Grinding of swine mortality for compost under cold weather conditions
for viral elimination
- Brent Pepin,
- Todd Williams,
- Dale Polson,
- Phillip Gauger,
- Scott Dee
Abstract
The elimination of a foreign animal disease requires an efficient means
of disposal for infected or exposed mortality and carcasses. Limited
studies have been performed on the monitoring of swine viruses over time
in compost piles, and this study looked to fill those knowledge gaps.
The majority of the pig population in the United States resides in the
Midwest, where adverse weather conditions in the winter exist.
Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the ability to grind carcasses
for windrow formation to eliminate viral pathogens in the face of
adverse weather conditions. This study further evaluated the
environmental safety of the grinding processes and the potential for
contamination from compost windrows themselves. The study reveals that
grinding of infected carcasses in cold weather conditions is a low
potential risk for environmental contamination of the air and
groundwater. There is an observable difference between the compared
compost materials used in virus elimination potential. The grinding and
compost method is a viable option for carcass disposal in the face of a
Foreign Animal Disease outbreak for pathogen elimination.