Special Report

Secure Pork Supply Plan readies industry for next disease outbreak

The pork industry continues to prepare for the next foreign animal disease outbreak.

In his opening comments during a National Pork Board news conference at World Pork Expo Wednesday, NPB vice president of science and technology Dr. David Pyburn said he wanted to start with the bad news.

“At some point in time our industry is going to have a foreign animal disease.  It will come out turn at some point.”

For as bio-secure as Pyburn says pig farmers are, he suggests no amount of prevention will be enough.

“So the Secure Pork Supply is a plan and a program to better enable us to respond to whenever that does happen.  We’ve got to be ready ahead, and producers need to be involved ahead of time.”

Designed specifically for outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever, or African Swine Fever, the Secure Pork Supply Plan helps position pork premises with animals that have no evidence of infection, allowing those farms to move animals and maintain business continuity.

“Secure Pork Supply delivers to those state animal health officials and USDA the information to be able to make an educated decision on low-risk movement.”

Pyburn says producers can begin the process by requesting a Premises Identification Number from their state animal health official.