BioSec Bob here on Monday, June 22, 2026 — let’s get right into it.
Vietnam’s dealing with another significant African swine fever outbreak, this one in Lam Dong Province. According to Laodong.vn, authorities have destroyed more than 3,700 pigs in response to the detection. That’s a substantial loss in a single event, and it underscores how quickly ASF can spread through a region when it takes hold. Vietnam’s been battling these outbreaks consistently over the past few years, and each one chips away at herd recovery efforts.
Over on the poultry side, the USDA is putting more money on the table for meat and poultry market development. The Antigo Daily Journal reports the agency is expanding its funding availability, which should help processors and producers alike navigate some of the infrastructure and market access challenges that’ve been persistent since the pandemic disruptions. Details on allocation formulas and application timelines should be coming through USDA channels this week.
There’s a development on the vaccine front worth your attention. South Korea’s CAVAC has just received an export licence for an African swine fever vaccine, foodagribusiness.world is reporting. That’s significant because ASF vaccine options remain limited globally, and having another licensed product available could eventually expand access for producers in countries where swine fever’s still spreading. It’ll take time to scale up and distribute, but it’s another tool in the toolkit.
Heading to Australia now, where the country’s largest poultry farm has shut down after a second deadly case of H5 bird flu was detected there. Anadolu Ajansı reports the operation’s closed following that confirmation. A second case at a single facility — that’s the kind of pattern that triggers hard decisions fast. Australia had managed to keep bird flu mostly contained until recently, so this marks a real shift in the disease pressure they’re seeing.
Up in North Dakota, there’s some good news on the research side. Farm Progress is reporting that North Dakota State University has unveiled a new swine barn facility. It’s a teaching and research operation that’ll help producers stay current on barn design, biosecurity integration, and production efficiency. Having modern infrastructure for swine research at the university level gives farmers and veterinarians a testing ground for new approaches before they roll them out on commercial farms.
Finally, the Philippines is tightening down hard. The Manila Times reports African swine fever’s been detected in towns in Capiz Province, and strict biosecurity measures are now being enforced across the area. That means movement restrictions, quarantine protocols, and close monitoring on farms in the region. Capiz is a significant production area, so the economic impact of those measures will be real for producers there.
Keep your biosecurity protocols sharp — disease doesn’t take Mondays off.