Is porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) elimination really possible?
That’s a question Michigan pork producer Joe Dykhuis doesn’t take lightly. As a member of the advisory committee tasked with reading 822 producer surveys and creating an aspirational goal surrounding those comments, he believes elimination is the only goal to strive for now.
“Unfortunately, if we don’t eliminate those pathogens or make substantial progress to that goal, those pathogens are going to eliminate our livelihoods,” he says.
An Update on the Goals and Priorities
PRRS, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and foreign animal disease were the top three issues that came out of the surveys. Dusty Oedekoven, DVM, National Pork Board chief veterinarian, says 134% more responses were about PRRS than any other challenge listed in the survey.
Oedekoven shared the goals and priorities the committee developed at the 2026 National Pork Industry Forum on March 5.
- Goal 1: Reduce the impact of domestic diseases.
- Priority: PRRS elimination
- Priority: PED elimination
- Priority: Reduce the spread of pathogens in the U.S. pork industry.
- Goal 2: Keep foreign and emerging diseases out.
- Priority: Foreign animal disease (FAD) prevention and preparedness
- Priority: Monitoring and early detection of emerging diseases
“Progress toward one priority will result in progress toward the other priorities,” says Meredith Petersen, DVM, National Pork Board director of swine health.
The National Pork Board is assembling a Swine Health Advisory Committee in the next 60 days that will help guide research investments as well as educational needs to the industry.
“We need to do something and the thing that brings me hope is a substantial change in producer attitude,” Dykhuis adds. “We can’t fight this alone – we need to work together with other producers to do it and be open to sharing information about our disease status with others, not just our own operation.”
It’s Time to Look in the Mirror
Scott Hays, a retired pork producer and current executive director of Missouri Pork Association says, “We are doing this to ourselves. We are spreading disease. No outside force is doing this to us, so we can fix this. But it’s going to take the entire industry. We all have to look in the mirror and ask, ‘What can I do to make this a little bit better?’”
Dykhuis says one of the best things producers can do is talk to one another.
“Diseases cost way more than what they used to,” he says. “It’s pretty clear now that if you get something, it’s probably going to go to a neighbor that’s really close, and then they’re probably going to give it back to you, and then you might give it back to them again. If we keep doing that, it’s never going to go away. We need to start proactively talking about that.”
Hays says state associations can help assemble swine health information and get that out to producers. The state association needs to understand the pig industry in their state: where the pigs are, where they’re not, how they flow internally in the state, but also how they flow through the state from neighboring states.
“What we’re going to have to do is start away from the pig-dense areas, start cleaning the herd up and then work in towards the middle, whether that’s central Iowa or central North Carolina or other places where the industry is concentrated,” Hays says. “We’re going to have to work our way in, and it’s going to take state leadership to know how to best do that.”
Producers Have Had Enough
Although it was a little overwhelming to read all of the negativity in the report, Dykhuis says it gives him hope that everyone seems to be on the same track of frustration with swine health.
“Now is the time for producers to lean in, learn about the strategy and participate,” he says. “Talk to people in leadership positions, because your feedback is needed.”
Although he values the organizations who work on behalf of producers, he reminds producers that they are the ones who make decisions on the farm.
“They’re my pigs. It’s my equity. It’s my income,” Dykhuis says. “I get to make those choices, and so do the rest of you. But if we don’t make different choices – if we don’t participate – there’s nothing in this strategy alone that’s going to make things change.”
