Plan Big, Execute Small
Every morning we wake up not knowing what challenges we might face each day. For some of us that is the excitement of waking up and not knowing what you are going to encounter. For others of us (myself included), we like to plan everything, and unexpected challenges can throw us off.
It’s OK to have a plan for the day. In fact, I would recommend it. However, when the unexpected occurs, it’s important to meet these challenges head on. We can make the unexpected less of a challenge if we work through possible situations that we might encounter.
Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) asks us to have a written plan for emergencies. Why? Because the unexpected can lead to confusion or panic. If we know where to find the emergency contact information for our farms, we can go to that sheet and start making phone calls and address that challenge. We may still feel panicked, but we are now facing the challenge head on as we call our contacts and put our resources to work addressing the problem.
Establish biosecurity protocols.
Each day the plan starts with following the biosecurity protocols. Decrease risk to decrease disease transmission. However, I also know I have to have a plan for when a disease outbreak occurs. The unexpected is which farm, which client will call.
The call from a client with clinical signs of a new disease introduction can bring panic and challenges. Having a diagnostic decision tree already defined helps us quickly work up the case and bring clarity to the ambiguity of all potential disease challenges we face. Responding first with a diagnostic sample collection plan to the unexpected, possibly panicked call/email/text to answer the question: Why are my pigs sick, Doc?
Make a differential diagnosis list.
Veterinarians are trained to make a differential diagnosis list. This list contains the most likely pathogen or pathogens causing the clinical signs observed. If the clinical signs are coughing, I know nasal swabs, serum or oral fluids are necessary to reach a diagnosis. Work the plan to collect those samples from someone already on farm, or yourself if you are being re-routed.
Often a veterinarian must rely on his/her clinical impression to make a tentative diagnosis. Collect the right diagnostic samples to confirm that diagnosis and start to work the plan for that pathogen. Once the diagnosis has confirmed the pathogen, then the control and possible elimination plans start to unfold.
Create a disease elimination plan.
As a veterinarian, I apply the same thought process and action planning approach to disease elimination. Develop a plan or even better, pull the trusted template off the shelf. Plan big and execute small, whether it is porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus/porcine deltacorona virus (PEDv/PDCoV), influenza (IAV-S), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, or swine dysentery (Brachyspira hyodysenteriae). Each disease comes with its own plan. The timeline to elimination varies based on the pathogen being eliminated.
Influenza eliminations may have to be postponed until an autogenous vaccine can be made. Other pathogens like PRRS or PEDv have readily available commercial vaccines that are a one- to two-day shipment away. Multiple diseases may be eliminated simultaneously, particularly when costly interventions like herd closure are required for elimination of each disease. A sow herd may simultaneously eliminate endemic Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and PRRSv following an acute PRRSv outbreak. Create a template of what is needed to eliminate one or multiple pathogens. Then, overlay those timelines within the same document. Within this document, you’ve created the daily, weekly, monthly to-do list.
Identify stakeholders.
Identify the stakeholders within the action plan and to-do list. The veterinarian, the production manager, the farm manager, the owner of the pigs, and even the wean pig buyers. Have weekly or monthly meetings to address aspects of the plans and make sure questions are answered and challenges that arise are addressed. Assign a project leader to coordinate and lead these routine meetings, reviewing the steps of the action plan that are either in process or expected to have been recently completed. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that there are multiple digital/virtual platforms that can easily bring these stakeholders together if meeting in person is a challenge.
Determine continency plans.
Within each good elimination plan should be a review of contingencies. The timeline to elimination should follow, but what if it doesn’t? What if in week seven post-outbreak, the PEDv virus is still detected or in week 40, processing fluids are PRRS-positive? Set milestones within the elimination plan. If the diagnostic testing associated with the pathogen to eliminate hasn’t been accomplished, give your team time to work through the best contingency plan for the current challenge.
Is it feasible to start an offsite breeding project? Breeding projects are challenging, but they are a contingency plan to continue to accomplish critical goals like breeding targets, farrowing target and pigs weaned per week.
Challenge yourself.
Challenges aren’t always unexpected. The dictionary defines challenge several ways and one definition is “difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.” We may have planned the disease elimination and part of it involved working on a task that was difficult, but we still enjoyed it or learned something from it.
It’s good to challenge ourselves. For some, it’s learning how to piece together a PRRSv and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae elimination program with an offsite breeding project. For others, it’s how to decrease pre-wean mortality during elimination programs that restrict piglet movements.
These challenges are expected, they may still panic us a bit when we are lining out our day in the morning. Remember, you can work through them. Some of these expected challenges don’t need to be faced alone. Like The Beatles famously said, “I get by with a little help from my friends,” you may need to look to your co-workers, veterinarian or production manager for guidance.
A challenge can also be defined as a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength. So I challenge you to plan your disease elimination program. Don’t agonize, organize! See what you can accomplish. I challenge you to raise healthier pigs. Reach out to those around you if you need help facing a challenge. We are not alone, and everyone needs a helping hand from a friend, co-worker, manager or veterinarian.
We start the day with a biosecurity plan to prevent disease; however, when the challenge of a disease outbreaks occurs, we can plan big and execute small with a successful disease elimination plan.
**PQA emergency action plans can be found here.
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