Joe Dales's Blog (72)

Barn Hero Alma Valdez: From Power Washing to Managing Barns

The breathtaking views of Guanajuato, Mexico, weren’t easy to leave behind, but Ma Merced Yebra knew her children deserved better than what she could provide them there. Although her husband went to the U.S. often to find work, he never saved enough to help his family back in Mexico. One day she decided to take a chance on a new life in the U.S., leaving behind her roots and venturing into the unknown with her four young children. “We didn’t have a lot growing up,” says Alma Valdez, her youngest daughter. “We were very poor. We lived in a house made of cardboard and metal sheets. We struggled a lot. My mother’s decision to leave her home in Guanajuato to come to the U.S. changed my life completely.” This journey led them to DeKalb, Ill. At the age of 8, Valdez turned all her focus to learning English — fast. Unfortunately, very few teachers knew Spanish at the time, so it made it difficult for her to learn. “I guess that’s where I started learning to not give up, to always try to se

Veterinary diagnostic scientists develop rapid tool to detect swine disease

Endemic animal health threats such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) result in large losses of revenue to US producers every year and pose ongoing challenges to the biosecurity and bio-containment practices of the swine industry, according to a recent article from the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Mitigating these impacts through rapid detection, response and recovery requires a robust and coordinated diagnostic infrastructure with active monitoring and surveillance systems. With a $1 million Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant from NIFA, Iowa State University scientists and their collaborators at South Dakota State University, University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, Ohio Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory, and Purdue University are leveraging the Swine Disease Reporting System (SDRS) to rapidly detect new strains of this PRRSV. They have launched a one-of-a-kind web-based tool called the SDRS BLAST To

Curating The Next Generation of Culinary Experts

On the east side of London’s diverse range of stores and restaurants, there’s a commercial kitchen providing a cultural experience difficult to replicate in this part of the province.  

U.S. South Identified as Highest Risk Region for North American Japanese Encephalitis Introduction

A Swine Health Information Center funded risk assessment has identified the U.S. south as the highest risk region for the potential introduction of Japanese encephalitis virus into North America.

Pork Producers Encouraged to Step Up Biosecurity as Spring Planting Activity Increases Potential for Movement of Viruses

The Director of Swine Health with Manitoba Pork suggests, as spring planting activity stirs up more dust increasing the potential for the movement of viruses, pork producers will need to pay particular attention to biosecurity.