Swine surgery research
The University of Guelph is babysitting three pigs that could donate organs to humansBy ROBERT IRWIN
"Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you and pigs think you're their equal," goes the old saying.It turns out some pig organs are pretty much equal to human ones and the University of Guelph is babysitting three potential swine donors with a human gene that might be just what the doctor ordered.
Draft guidelines developed in the U.S. define xenotransplantation as any procedure that involves the use of live cells, tissues and organs from a non-human animal source, transplanted or implanted into a human.
The technology could save the lives of tens of thousands of humans who die each year due to a lack of organs for transplant.
Until recently xenotransplant studies were kept under wraps and were the exclusive domain of human medical researchers. "But there are a number of skills that reside at a vet school that could come into play," says Dr. Larry Milligan, the university's vice-president of research.
He emphasizes the university has "not made any commitment whatsoever to get into xenotransplantation research."
A few months ago, Swiss based conglomerate Novartis announced a $1.5 million donation to establish a xenotransplantation research chair at the University of Western Ontario.
But a vocal opposition warns the process is unethical and will unleash unimaginable diseases. It is known that two kinds of swine viruses are capable of infecting human cells. Porcine endogenous retro viruses cause no symptoms in pigs but no one knows whether they can be transferred to humans during transplants or if they can mutate and cause disease.
Imutran Ltd. is a U.K. subsidiary of Novartis and owns the three pigs in Guelph that are being studied as potential organ donors. Imutran has pledged to investigate the risk of transmission of pig viruses to humans.
Many burn victims have received pig skin, while diabetics have received pancreatic islet cells from pigs. Imutran is experimenting with use of pig livers and kidneys for use as temporary dialysis machines.
Scientists like the fact human and pig hearts, lungs, kidneys and livers are similar in size and handle similar work loads. But the biggest obstacle to xenotransplants to date has been rejection of the new organs by the recipient.
Rejection of transplants from one human to another can be overcome with drugs that suppress the immune system. In the case of xenotransplants it appears drugs are ineffective but the problem can be overcome by creating a pig that has a human gene.
But opponents argue it's unethical to create animals containing human characteristics.
Keith Robbins, Ontario Pork's communication director, says the board hasn't been involved in the issue. Still, some in the pork sector have quietly, very quietly, speculated on what could happen to their industry if consumers ever got the idea they were engaging in cannibalism by consuming human genes with their pork or questioning how many human genes it takes before the porcine species should be classified as human.
"The characteristic of being a human is far more than a gene that produces a single protein," emphasizes Milligan.
He stresses the research community "is extremely cognizant of the need to never have those animals enter the food chain or the general population." That means all cull animals are euthanized and incinerated.
Guelph animal scientists are currently monitoring behaviour, performance, health status and reproduction of Imutran's three prototype porkers that Milligan says "look like any other pigs." Any future role Guelph may play in Western's transplant program could be mapped out when Imutran officials from England visit this month.
© copyright 1998 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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When fowl smells foul
Thanksgiving became a quality assurance learning experience for one Ontario processorBY CHRISTINA SELBY
It was a Thanksgiving to remember for P&H Foods.In what could best be described as a cautionary tale for processors, the Oakville-based company found out what happens when holes appear in your quality assurance program or when a foul smell accompanies fresh turkey to the holiday dinner table.
P&H Foods thought it had done its food-safety homework. The company instituted a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) protocol to spot potential contamination at various points in its processing operation.
But one mistake has cost the company dearly.
"HACCP is only as good as the people who administer it," says Paul Borg, president of P&H, which processes fresh and frozen Butterball turkeys as well as other brands. A refrigeration problem "lessened the quality" of fresh Butterball and Golden West brands across Canada, and fresh President's Choice birds sold in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic provinces.
Fresh turkeys have to be cooled to a level that will allow them to weather the changing environments encountered during transportation to retail outlets and then to consumers, says Borg. But the company "dropped the ball" for three days and birds processed during that period never got down to optimum temperature, he says.
