Call for Research Proposals Targets Wean to Harvest Biosecurity

The Associate Director of the Swine Health Information Center says improved biosecurity during the wean to harvest phase of pork production will lower the risk of pathogen introduction for all phases of production.

The Swine Health Information Center, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff are calling for research proposals to investigate cost-effective, innovative technologies, protocols and ideas to improve biosecurity and make it easier to implement during the wean-to-harvest phase.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says the goal is to develop cost effective ways to improve biosecurity on farm and during transport from the time the pigs enter the nursery to when they reach the packing plant.

Clip-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:

When we consider the biosecurity between that wean to harvest phase and compare that to the sow or breeding farm or gilt replacement site, we see that there is lower biosecurity standards implemented in the wean to harvest phase and that has really increased the vulnerability of the entire industry.

What we see is that the increase in infection rates in those older pigs from wean to harvest actually increases the disease pressure for the entire industry.

Often times we will see that the outbreaks of PRRS and PEDv that occur in the wean to harvest phase are subsequently, one to two months later, followed by outbreaks in the sow or breeding farms.

We think that there's a spillover of those infectious diseases from the wean to harvest phase to other aspects of the industry.We think that filling that gap in biosecurity in the wean to harvest phase will really improve the health of the pigs in the country throughout all phases of production.

Information on the call for proposals can be accessed at swinehealth.org and submissions must in by December 16th.