1. New incentive program aims to boost food-animal vet care in Georgia [edited]
By Sam Sachs
WSBTV.com
September 13, 2026
ATHENS/TIFTON, Ga. - Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Sept. 2 in an effort to address Georgia's shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and the state's food-animal agriculture sector.
The five-year agreement, signed at Tift Hall on the ABAC campus, establishes the Georgia Rural Practice Veterinary Incentive Program to create a pathway for undergraduate students interested in rural and food-animal veterinary medicine.
The program targets a growing shortage in specialized veterinary care.
Selected ABAC students in the program will receive specialized advising from an ABAC faculty member in the Animal Science track and mentoring from a UGA College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member specializing in food-animal medicine.
To qualify, applicants must be Georgia residents, demonstrate a strong interest in animal agriculture and complete their first full academic year in ABAC's Animal Science track within the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major.
2. PRRS: A billion-dollar problem for hog producers
As PRRS strains become harder to eliminate, the National Pork Board and producers are taking a systematic approach to disease prevention.
By Elizabeth Hodges
Farm Progress
September 10, 2026
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome costs the U.S. swine industry more than $1 billion annually, said Seth Mitchell, executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Council.
But PRRS doesn't have to be part of the cost of doing business.
At the 2026 Nebraska Pork Conference, producers and allied industries gathered to discuss how the industry can slow PRRS impact with the goal of eradication.
"PRRS was identified in 1987, almost four decades ago, as a mystery swine disease," said Dusty Oedekoven, chief veterinarian of the National Pork Board. "PRRS continues to evolve and change, and the newer strains being identified are more pathogenic. They're harder to eliminate."
Oedekoven said tools that once worked to eliminate PRRS are no longer as effective. With this new reality, leading organizations are working to stop the disease, but it will take every farm to reach this goal.
Full text: https://www.farmprogress.com/animal-health/prrs-a-billion-dollar-problem-for-hog-producers
3. MDARD Encourages Animal Owners to Continue Taking Steps to Prevent HPAI as Wild Birds Migrate this Fall [MI - edited]
Vigilance is still needed as HPAI continues to be detected in the United States
MDARD News Release
September 14, 2026
LANSING, Mich.-While highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has not been detected in Michigan's domestic animals since March 2026, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) encourages animal owners to remain vigilant and take preventative measures as wild birds start their fall migration.
"Since the current outbreak of HPAI began in February 2022, wild birds have been prominent carriers of this virus, serving as the most common cause for the spread of this disease. As wild birds have started to migrate this year, the virus is already being detected in poultry in Idaho, Minnesota, and South Dakota," said State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, DVM, MS, DACVPM. "HPAI still poses a threat to Michigan's domestic animals, and taking measures to prevent animals from being exposed to wild birds and their germs is the best way to protect against this disease."
In 2025, there was a total of 22 detections of HPAI in Michigan: 10 detections in commercial poultry flocks and 12 detections in backyard flocks. Of these 22 detections, 13 of them occurred in the fall. So far, in 2026, the virus was found in two commercial flocks and one backyard flock earlier this spring. While it is difficult to predict the impact of this disease for the upcoming fall season, keeping wild birds away from domestic animals will reduce the risk of disease.
4. Rural Veterinary Task Force marks five years of progress [KS]
Kansas Livestock Association
FarmTalkNews.com
September 10, 2026
The Rural Veterinary Workforce Task Force has released a five-year impact summary highlighting progress in strengthening the pipeline and retention of veterinarians serving Kansas' rural communities. The coalition includes representatives from KLA, the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Livestock Marketing Association, Kansas Department of Agriculture and Kansas State University.
"KLA members rely on veterinarians for both routine and emergency animal care and are increasingly concerned about access to those services in rural Kansas," said KLA Chief Executive Officer Matt Teagarden. "Through collaboration on the Rural Veterinary Workforce Task Force, we have made meaningful progress in expanding the number of large-animal veterinarians serving rural communities."
From 2020 to 2025, the task force mapped 446 large- and mixed-animal veterinarians across Kansas and identified coverage gaps. A survey of more than 200 livestock producers found nearly 60% perceive a veterinary shortage.
The task force also has strengthened K-State's Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas, which provides financial incentives for graduates to practice in rural communities. Since 2006, more than 100 students have participated, with 86% remaining in a qualifying county after completing their required service. Recent improvements include increasing loan repayment support to $25,000 annually and expanding program capacity.
Additionally, the coalition supported creation of the proposed Developing Veterinary Medicine in Rural Kansas program. If approved, the program would provide up to $75,000 in financial support to early-career large-animal veterinarians who commit to three years of practice in qualifying rural communities or food-animal-focused practices.
5. Mysterious elk deaths in Nevada could offer clues about health of herds across the West
By Kaleb Roedel
KUNR Public Radio
September 11, 2026
Researchers are focused on a herd of elk north of Elko, in the Independence and Tuscarora mountains, that have been mysteriously dying. In some years, 10% to 30% of collared females in the affected population have died.
Ava Window, a University of Nevada, Reno researcher, said what's puzzling is that the elk are dying during a season when conditions should be working in their favor.
"That's when there's the most forage available to them. That's when they're having their calves, that's when the males are growing their antlers," Window said. "So, this is usually a really good time for them, and the fact that this is when they're dying is very unusual."
The phenomenon has an informal name: seasonal elk mortality syndrome. Window and her colleagues are working with the Nevada Department of Wildlife in an attempt to understand what's causing it.
Full text: https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2026-09-08/mysterious-elk-deaths-nevada-clues-health-herds-west
6. Calgary researchers hunt for a new ivermectin among four billion compounds [Canada]
Roundworms cost the Canadian livestock industry about $2 billion a year in lost production, often without producers noticing
By Lee Hart
Canadian Cattlemen
September 12, 2026
Finding a new drug that will control roundworms in livestock is really no big deal.
For University of Calgary researchers James Wasmuth and Constance Finney (also a husband-and-wife team), all they have to do is screen about four billion different chemical compounds to find the one or two that are effective in killing the pest, which is costing Canadian beef producers billions of dollars annually in lost production. How hard can that be?
Just in terms of numbers, finding an effective parasiticide (or anthelmintic - specific to worms) to replace a product such as the long-standing ivermectin is clearly a daunting task.
The numbers are big, and the amount of testing and evaluation that needs to be done to isolate an effective and safe compound can be tedious and painstakingly slow before a leading prospect can even be brought forward as a product for commercialization.
"It can be a very slow and sometimes disappointing process, but let's just say we are pragmatic optimists," says Wasmuth, a parasite biochemist who, along with Finney, is part of a larger research team.
Full text: https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/features/roundworms-cattle-new-ivermectin/