EMMETSBURG and NASHUA, Iowa — The recent spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China has elevated the importance of biosecurity to reduce the risk of a domestic or foreign animal disease entering the farm. “Biosecurity Best Practices for Pork Producers” is a free workshop for swine producers, employees, veterinarians and industry partners to learn, develop and prioritize biosecurity practices. Workshops will be held Monday, Dec. 10, 9:00 – 11:30 a.m., in Rm 3203 of the Technology Bldg. at Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg and on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 1:00 to 3:30 p.m., at the Borlaug Learning Center NE Iowa ISU Research Farm, 3327 290th St., Nashua. According to Dr. Derald J Holtkamp, ISU Vet Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine Associate Professor, “Biosecurity can become complex and overwhelming but this workshop focuses on identifying risk events and carrying agents to help individual operations simplify and evaluate their own situation. Operations can have different biosecurity risks, which means they may need to prioritize different methods to reduce the entry or spread of disease.”
Dr. Holtkamp and an Iowa Pork Industry Center Swine Field Specialist will lead the workshops. Session topics will include: diseases of concern, carrying agents, risk events, intervention strategies, prioritizing farm risk, creating a biosecurity culture and an overview of Secure Pork Supply plan. The workshop will include round table discussions and a demonstration of a clean/dirty line to limit disease entry. Attendance is limited to 30, with a minimum of 10 registrations required to hold the workshop. Additional workshops will be held in Cedar Rapids, Harlan, Orange City, Washington and Oskaloosa.
For more information or to preregister, contact Iowa Pork Industry Center Swine Specialists Dave Stender, dstender@iastate.edu, ph. 712-261-0225 for the Emmetsburg workshop and Russ Euken, reuken@iastate.edu, ph. 641-923-2856 for the Nashua workshop. The programs are sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa Pork Industry Center.
— Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
For more news from Iowa, click here.