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USDA Delays NAHMS Swine Study Until 2021

June 25, 2020 — 

The USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Swine 2020 Study set to begin later this summer is being put on hold until 2021 due to the economic hardships pork producers are currently facing. [Source: Farm Journal's Pork 22 June 2020, by Jennifer Shike]

After seeking input from the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, USDA decided to push its sixth national study of U.S. large enterprise swine operations back.

NAHMS, in collaboration with the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will look at operations with 1,000 or more pigs and provide new information regarding health and management practices in the U.S. swine industry.

Selection letters will now be sent the week of July 5, 2021, with NASS face-to-face interviews taking place between July 12 and August 20, 2021. Additional Face-to-face interviews and biologic collections done by Veterinary Services personnel will occur later in the year.

This study has four main objectives. They include describing current U.S. swine production practices related to housing, productivity, biosecurity and morbidity and mortality prevention; determining the producer-reported prevalence of select pathogens in weaned market pigs; describing medication use; and evaluating the presence of select pathogens and characterize isolated organisms from biological specimens.

NAHMS will also conduct a study of small enterprise swine operations in the U.S. focusing on operations with less than 1,000 pigs. This study will focus on describing current health and production practices; describing trends in swine health and disease management practices; characterizing movement, mortality and slaughter channels; and examining differences in marketing practices and movements on small U.S. swine operations. A survey will be mailed out at the end of May 2021 with instructions to fill out and send back in or complete online. Follow-up telephone interviews for non-respondents will start in July.

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