The problem was discovered when a customer complained of a "bad smell," and the retailer traced the bird back to P&H Foods. Unfortunately, even though Borg says the company has "all the critical control points covered," there was no effective recall system in place. The company voluntarily recalled 100,000 birds on Oct. 8, the Thursday before Thanksgiving, "rather than take any chances," he says, even though only 10 to 15 per cent were actually processed during the three-day period. The company had no mechanism for identifying on what day birds were processed. "I couldn't discriminate between the good and bad birds," he says.
"Now there are more rigid controls over temperature and all critical controls over the whole process," says Borg. Each bird is numbered to ensure traceability, he says. While P&H is tightening up control measures, compliance with Canada's HACCP-type program - the Food Safety Enhancement Program - is still voluntary.
He estimates Thanksgiving's "management breakdown" cut the shelf life of the cryovac-packed turkeys from 28 days to 14. He says the turkeys never presented a health threat as they were being sold for Thanksgiving and would likely have been cooked the weekend following the recall.
The company is hoping to save about 10 per cent of turkeys returned by retailers, who Borg says have been "tremendous, most co-operative." Birds that passed re-inspection for wholesomeness and microbial testing were repackaged and frozen, he says. Unfortunately, the birds were still trickling back into the plant two weeks after Thanksgiving - many beyond the extent of their shelf life. Those that couldn't be repackaged were sent to a rendering plant, he says.
"The problem has been identified and is well under control," says Borg. "It will never happen again."
© copyright 1998 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Drought disaster hits hard in Grey-Bruce cattle country
As hay and water supplies run out, area cattle producers look to unload their herds and contemplate next yearBY DON STONEMAN
Unseasonably warm, dry fall weather was no consolation to farmers gathered late October at the Keady sales barn in that rural crossroads community southwest of Owen Sound.Farmers were looking to the skies for rain, even though creek-filling downpours now would be far too late to help this season's crops. While the auctioneer delivered his rapid-fire patter at the weekly sale, the talk was of farmers selling their herds and of wells drying up.
"I hear people talk about it every day," says Bill Davis, a feedlot operator and cattle buyer from Paisley, in Elderslie township. "One farmer needs to drill three wells this fall. This water thing is something else."
There is a nine-week backlog on even emergency well drilling. If your well draws dust now it will be January before a rig can come to drill for a new water source.
Harry Thede's well went dry Sept. 1. He sold his 340 stockers at a sale the next day. He had taken the cattle off pasture the second week of July and fed them hay. A new well was drilled in late October, but Thede, at Port Elgin, didn't have the feed to winter cattle over. His first cut crop was 70 per cent of normal and there was no second cut. On average, his cattle weighed about 100 pounds less each than normal at sale because of the lack of feed.
"I may just sit out for a while and not buy any cattle," Thede says.
Bill Davis's neighbour, Jack Cumming, sold his stockers in early summer and bought more this fall to overwinter. The cattle picked at the grass outside, but mostly got exercise and the fresh air, Cumming says. The cattle were coming inside to eat.
Davis says hay supplies can't begin to fill the demand. It will be hard to winter cows when hay costs $40 a bale. Davis reckons it will cost $300 to $400 to winter a cow that will produce a calf selling for $500 next fall: "It just doesn't work," he says.
Davis, too, has felt the drought. He got one-and-two-fifths inches of rain at his farm between May 1 and Sept. 1.
Feedlot operators like Davis can buy byproducts. There is a pile of carrots in his feed yard. "It's a bit of a help," he says. It would be impossible to buy the hay to feed these cattle, he says.
The hay shortage has, ironically, forced the price of calves up. It's easier to feed 100 calves than 30 cows, Davis says.
The previous night a farmer phoned Davis with 140 head to sell. He has to sell because he doesn't think he has the feed to winter over the cattle. "If we had a mild winter maybe we could do it. But you can't tell. People don't know what to do. They are just torn."
