Disposal Options in an FAD Outbreak

June 20, 2022 — 

Besides the actual depopulation itself, determining how to dispose of carcasses is also a difficult decision.

Equipment, inputs and time are the three primary considerations in terms of disposal, said Marguerite Tan, Director of Environmental Programs for the National Pork Board.

Methods include:

• Incineration
• Deep-pit burial
• Whole composting
• Ground composting
• Shallow burial with carbon (treatments that require carbon)

Many factors come into consideration, including virus inactivation, available real estate, distance to groundwater, soil types, well- and surface-water locations, topography, state regulations and deed restrictions.

Tan went through each of the methods and how the factors above can affect each decision. She said the industry is searching for innovative ideas to meet the challenges associated with depopulation and disposal. In fact, the 2022 Pork Industry Innovation Challenge is all about finding innovative on-farm mortality management methods. Someone could win up to $46,000 for a good idea. (Learn more here: www.Go.porkcheckoff.org/challenge)

There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the methods and each should be evaluated carefully, Tan explained.

Read the full story at Farm Journal's Pork

[Source: Farm Journal's Pork 17 June 2022]