Pork Industry Input Guides US Swine Health Improvement Plan Forward

Sep 29, 2022

More than 250 producers, veterinarians, swine health officials, state pork association officials and others recently met as delegates to the US Swine Health Improvement Plan meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota. The delegation discussed and passed resolutions and standards to bring more clarity and definition to the project works toward its goal of becoming a full USDA program designed to safeguard, certify and improve animal health.

"We're very pleased with the great discussions and action that took place at the 2022 house of delegates meeting as we seek to move the program forward," said Tyler Holck, DVM, US SHIP senior program coordinator, Iowa State University. "We would like to see even more producers, live-animal marketers and packers across the country join their peers in participating as we seek to grow this program in the months and years ahead."

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.