African swine fever (ASF) and foreign animal disease (FAD) preparedness aren’t exactly topics your kids will learn about in classrooms across the country. But thanks to the efforts of The Ohio State University, more and more young swine enthusiasts are gaining knowledge and awareness of these terms and the important role biosecurity plays in protecting the U.S. swine herd.
Last summer, Andreia Arruda, Jacqueline Nolting, Jack Korenyi-Both and Juan Hernandez Cuevas of The Ohio State University (OSU) set out to bring more awareness to these issues by attending youth swine shows and visiting with swine exhibitors and their parents. Their goal? To help these families complete Secure Pork Supply plans, focused on actions that would be taken during a disease emergency.
“We want to provide people involved in the show pig industry with easy tools to create enhanced biosecurity plans for their farms, so they are ready to respond to a potential emergency event, such as a possible introduction of ASF in the U.S. swine herd,” Arruda says.
Eliminate Obstacles
Secure Pork Supply (SPS) is a voluntary program that helps swine producers prepare for an FAD event. One of the major components of the program is to create a comprehensive biosecurity plan and a map of the site pigs are housed.
“This can be an overwhelming task since there are several important information pieces to be covered. Our job at OSU during shows is to simplify the documents and walk producers through the process, hopefully making it easier to digest the information. If they finish their plans on the spot, that is great. If not, we hope this will begin the process and that they can continue it later,” Korenyi-Both explains.
One of the big hang-ups can often be time. It requires dedication and time to read lots of materials and understand the different pieces, he adds.
“We know people involved in animal caretaking are usually very busy. You really need to make this a priority in order to get it done in high quality standards,” Korenyi-Both says. “Another important piece is that people tend to think ‘this will never happen to me.’ This type of mentality needs to be re-evaluated, because we can never really predict where diseases will emerge, since some of the factors are simply outside of our control.”
The team set up shop at some of the major national youth swine shows in the country. The response to their efforts was greatly appreciated by the youth exhibitors and their families.
Kansas stock show mom Carla Nemecek says she appreciates the efforts of OSU to teach kids about biosecurity rules, health guidelines and best practices for disease prevention in animals and humans, all while increasing their awareness of careers in public and animal health.
“Once people get engaged and go through the process, they think it is very helpful,” Cuevas says. “A lot of the comments we heard were that ‘it was not as hard as I thought,’ and that it was a good lesson to think about all the different components. Plus, people really like to discuss their site, how everything works, how they take care of their pigs, etc. This is a very nice experience for them and also for us, since we learn a lot with every single plan. Every site is unique, and you can always learn about how people do the same thing depending on the state, neighborhood, site topology, etc.”
Now is the Time
Don’t wait for an emergency to happen. It’s important to think about and practice biosecurity now – regardless of how big or small your swine operation is.
“We also always think clearer during “peace times,” compared to “war times,” which is another reason to complete this now instead of waiting until you absolutely need it,” Nolting says. “If we have an FAD incursion, once continuity of business resumes, everyone will need a biosecurity plan for activities such as moving healthy swine or non-contaminated swine products (including semen). So, this plan will need to be included right along with permits and other pieces of information, such as transport details and results from diagnostic testing.”
Although Arruda and her team hope the SPS plans won’t be needed, she believes it has great value regardless.
“An SPS plan will make you think through important things in your facility, and this will contribute to a quick response in case of a disease incursion. If you ever are caught in an unfortunate situation of a disease introduction, you will have plenty of things to solve. This is an opportunity to get this done, and not need to worry about it. Plus, you will learn something new (guaranteed!), which can help you prevent and control other diseases in your pigs,” Arruda says.
Editor’s Note: Funding from the project was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Disease Preparedness Response Program; and through the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence (student scholarship).
Read More:
The Swientist Craze: Why Kids Are Lining Up to Learn About Swine Biosecurity
No, Showing Livestock Isn’t Always Supposed to Be Fun
The Stock Show “Prize” We Need to Talk More About
