Melissa Mueller, right, of Shiloh (St. Clair County) and an animal science major at Southern Illinois University, discusses the threat of a foreign animal disease outbreak with exhibitors at the USDA booth during the Illinois Pork Expo in Springfield earlier this year. USDA collected and updated premises ID information at the event. (Photo credit: Daniel Grant and FarmWeekNow)
Local hog producers continue to monitor the African Swine Fever, which has decimated herds in China and has now moved into other parts of Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. What about keeping the disease out of the U.S. hog population. Lower Rock Island County producer Tom Declerck of Taylor Ridge says it’s all about bio-security.
Declerk has been farming for around 40-years.