Protecting Herd Health and Enhancing Traceability: U.S. SHIP House of Delegates Annual Meeting

Protecting Herd Health and Enhancing Traceability: U.S. SHIP House of Delegates Annual Meeting

On this page:

• Focus on Biosecurity, Traceability and Surveillance
• Impact on Day-to-Day Operations
• Annual Meeting Highlights
• Why Producer Participation Matters
• Shaping the Future Together
• Get Involved: Building a Stronger Swine Industry

Recently, a group of producers, veterinarians, industry leaders and state and federal animal health officials met in Bloomington, MN, for the 2025 U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) House of Delegates annual meeting to discuss how to shape the future of the pork industry.

Focus on Biosecurity, Traceability and Surveillance

U.S. SHIP is continuing to serve as a grassroots approach for the pork industry to address the threat of foreign animal and endemic diseases. Now in its sixth year, the program serves as a voluntary certification process for both foreign and endemic diseases of concern to pork producers. U.S. SHIP recently transitioned to a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), providing the pork industry with a clear framework to improve herd health nationwide through site health status certification.

National Pork Board (NPB) plays a supporting role in U.S. SHIP by providing funding, education, outreach and opportunities for producers to discuss critical issues such as biosecurity, traceability and surveillance. The program standards for U.S. SHIP include the use of complementary programs and tools supported by the Pork Checkoff including Secure Pork Supply, a business continuity plan for farms to increase their foreign animal disease preparedness, Certified Swine Sampler Collector Program for sampling outside of control areas, and AgView®, the traceability platform for the industry, U.S. SHIP participants and site certification by the Official State Agencies (OSAs).

Veterinarians from NPB's swine health team serve as subject matter experts and will continue to provide thought leadership for producers as health initiatives evolve.

Impact on Day-to-Day Operations

NPB continues to engage with producers to understand swine health challenges and potential strategies to improve swine health. A core goal of the U.S. SHIP program is to maintain business continuity for producers in the face of an outbreak of African swine fever virus (ASFv) or classical swine fever virus (CSFv).

"If the United States incurs an FAD outbreak, my sincere hope is that the program will be effective in helping achieve that goal of business continuity for producers, which would be a huge positive impact for the entire swine industry," said Michelle Sprague, producer, veterinarian and partner at AMVC Management Services.

U.S. SHIP is a platform for grassroots led discussions and debates around swine health issues and for multidisciplinary collaboration between producers, official state agencies, laboratory personnel, veterinarians and other stakeholders.

Annual Meeting Highlights

The annual meeting centered on debating issues important to producers and to pass proposed changes to voluntary program standards and resolutions that guide the U.S. SHIP program and its certifications. The meeting featured presentations on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), traceability and breakout sessions for working groups on topics ranging from site biosecurity, sampling and testing, and live-haul sanitation.

The resolutions and standards brought to the 2025 meeting were from a variety of sources, including state pork associations, state Departments of Agriculture, producer groups and more.

Two draft program standards and nine resolutions were discussed, including:

• Exploring the potential for certification programs for diseases such as pseudorabies, brucellosis and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
• Utilizing aggregate samples for ASF/CSF surveillance
• Establishing a working group for consistent standards for producer enrollment and certification in U.S. SHIP
• Exploring the utility of a proxy voting system
• Supporting a General Conference committee upon codification of U.S. SHIP
• Pilot projects demonstrating PEDv monitored status

Under the leadership of Dr. Marisa Rotolo, director of swine health at NPB, a proposed standard for voluntary PEDv clean and proposed resolution for demonstration of a PEDv monitored classification within U.S. SHIP was approved. In addition, NPB's swine health team shared expertise and updates on PEDv, the Secure Pork Supply Plan, biosecurity, traceability and other important initiatives.

Why Producer Participation Matters

Producer participation in the discussion and adoption of certifications in the U.S. SHIP program is critical. While participation in the certification program is voluntary, the delegate body, made up largely by producers, drive the U.S. SHIP program and are empowered to participate by submitting resolutions and standards, to address swine health issues and engage in the process of thoughtful debate.

The development and codification of the U.S. SHIP program has been a priority for the industry as an important component of preparedness against ASF and other foreign animal diseases. Additionally, industry participation in U.S. SHIP was identified by delegates as a priority area in the advisements at the 2025 National Pork Industry Forum.

Shaping the Future Together

As the saying goes, the world is run by those who show up. When producers and industry stakeholders come together with a shared mission, collaboration can lead to meaningful progress for the greater good. True collaboration requires active engagement from every corner of the industry and a commitment to ensuring that all voices and perspectives are heard.

"There is strength in numbers, and everyone needs to be informed and engaged in order to maximize the potential benefits of such collaboration," said Sprague.

Following a full day of discussions on swine health, attendees found it especially impactful to enjoy each other's company, take pride in the product they produce and come together around the shared mission of the meeting.

Get Involved: Building a Stronger Swine Industry

Producer input is the backbone of the U.S. SHIP program and it's vitally important to remain involved and engaged to ensure producer voices are heard. Producers are encouraged to continue to get involved with their state association if they have interest in participating in the future.

Producers can also reach out to U.S. SHIP staff at [email protected] with interest in serving on a working group. To learn more about the program, visit aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/swine/us-ship.

Questions? Contact the NPB swine health team at [email protected].