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PCVAD Increases Cost of Production

Smithfield Foods' CEO Larry Pope reportedly commented in a recent conference call that Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCVAD) had contributed to increasing the company's cost of production by about $1.25 per hundredweight or approximately 3% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Pope stated that the cost of production at Murphy-Browns, Inc., Smithfield's live animal production subsidiary, for the quarter ending July 31 was about $41.50 per hundredweight. This represents an increase of approximately $1.50 compared to the same quarter in 2005, with the additional $0.25 cost increase attributed to higher feed and energy prices. Most of the losses related to PCVAD occurred in the company's North Carolina production facilities, but losses were also reported in their Midwest operations as well.

PCVAD is not confined to Smithfield Foods. The virus is common in all swine herds worldwide and the disease has been identified in most swine-producing countries but poses no human health risk.

Smithfield Foods is currently testing commercially available vaccines targeting porcine circovirus.

Source:
Cattlenetwork.com, August 23, 2006