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USDA renews PRRS CAP funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is
renewing its funding of the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)
Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP). The USDA will invest $4.8 million
over the next four years to reduce the animal and economic losses associated
with the disease.
PRRS CAP was funded in 2004 and led by the University
of Minnesota. The program brought together a community of scientists,
veterinarians, pork producers, represented by the Pork Checkoff, and industry to
develop innovative strategies to lessen the impact of
PRRS
and work toward the
virus' eradication. The program is now led by Bob Rowland of Kansas State
University.
Some of the successes of the
effort include the development of vaccines; understanding how the virus spreads
and the development of successful biosecurity practices to control infection and
re-infection. Recent findings now provide guidelines for maintenance of
PRRS
-free herds without the
use of vaccination.
The Pork Checkoff represents the industry on the
PRRS CAP stakeholder board and Lisa Becton, director of swine health research
and information, is project co-director of the program. Among other
things, Becton helps coordinate program goals, research calls and research
findings through the pork.org and prrs.org Web sites.
"The Pork Checkoff
also supports PRRS CAP research objectives through the National Pork Board's
PRRS Initiative funds," Becton said. ""Producers today have many tools and
valuable information thanks to the PRRS CAP project.
Producers, through their Checkoff, and many other
institutions in the United States and in other countries have all played an
important part in deciphering the world of
PRRS
as we know it. But, there's still much more to learn about PRRS and we are
ecstatic that funding has been renewed."
Requests for PRRS research
proposal-funding through PRRS CAP are due Aug. 20. Information on funding
and applying for funding can be found online at
prrs.org. Also online is information on the upcoming
International PRRS Symposium to be held in Chicago, Ill., on Dec. 5-6.
Related Website
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Pork Checkoff
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