Swine Extension

By Diane DeWitte, UMN Extension swine educator Originally printed in The LAND - as March 14 , 2025 Swine & U column Much of UMN Extension’s swine work involves disease preparedness. Not only are foreign animal diseases (FAD) a threat, but the endemic seasonal diseases faced by pig farmers every day require mitigation efforts.   The three FADs that swine producers prepare to NOT get are African Swine Fever (ASF), Classical Swine Fever (CSF), formerly known as hog cholera and eradicated in the US in 1978, and Foot & Mouth Disease (FMD), which was also eradicated in the US in 1929. FMD can also infect cattle, sheep, goats, deer and more. Typical prevention education includes assisting producers in creating an enhanced biosecurity plan through the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) process. Nationally, SPS provides a common template of farm map creation, identification of a biosecurity lead person on the farm, enhanced plans for feed and other deliveries, mortality disposal, employe...

Congratulations to Lee Johnston, UMN Extension swine specialist and professor in the Department of Animal Science, for receiving the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from Minnesota Pork. As stated in the 2025 Minnesota Pork Congress magazine, “Lee Johnston’s unwavering commitment to agriculture, advancing research, and mentoring future leaders has earned him the Minnesota Pork Distinguished Service Award.” The Distinguished Service Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the pork industry. Read the entire article that was featured in the 2025 Minnesota Pork Congress magazine.

Time is nearing the end to host a Certified Swine Sample Collector (CSSC) through the grant funding the University of Minnesota Extension swine team has obtained from the National Pork Board. The grant is to provide logistical and financial support in coordination of CSSC training at several locations around the state.   For more information and to inquire about scheduling a CSSC training for your farm, contact UMN Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke (email: schi0466@umn.edu or phone: 320-235-0726 ext. 2004). The suggested maximum number of participants for one training session is 12 people so if a farm system would like to train a group of people, it is suggested a herd veterinarian for the farm do the training, but UMN Extension swine members assist the veterinarian with the logistics and financial support for the training. Training before an outbreak and ensuring samplers are prepared to submit samples correctly and properly will ensure disease surveillance and permit...

The USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture was released earlier this year. The UMN Extension livestock team created infographics highlighting Minnesota-specific facts for the given species we work with. 

The University of Minnesota Extension swine team has obtained grant funding from the National Pork Board to conduct Certified Swine Sample Collector (CSSC) training in Minnesota. The grant is to provide logistical and financial support in coordination of CSSC training at several locations around the state. The maximum number of participants for one training session is 12 people so if a farm system would like to train a group of people, it is suggested a herd veterinarian for the farm do the training, but UMN Extension swine members assist the veterinarian with the logistics and financial support for the training. For farms with a few folks, it is suggested to reach out with interest so you are notified when CSSC workshops are scheduled. For more information and to inquire about scheduling a CSSC training for your farm, contact UMN Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke (email: schi0466@umn.edu or phone: 320-235-0726 ext. 2004). Training before an outbreak and ensuring samplers ...

By Rachel Schambow, Postdoctoral Researcher UMN College of Veterinary Medicine Center for Animal Health and Food Safety With its continued spread to new regions in 2023 and 2024, African swine fever (ASF) remains a significant threat to the U.S. swine industry. Though greatly needed for preparedness, field-based and practical knowledge are not always readily available online and may be sensitive to share openly. To help address this need, the University of Minnesota Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) hosted their first Vets to Vets (V2V) workshop in September 2023 with support from the National Pork Board. At the V2V workshop, 10 U.S. swine veterinarians connected with six international veterinarians from three ASF-affected countries who had extensive, first-hand ASF experience. Together, they discussed and shared important information for biosecurity, surveillance and more. To learn more about the V2V event and read a summary of the lessons learned, visit the CAHFS websi...

Reprinted as posted on Swine in Minnesota blog October 3, 2023 Dr. John Deen was recognized at this year’s Leman Swine Conference for his work in the swine group at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. He hosted the wrap-up panel at the conference and wrote a reflection on his 24 years of service. Thank you, Dr. Deen for your contributions to the Swine Group! Read Dr. John Deen’s reflection .

