Iowa State University has set up an informational program over the Iowa Communications Network today to talk about concerns surrounding the “hoof and mouth” disease outbreak in Europe. John Mabry of the Iowa Pork Industry Center at I-S-U says Iowa farmers have a lot of concerns. The center’s getting a lot of calls from farmers with questions about the disease. Mabry says the I-C-N program is designed to answer some of those questions.Mabry says other experts will detail the potential economic impact of the disease on Iowa. He says the U-S has safeguards in place to prevent the disease, but there needs to be more emphasis on enforcing them. Mabry says there aren’t many precautions farmers in Iowa need to worry about yet. The program will be from 7 to 9 p-m tonight. It can be seen at various I-C-N sites across the state. Mabry says this program will focus on hogs, but the Iowa Beef Center will hold a session on cattle April 18th.
