Biosecurity
The U.S. is intensifying its proactive measures to safeguard the pork industry from the devastating threat of African swine fever through enhanced border security and industry collaboration. Here’s what you can do to help make a difference.
Persistent African swine fever outbreaks in Asia and Europe highlight continued viral pressure. USDA urges pork producers to remain vigilant in keeping this disease out and devotes the week of March 1-7 as ASF Action Week.
Spain, the European Union’s leading pork producer, has reported the first two cases of ASF in wild boar outside of the original outbreak area.
Whether challenges arise from lateral breaks or endemic pressure originating at the sow farm, the fundamental question remains: How do we effectively raise and care for compromised pigs? Although no clear answer exists, here are a few ideas from a swine production system in the Midwest facing these same challenges.
Although rotavirus species A and C are among the most common causes of diarrhea in young pigs, new evidence suggests some strains may also affect the porcine respiratory tract.
Larger pig wheels support healthier, more predictable systems and drive progress in swine health.
A new strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, PRRS 1-10-4 L1C.5.35, is moving rapidly through barns. National Pork Board CEO David Newman asks, “Is just mitigating or reducing it enough?”
Moving from a “task-oriented” mindset to a “people-oriented” one doesn’t require a massive budget—it requires intentionality. Here are six small adjustments that can make your farm a place where employees truly want to be.
Producers are expected to take a more cautious stance on expansion in 2026 despite a favorable feed cost outlook.
Record matching funds, research projects, and monitoring outputs underscore value of Pork Checkoff investment.
Although the immediate threat is a public health crisis, the U.S. swine industry is on alert as entry of this virus into the U.S. could lead to devastating industry losses and a complex zoonotic challenge.
To combat the devastating economic impact of domestic diseases like PRRSV, the pork industry is developing a collaborative, producer-led strategy to focus on industry-wide swine health.
Biosecurity is the best defense to keep foreign animal disease out. USDA wants to see how you put it into practice.
Could a “pay-for-play” approach help incentivize excellence in the pork industry? Chet Mogler shares how Pig Hill Farms plans to reward contract growers for prioritizing biosecurity.
When disease outbreak investigations are conducted systematically with the goal of identifying biosecurity hazards within the production system, they consistently generate insights that make the time and resources invested worthwhile.
Diffuse alveolar damage is showing up in a growing number of submissions to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
As the number of cases continue to rise and inch closer to the U.S. border, livestock producers need to be on alert.
The recurrence of CSF in the state underscores a persistent animal health risk within Brazil’s non-free zone, where the virus continues to circulate despite eradication in about 95% of the country’s pig production areas, Beacon reports.
An emerging pathogen, porcine sapovirus (PoSaV), has been identified as a significant cause of piglet diarrhea throughout the past few years. A recent study details the successful isolation of contemporary PoSaV field strains from U.S. swine herds.
More than 620 boars have been analyzed in recent weeks, with around 8% testing positive for the virus.
This study marks the first time that needle-free, solid-dose vaccine technology has been shown to work in any species. Simon Graham says it’s a step forward, not just for pig health, but for vaccine delivery technology more broadly.
Tags are shipped directly from Merck Animal Health to your premises with no middle steps, ultimately expediting getting tags into producers’ hands and pigs’ ears.
Here’s a look at the projects SHIC is funding to provide critical information and resources to help pork producers as they face emerging disease challenges in their swine herds.
Closed markets may provide some incremental export opportunities for U.S. pork, says USMEF’s Erin Borror. Some trading partners suspending all pork imports from Spain include Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan and Thailand.
The move aligns Britain with the European Union’s regionalization approach, which restricts trade only from outbreak zones.
Two wild boar were found dead near Barcelona and tested positive for ASF. Officials suspect the wild boar ate contaminated food such as a sandwich.
Despite the use of modern technology and heightened biosecurity, Mother Nature continues to stay one step ahead of the swine industry when it comes to disease.
Although this is the sixth isolated outbreak of ASF in South Korea this year, it’s the first time in South Chungcheong, the largest pig farm region in the country and an area that had not seen a previous outbreak.
Movement of viruses in cool weather is common, as pathogens can be mechanically transported long distances. Vehicles pick up debris from road surfaces that can be deposited as live pathogens into new locations, particularly when preserved in snow or ice that accumulates during transit.
KiposTech has created a non-thermal air disinfection system that cleans the air pigs breathe, creating safer ‘clean air bubbles’ around each group. The startup is one of four finalists in the 2026 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge competing for a $100,000 prize at the 2026 National Farm Bureau Convention.