This summer, the Swine Health Information Center Board of Directors voted to proceed with a collaborative effort to focus on wean-to-harvest biosecurity. SHIC, along with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, an organization advancing actionable science to develop tools, technologies, and information benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment, and Pork Checkoff, will fund a Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program to be implemented over the next two years.
"Wean-to-harvest biosecurity is a complex issue for our industry that has been developing for many years," remarked SHIC Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder. "This research program will look for cost-effective, innovative solutions to a significant biosecurity gap in US swine production."
SHIC will contribute $1 million of reallocated funds from its current budget to the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program and FFAR will provide $1.15 million towards the effort. "FFAR envisions a world in which every person has access to affordable, nutritious food grown on thriving farms," said Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, FFAR's Executive Director. "Our partnership with SHIC and Pork Checkoff to support the bold research needed to develop solutions to safeguard the health of US swine will bring us closer to achieving that vision."
The Pork Checkoff is contributing $150,000 as well. By leveraging budget allocation with the matching funds from FFAR and the Checkoff, SHIC increases capacity and output for its mission to safeguard the health of the US swine herd.
"SHIC is focused on preventing and responding to emerging diseases," explained SHIC Executive Director Dr. Paul Sundberg. "Leading the industry in being proactive to controlling the next emerging disease instead of reacting after it gets here fulfills SHIC's mission of protecting and enhancing US swine herd health."
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