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FFAR and NPB fund African Swine Fever research

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the National Pork Board are awarding $535,000 to African Swine Fever research projects.

Dr. Tim Kurt with FFAR says the money will fund four different projects. One conducted by Iowa State University has pigs chew on a rope to collect their saliva and test for the virus.

“This is really important, not just for identifying whether a pen of animals might have the virus, but actually for farmers to demonstrate that their herds are negative for the virus.”

The other three projects at Kansas State University look at how the virus survives under different conditions, detecting the virus in animal blood, and testing for ASF with cheek swabs.

Kurt says ASF research is a top priority for FFAR. 

“FFAR’s approach is to try to address some of the more actionable products and outcomes so that we an have a short-term impact on hopefully preventing this disease or if it were to occur, we could hopefully lock it down and prevent further transmission.”

Kurt says the US pork industry raises 125 million pigs annually, is worth $20 billion and supports over half a million US jobs, so the economy would take a huge hit from an uncontrolled ASF outbreak.