APHIS Releases New Strategic Plan for 2023-2027

Apr 26, 2023

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a new 5-year strategic plan. It incorporates input we received from stakeholders on the strategic framework--a summarized version of the plan that we published in June 2022. The plan includes six strategic goals.

They focus on:

Protecting agriculture from plant and animal diseases and pests;
Positioning the Agency's workforce to better meet current and future challenges;
Delivering solutions that reduce the impacts of zoonotic and emerging diseases, and ecosystem changes, such as climate change;
Expanding safe trade;
Managing wildlife diseases; and
Promoting the welfare of animals.

APHIS also released a strategic foresight report. It examines 10 societal, environmental, and technological trends and several future scenarios that the Agency must be prepared to navigate.

Click here to see more...

Video: Sow Welfare and Group Housing Systems - Dr. Laya Alves

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Laya Alves from the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, discusses how animal welfare regulations are evolving globally and their impact on pig production systems. She explains challenges in group housing, pain management, and euthanasia decisions, while highlighting the role of training and management in improving outcomes and economic sustainability. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Translating welfare requirements into daily farm routines without compromising economic sustainability remains one of the biggest challenges faced by producers globally today."

Meet the guest: Dr. Laya Alves / laya-kannan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, focusing on animal welfare in pig production, including pain management, euthanasia, and economic decision making. Her work integrates welfare science with practical farm management and sustainability. She collaborates globally to develop applied tools for producers.