SHIC, along with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) a non-profit organization established in the 2014 Farm Bill to build public-private partnerships that fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges, and Pork Checkoff, joined together to fund a Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program to be implemented over the next two years. Phase 1 involved identifying subject matter experts and assembling task forces with the responsibility of establishing research priorities. Now in Phase 2, SHIC, FFAR, and Pork Checkoff are soliciting proposals to investigate cost-effective, innovative technologies, protocols, or ideas to implement biosecurity during the wean-to-harvest phase of production. Proactively enhancing wean-to-harvest biosecurity will help control the next emerging disease in the US pork industry and improve US swine herd health, all part of SHIC’s mission including analysis of swine health data and targeted research to benefit the US pork industry.
Priorities for the research proposals reflect input from key industry stakeholders recruited to join the SHIC Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program Site Task Force and Transport Task Force. These experts come from allied industry, academia, veterinary practice, and organizations involved in pork production. Collectively, their experience and interest reflect contemporary issues related to wean-to-harvest biosecurity. Working at a rapid pace, each Task Force has met virtually several times to develop and refine priorities for the research proposals now requested.
“Task force members came together, working efficiently and effectively to identify priorities for wean-to-harvest biosecurity,” remarked SHIC Associate Director Megan Niederwerder. “SHIC appreciates the time and service of each task member to provide valuable insight on how to best fill this gap in pork production biosecurity.”
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