Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program

This summer, the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) Board of Directors voted to proceed with a collaborative effort along with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Pork Checkoff to focus on wean-to-harvest biosecurity over the next two years. 

• The idea is to ensure the health safety of the US herds along with affordable, good-quality food for consumers.
• Leading the industry means being prepared against diseases instead of just responding to them.

Data from reports funded by the involved organizations shows that PRRS and PED negative pigs placed on wean-to-finish sites became infected after placement – thus, the relevance of the whole effort. 

• Priorities will be developed in three areas: bioexclusion for preventing disease introduction on the farm, biocontainment for preventing disease spread from the farm to reduce risk to neighbors, and transportation biosecurity for preventing disease movement from markets and concentration points back to the farm. 

Two task forces have been established as part of the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program: the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Site Task Force and the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Transport – and they have met recently to ensure sufficient coordination and no overlapping investigations.   

• Processes such as this one will certainly take time and probably even cross seasons, but as soon as it’s ready, it will be available on the SHIC website’s Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program page in order to facilitate proposal review and contract processes.