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: Environmental Effects on Sow Fertility - Dr. Isabela Bez

In this special episode celebrating International Women's Day of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, we bring Dr. Isabela Bez, a veterinarian and PhD student in Brazil, who explains how temperature and light regimes influence sow reproductive performance. She discusses seasonal infertility, climate adaptation, and why environmental monitoring inside barns is critical for herd efficiency. The episode highlights practical management strategies to reduce reproductive losses and improve outcomes. Listen now on all major platforms. "Environmental factors are actually very important on sow reproduction, and sometimes these are the factors that producers tend to not pay attention." Meet the guest: Dr. Isabela Bez / isabela-cristina-cola%c3%a7o-bez-1753381b0 is a veterinarian and PhD student in Animal Science at Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Brazil. Her work focuses on swine reproduction, nutrition, and animal welfare, with strong expertise in environmental effects on sow performance. She collaborates with international farms and research groups to improve reproductive efficiency through applied science.