Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program Round-2 Applications Still Being Accepted

The Swine Health Information Center is again calling for research proposals under round-2 of the 2.3 million dollar Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program.The deadline for submitting research proposals under round-2 of the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, an initiative of the Swine Health Information Center, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, has been extended.

Swine Health Information Center  Associate Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder says the goal is to attract proposals in priority research areas that have not been addressed in projects approved for funding so far.

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

We are continuing to accept proposals until those research priorities and research projects have been fulfilled and funded.Some of the researchable priorities that we continue to solicit proposals for include packing plant or other first point of concentration biocontainment, how do we prevent pathogens from leaving the packing plant and being transported on trucks and trailers back to the farm.

Also we continue to look for alternatives to traditional truck wash including cleaning and disinfection without the use of water or without the use of heat after an initial water flush.We're also looking for artificial intelligence technologies or other novel tools to monitor, evaluate and provide feedback for biosecurity compliance.

We continue to look for mortality management projects to identify the most biosecure way to manage mortalities and disposal.Then also looking at industry barriers to biosecurity adoption and compliance.We want to understand why biosecurity protocols may not be completed every day and what are the barriers to that adoption.

Dr. Niederwerder encourage anyone who is interested in this program to submit a proposal or reach out with questions.Information on the Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program including details on projects already approved for funding can be accessed through the Swine Health Information Center web site at swinehealth.org.