National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Weekly Recap: Key Industry Developments

Sep 09, 2024

This week’s NPPC update covers three major topics impacting the pork industry. First, NPPC Chief Legal Strategist Michael Formica led a coalition to appeal the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) recent decision to require sprinkler systems in livestock barns. The NPPC argued that the decision, driven by non-agricultural interests, poses biosecurity risks, is costly for farmers, and lacks a scientific basis. If upheld, fire code changes could mandate sprinklers by 2025, creating significant financial and operational challenges for producers.

Second, NPPC’s Dr. Anna Forseth participated in the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) discussions, focusing on enhancing biosecurity and surveillance to safeguard swine health. The initiative aims to develop certifications for African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) to protect trade and support the pork industry’s disease-free status.

Lastly, NPPC’s Dr. Ashley Johnson and Dr. Trachelle Carr met with Codex Alimentarius Commission leadership to discuss U.S. pork priorities. They emphasized the importance of fair trade and science-based food safety standards in international regulations, which play a critical role in maintaining global market access for U.S. pork.

These efforts reflect NPPC’s ongoing commitment to defending pork producers’ interests, advancing swine health initiatives, and ensuring science-driven policies for global trade.

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Video: Screening Nursery Ingredients - Kynna Crawford

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Kynna Crawford, Graduate Research Assistant at South Dakota State University, discusses how Plackett-Burman designs can help screen nursery diet ingredients for early post-weaning feed intake. She explains why low intake after weaning contributes to stress and mortality, how screening trials can evaluate multiple ingredients in a single study, and how the approach can support both research and commercial nursery nutrition decisions. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/...

"A single screening trial can help identify which nursery ingredients deserve deeper research for early post-weaning feed intake."

Meet the guest: Kynna Crawford / kynna-crawford-a2610a3aa is a Master's student in Animal Sciences at South Dakota State University, where her work focuses on swine nutrition and nursery pig management. Her research examines strategies to alleviate weaning stress, including dietary approaches and screening tools to identify ingredients that may promote early feed intake. Learn more from Kynna Crawford on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.