Between shows, one of the most important biosecurity steps an exhibitor can take is cleaning and disinfecting equipment. With more than 27,000+ pigs involved in exhibitions in Texas each year, small actions, like how you handle a brush or feeder, can make a big difference in protecting pig health and preventing disease spread. Diseases can be transmitted not only through …
LUBBOCK, Texas — Leaders from across the Texas swine industry met in Austin, Texas, from December 3–4 for the Texas Exhibition Swine Traceability (TEST) Summit, a two-day event designed to strengthen the state’s readiness in the event of a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) outbreak. In partnership with the Pork Checkoff and Texas AgriLife Extension, the Texas Pork Producers Association brought …
Written by Cash Martin, TPPA Intern As an exhibitor, you can play a huge role in the pork industry. Just as you take each step to ensure your show pig remains healthy, you share the responsibility of making sure all pigs, show pig or not, stay in the best of health. With jackpot season among us and thousands of pigs …
Written by Colby Ferguson, TPPA Executive Director Eight representatives from Texas traveled to Bloomington, Minnesota, to participate in the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) House of Delegates meeting Sept. 2–4. The program is a voluntary livestock health initiative that establishes a national platform for safeguarding, improving, and representing the health status of swine across participating operations. It is …
Written by the National Pork Board The health of the U.S. swine herd is critical to every pork producer’s livelihood and the industry’s future. Producers battle both everyday endemic diseases and the looming threat of foreign animal diseases (FADs) that could devastate their livelihoods. That’s why the National Pork Board (NPB), working together with key industry partners like the National …
Written by Cash Martin, TPPA Intern Each time you, as a young exhibitor, step into the show ring, you are doing more than showcasing months of hard work; you are also helping protect the health of the entire United States pork industry. It might not seem like a big deal when it’s just your one or two pigs, but with …
LUBBOCK, TEXAS – The Screwworm Coalition of Texas, a coalition of 13 Texas landowner, livestock, equine and wildlife groups, today launched a new website to deliver reliable information about the New World screwworm. The site compiles information from lead agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and Texas …
By Jeff Wiegert, PhD, Swine Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension African Swine Fever (ASF) is a disease of swine endemic to the wild pig species of sub-Saharan Africa, such as bush pigs and warthogs. The virus that causes ASF is deadly in domestic swine but does not infect humans or other animals. Symptoms of ASF in infected pigs include …