Dr. Montserrat Torremorell was named the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Swine Academic of the Year award. The award is given to an AASV (American Association of Swine Veterinarians) member employed in academia who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research and service to the swine veterinary profession. The award was presented for the first time this year. Read more

The Minnesota Pork Board recognized Dr. Peter Davies, Professor Emeritus of the University of  Minnesota as this year’s Distinguished Service Award recipient. Dr. Peter Davies was honored preceding Minnesota Pork Congress on February 14. Learn more about Dr. Peter Davies and his contribution to the pork industry.

The University of Minnesota Extension Swine Team has created a video on how to butcher a pig for home use. With COVID-19 causing reduced operations at many pork processing facilities, pig farmers are experiencing a bottleneck of pigs on farms causing them to look for alternative market options. One option is for a farmer to sell a live pig directly to a consumer. The consumer typically would book an appointment with a local small scale meat processor in Minnesota to get the pig butchered, but the problem is when the video was recorded (May 22, 2020) many small scale meat processors are booked out for months. With no space available at a local processor and a pig that is ready for butchering, many people are choosing to butcher the pig themselves. With few Extension resources available on how to butcher a pig for home use, Sarah Schieck Boelke and her colleagues, Ryan Cox, Dallas Dornink and Lee Johnston created a video on how to butcher a pig for home use, including human saf...

MN Board of Animal Health staff working on permitting movement requests during the SFEAR exercise. By Sarah Schieck, Swine Extension Educator Minnesota participated in a United States Department of Agriculture Swine Fever Exercise for Agriculture Response (SFEAR) functional exercise September 23 - 26. During the exercise Poultry Educator Abby Neu and Swine Educators Diane DeWitte and Sarah Schieck served as Evaluators. The exercise involved many players including those from federal, state and local agencies, as well as industry. The 14 states playing along had to work through a hypothetical African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak. Exercise play included the following critical activities and tools needed during a foreign animal disease (FAD) response: 

Dr. Peter Davies, UMN College of Veterinary Medicine faculty received the 2019 Howard Dunne Memorial Award at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) conference in March. The Howard Dunne Memorial Award is one the most prestigious recognition given to an AASV member for their important contributions and outstanding service to the association and the swine industry. Read more about Dr. Peter Davies and his contributions.

Do you need a refresher on how to read pigs' ear notches using the Universal Ear Notching System or do you mentor youth who show pigs and are looking for a good way to teach them to read ear notches? In the new video below, created by Sarah Schieck, swine Extension educator, Sarah answers why ear notches are needed for most shows, including 4-H, and explains how to read ear notches.

With the recent reports of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China it is a reminder of the negative impact that a trade limiting foreign animal disease (FAD) can have on pork producers. In China the ASF outbreak has resulted in quarantines, movement controls and mandatory culling of swine in affected areas in an effort to control the disease. If you haven't done so already, the Secure Pork Supply plan offers producers the best opportunity to meet the expectations of animal health officials and demonstrate that your pigs are safe to move in event of a FAD. Information can be found at www.securepork.org .

Message from MN Board of Animal Health Spring and summer exhibitions, like county fairs, are right around the corner. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health reminds livestock owners to review animal health and movement regulations before hitting the road. Moving livestock can be a burdensome process, which can go much smoother when everyone prepares ahead of time. Regulations at exhibitions, for official identification and health documentation (for animals moving between states), are in place to protect the health of the animals and the livelihood of livestock businesses and enthusiasts. Before you even begin getting ready to move your animal, make sure it's healthy by scheduling an appointment with your veterinarian. If you're moving your animal interstate, or out of Minnesota, you must have your veterinarian examine the animal and write you a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. This document helps animal health officials track animal movements and trace disease if those ...

Every year the Industry Audit Task Force reviews feedback from producers, packers, auditors and customers regarding the Common Swine Industry Audit to help clarify and revise portions of the audit. There are no new questions or required records. The majority of the changes for 2018 are clarifications to the standard. Details of the 2018 updates are as follows: Animal Observations Excessive prod use was added as a willful act of abuse for consistency with the transport/load-out section Boar harnesses were added to the animal handling section Clarification on what to evaluate was added to the deep wounds and scratches benchmarking sections Instructions for auditing thermal comfort/air temperatures and air quality were added