KANSAS CITY, MO. — While some U.S. pork companies are currently looking at the possibility of inoculating their hogs against the H1N1 virus, others — like Cargill — have already made the decision to move forward (See Cargill plans H1N1 inoculation, Smithfield undecided in the Nov. 2 edition of MEATPOULTRY.com).

When asked if Tyson Foods planned to inoculate its hogs against H1N1, company spokesman Gary Mickelson pointed out that Tyson’s pork operations are not vertically integrated and that the pork producers it works with are not currently required to vaccinate its herds.

However, Tyson does own a relatively small subsidiary known as The Pork Group, which includes 50,000 sows on farms in Oklahoma and Arkansas. "The Pork Group’s veterinarians continuously monitor the health of these hogs and there are currently no plans to vaccinate them for H1N1," Mr. Mickelson told MEATPOULTRY.com in an e-mail.