Producers need to prepare for African swine fever shutdown

When African swine fever appears, producers will face the sort of shock they experienced in 2020. “The COVID packing plant backup and shutdown gives us a preview of the impacts that can have,” said Dr. Anna Forseth in an interview at the World Pork Expo. ASF has spread across Asia into Europe, all the way to the Atlantic coast, and sent chills down the spines of the North American hog industry when it appeared in the Caribbean. Pork industries in Canada, the United States and Mexico have been working feverishly to prepare, but whenever it appears, the short-term impact will be severe.