January2024 - Journal-No PN Final WEB - Flipbook - Page 6
Health
2024 HEALTH OUTLOOK
for the U.S. Swine Industry
Dr. Joel Nerem joined PIPESTONE in 2006 and now practices as the
Chief Veterinary Of昀椀cer. The West Union, Iowa, native is a graduate
of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and earned his DVM from Iowa
State University in 1995.
Joel Nerem, DVM
Chief Veterinary Of昀椀cer
Pipestone Veterinary Services
For the U.S. swine industry
(and most of the world), 2023
has been a year most pig
farmers would like to forget –
not because disease issues were
worse than normal, but because
market prices have not been
favorable. The short-term outlook
is still challenging, but we hope
farmers will be better rewarded
in 2024. Being a veterinarian (and
not an economist), I will reserve
my 2024 predictions to issues
surrounding pig health and the
U.S. pig farmer.
Regarding pig health, I have
three major predictions and offer
my recommendations for farmers
in preparing for the year ahead:
6 | PIPESTONE JOURNAL
PREDICTIONS
1
NO CHANGE TO
DISEASE
TRENDS
There will be
no signi昀椀cant changes to trends
in the major diseases affecting
U.S. farms. I include on this
list Porcine Reproductive and
Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS),
porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED),
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae,
and swine in昀氀uenza. Monitoring
platforms, such as the Morrison
Swine Health Monitoring
Program, continue to show similar
disease incidence and prevalence
trends year after year. I have no
reason to believe that we should
expect different results in 2024.
2
INCREASED THREAT
OF FOREIGN
ANIMAL
DISEASE
3
GENE EDITING
WILL BE
APPROVED
African Swine Fever (ASF) will
continue to be the number one
Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) threat
to the U.S. ASF continues to spread
worldwide. I believe it will exist
in more countries (not less) next
year than this year. It still poses a
devasting risk to U.S. pork exports
and our industry.
I predict that gene
editing will be approved in pigs
by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Currently,
the FDA is reviewing the
application made by Genus-PIC
for approval of a gene-edited
pig that is resistant to PRRS
virus infection. This technology
offers a real solution to our most
signi昀椀cant domestic disease. It
also raises questions about how
the consumer will respond to the
use of such technology in food
animals. In addition, the impact of
gene editing has the potential to
go way beyond disease resistance
by impacting traits such as meat
quality, pig physiology, and the
ability to utilize nutrients in the
feed.
