this same period last year, which stood at 81,790,000 head, according to the USDA’s Federally Inspected Hog Slaughter figures.

The data indicates that 2024 has seen higher weekly hog slaughter numbers, particularly at the beginning of the year due to winter weather disruptions that backlogged hogs, and from June to August, surpassing levels from the past two years as well as the three-year average...

Global IT Outage Reaches U.S. Meat Processing Sector

Early Friday, a significant IT outage caused global disruptions across sectors including airlines, banks, and healthcare services. 

Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike identified the issue as a "defect found in a single content update for Windows" and confirmed that it wasn't a security incident or cyberattack. A fix has been deployed, said CrowdStrike. 

The U.S. meat processing sector may also be affected, with one pork plant reportedly experiencing computer issues that could halt operations. Processing plants use computers for critical tasks including inventory management and equipment operations...