Matt Anderson, DVM, remembers clearly when porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) hit the U.S. swine herd. He was serving as president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) when that devastating virus reached U.S. soils.
He says that experience shaped his understanding of the gaps in what the U.S. swine industry was able to do, how to prepare and how to respond.
Less than two years later, Anderson was part of the formation of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), along with several other influential industry leaders. Reflecting back on his service with SHIC, he says he admires the vision held for identifying the need and the role the resulting organization has played since.
“The work SHIC has done filling gaps that existed in preparing the US industry and helping us respond in real-time has been extremely important,” he says. “SHIC is doing work that isn’t necessarily incentivized by economic return.”
Anderson, an owner of Suidae Health and Production in Algona, Iowa, stepped down from his tenure on the board during SHIC’s recent annual meeting on June 29 along with Mark Greenwood, formerly with Compeer Financial in Mankato, Minn.
Vulnerability is a Constant You Can’t Ignore
Part of serving as a director is participating in difficult decisions regarding how money is allocated.
“Our focus has been on filling an important need as economically efficiently as possible, as prudently as possible,” Anderson says. “Most research is incentivized by potential return for someone selling a product and that left gaps in our ability to prepare for and respond to disease challenges. SHIC’s work to fill those gaps has been quintessentially important.”
He believes SHIC’s effort to rank diseases relative to their perceived importance to the U.S. pork industry and then prepare for those diseases with the tools necessary to run potential assays has been extremely important.
“Change is constant in the U.S. swine industry,” Anderson adds. “Vulnerability is constant as well. There’s always going to be the next challenge. My challenge to the future SHIC Board is to remain diligent and focused on what the next challenge will be to protect against it and respond to it.”
Anderson continues his work at Suidae, a 10-veterinarian, swine-specific practice. A graduate of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he continues to donate time and effort for endeavors to protect customers’ herds from challenges and respond to them as well.
Responsiveness to Emerging Disease
Like Anderson, Mark Greenwood has served on the SHIC Board of Directors since it was formed.
“When I look at SHIC, the mission is to be responsive for the US pork industry to any emerging animal disease issues,” he says.
That collaboration and nimbleness, from his perspective, best address the industry’s evolving animal health concerns and resulting economic consequences.
Greenwood says he values the investment made in SHIC by the National Pork Board as well as the vision of those recognizing the need for separation of duties with SHIC focused on emerging disease issues.
Greenwood retired from a career in ag lending with Compeer Financial in January 2022. As secretary/treasurer of the SHIC Board of Directors, he brings an economic view point, sharing his expertise on how emerging diseases would affect the industry. Prior to being a lender, Greenwood worked in the feed industry, giving him experience working with producers and a broader perspective.
As secretary/treasurer, he says he made sure the board was prudent with every dollar spent. He always enjoyed the debate between board members to make sure money was spent wisely for the industry, being strategic in their decisions.
“We invest dollars wisely, recognizing these are pork producers’ dollars, cognizant of spending where we can get a good return on our investment,” Greenwood says.
Before beginning his career in the swine industry, he earned a degree in business administration and economics from Mankato State University.
“I grew up on a hog farm in southern Minnesota and have seen a lot of changes in the pork industry since then,” he observed. Now that he’s retired from Compeer, Greenwood is working part-time for Schwartz Farms of Sleepy Eye, Minn.
Greenwood has been a long-time member of Pork Alliance and worked with the Strategic Investment Program for the National Pork Producers Council while at Compeer. He also offered his expertise to NPPC and NPB during the difficult times of 2008-2009 as well as the COVID pandemic of 2020.
“Those were extraordinary times I never thought I’d have to address,” he says. “I worked hand-in-hand with others in the industry during times of uncertainty and challenge.”
Learn more about the new board members and recently elected officers here.