Midsummer, municipal leaders in Bruce county declared four townships disaster areas because of the drought. Since then four more townships to the north have done the same, and the disaster zone is spreading. Derby township in northern Grey county declared late October. "There will be a dozen when it's all said and done, if not more," Davis predicts.
"Cows are pretty cheap," says Lyn Caldwell, a cash crop and beef farmer in North Bruce township. He is going into the winter with about half of a normal hay crop in the barn and his fingers crossed. He salvaged some of his grain corn by ensiling it.
Caldwell's second growth of hay is about four inches high. The no-till soybeans he drilled into another first-cut field June 1 germinated in some places, grew about four inches high and put out about a pod or two per plant, with two seeds per pod. Caldwell hasn't bothered to combine the 15 acres. He wouldn't get his 110 pounds of seed per acre back.
"It's worse than my barn fire," says Caldwell. With the fire, he knew shortly what he would get back from the insurance company and was able to plan ahead. He wonders if he will get a hay crop next year from the fields that are seeded down.
These dry conditions didn't happen overnight, he says. Last year was dry as well. "The forage program thatcrop insurance has isn't very equitable," he says.
Pasture, hay and soybeans were worst hit. Caldwell would like to see that yields from this devastating year aren't plugged into the crop insurance yields.
Both Caldwell and Davis are on a drought disaster committee that will make a presentation to Ontario Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve before Christmas. A survey is being circulated to farmers in the drought area, asking for details on losses to bolster the case for aid.
Farm price relief in the U.S. adds pressure to the situation. Caldwell is concerned that area producers won't be able to compete with their better-compensated U.S. competitors. The Canadian government has pulled out a lot of safety nets such as tripartite stabilization for beef, Caldwell says. "It would have helped to cushion us a little bit through this."
© copyright 1998 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Drought relief tips
Farmers affected by drought need to consider a number of issues.Colin Reesor, commodity marketing program lead at Bruce county OMAFRA, Walkerton, advises soil testing hay fields and pastures to determine nutrient requirements. To rejuvenate pastures he suggests farmers seed pastures with trefoil in December or frost seed next spring before cattle are put on, letting them tramp it in. Farmers needing feed for cattle can cut hay now, although Reesor says this will affect next year's first cut hay.
Pat Kuntz, Bruce OMAFRA agriculture and rural rep, says farmers should evaluate energy matter in their corn silage and adjust cattle feed rations accordingly. Dairy farmers feeding a high grain ration can use cotton seed as an alternative roughage source, suggests Kuntz: "Cotton seed balances the fibre in the ration."
Kuntz says further assistance can be garnered through the farm family advisory program, in which farm families are matched with a commodity-specific peer from another county and have their economic picture analyzed, looking for possible financial problem solutions, at no cost. Up to $2,000 can be accessed through Profession Services Assistance Program for stress counselling, he says, and consultants will assist with restructuring business plans. - Joanne Bregmann
© copyright 1998 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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Insurance under review
If there's a sliver lining to be had in the Bruce and Grey drought, says Bruce farmer Lyn Caldwell, it might be that "the crop insurance program will be changed and made to suit situations like this."But Agricorp, which provides crop insurance programs in Ontario, says rapid change is unlikely.
"We've just completed a review," says Greg Brown, general manager of Agricorp's agricultural insurance division. "We think the current plan does a pretty good job when it looks at an area." And drought is really the only peril that it covers. Forage is a difficult crop to insure, Brown says, as it is difficult to establish baseline yields on forages since they can be harvested as dry hay, silage, or even pasture.
The review committee would like to make the plan more individualized for producers. "We have a plan that works fairly well when an area is hit by drought," Brown says. "We'd like to make it better than it currently is." The committee is recommending spending next year looking at it, Brown says, so the current plan will be in place through 1999.
Brown says Agricorp insures 12,000 acres of forage in Grey and Bruce counties, and 320,000 acres across the province. "It's quite a low percentage of coverage, based on what is grown in that area and provincially," Brown says.
All the provinces and the U.S. struggle with this crop, Brown says. "There are no easy answers."
© copyright 1998 Agricultural Publishing Company Limited.
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