Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder, Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton, and Board Chair Mark Schwartz were guests of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) for a recent webinar. “Minimizing the Impact of Emerging Disease Threats in Swine through Research Funding Partnerships” illustrated SHIC and FFAR’s successful collaborations to date and was part of FFAR’s 10th anniversary celebration webinar series. Find the entire webinar here.
FFAR has funded hundreds of research grants and worked with over 500 partners to steward research across the food and agricultural value chain to advance innovation. SHIC has successfully collaborated with FFAR, as well as the National Pork Board, on Japanese encephalitis virus and Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program projects with more on the horizon. On November 6, 2024, SHIC, FFAR and the Pork Checkoff announced their latest partnership to fund the H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Program.
The webinar was hosted by FFAR’s Dr. Jasmine Bruno, scientific program director, who manages their animal systems portfolio within FFAR’s Thriving Productions Systems team. She shared how FFAR’s portfolio maintains a focus on developing animal agriculture partnerships with entities like SHIC to address emerging disease threats in livestock. “FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to connect funders, researchers, and farmers together to pioneer the next frontier of agriculture research, including developing science-based solutions to improve animal health and welfare, advance environmental sustainability, bolster producer profitability and sustain our food supply,” she explained. FFAR continues to build these collaborative partnerships to support research to address these and other challenges facing food and agriculture today. In this process, FFAR looks to complement USDA’s research agenda, identifying where there are critical knowledge and funding gaps.
This effort involves FFAR integrating producers along with other agricultural stakeholders to increase public agriculture research investment. “For every federal dollar that we spend, we have to match that with at least one non-federal dollar, amplifying the public’s investment in agriculture,” Dr. Bruno stated. “We really focus on actionable science.”
Dr. Bruno said SHIC has been an invaluable partner in working with FFAR and informing them when there are critical swine health needs. Collaboration between SHIC, FFAR, and NPB allows for leveraging producer dollars with federal funds to increase overall research funding. Together, the organizations expand the scientific network of researchers working on swine diseases while ensuring research is producer-driven and addresses industry needs. Ultimately, the partnership facilitates the transition of research findings into actionable changes for producers.
Dr. Niederwerder thanked FFAR for their partnership, stating SHIC’s board of directors and working groups, along with US pork producers, are grateful for their collaboration. SHIC’s mission is to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats. Dr. Niederwerder shared how SHIC does this through various mechanisms such as a coordinated communication strategy, preparedness activities, looking at both global and domestic disease monitoring, and analysis of swine health data. This information is then used to target research investments that will provide the greatest value back to pork producers.
One partnership between SHIC and FFAR resulted in a research program focused on Japanese encephalitis virus. “We received an outstanding response from this RFP with 26 research proposals across 23 different institutions,” Dr. Niederwerder commented. “Overall, there was $1.3 million awarded through this program across six projects, and those six projects will address research needs and priorities to prevent and prepare for Japanese encephalitis virus, of which the US is currently negative.”
Another SHIC/FFAR collaboration revolves around wean-to-harvest biosecurity. A gap was identified as a chink in the armor of pork production biosecurity and preparedness that protects swine health. “In the grow-finish population, a lot of what happens there, and then going to the plant on the harvest side, can have a backflow into our sow farms and really cause significant health challenges,” Dr. Niederwerder shared.
Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program research priorities were divided into two categories – onsite or on-farm biosecurity and transport biosecurity. Since 2022, 22 related projects have been funded. Dr. Becton reviewed the projects, results-to-date, and application of results to positively impact biosecurity on and off the farm. Cost-effectiveness of interventions as well as worker motivation, air filtration, mortality management, packing plant biosecurity, and truck wash efficiency were all detailed.
Mark Schwartz, a pork producer and SHIC board chair, highlighted the importance of ensuring research translates into real-world applications for producers. Schwartz emphasized the role of SHIC’s board to maintain focus on producer needs and maximize the value of research investments.
Schwartz observed the pork industry has evolved with a focus on productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. And regardless of production size or type, Schwartz says producers focus on being competitive while producing wholesome, safe, and affordable pork for domestic and global consumers.
To be efficient, minimizing disease outbreaks and preventing introduction of new pathogens into herds is essential. “Because pig production is concentrated and with the evolution of multi-site production, a great number of pigs moved daily and weekly interstate across state lines and across the Midwest and from the high plains to the Midwest, there’s vulnerability,” Schwartz commented.
Recalling the outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in 2013 and resulting creation of SHIC in 2015 with Pork Checkoff funding, producers began investing in emerging swine disease research to achieve the Center’s mission. Schwartz observed SHIC’s ability to take data from these research projects, which are typically conducted with viruses being addressed currently, and to apply learnings to how to deal with the next novel pathogen that’s detected in a swine herd. Consequently, an informed, rapid response is possible. “The value of these partnerships, the value of leveraging our dollars with that of the producers is so important to our industry,” Schwartz concluded.
The Swine Health Information Center, launched in 2015 with Pork Checkoff funding, protects and enhances the health of the US swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communications, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data, and targeted research investments. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Megan Niederwerder at [email protected] or Dr. Lisa Becton at [email protected].
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