Foreign Animal Disease

How to keep Foreign Animal Disease off your farm

Foreign animal disease awareness, outbreak, and prevention continue to be the number one priority for pork producers across the country. While there remains a lot of work being done at the local, state, and national levels to keep African Swine Fever out of the United States, there is still much work to be done at the producer level. There are five major things that U.S. pork producers can do to protect their operations from FAD and ASF, specifically.

1) Monitor for signs of ASF in your pigs Signs and symptoms include: • High fever • Decreased appetite and weakness • Red, blotchy skin or skin lesions • Diarrhea and vomiting • Coughing and difficulty breathing

2) Report signs of an FAD on your farm If you notice a pig that is displaying any sign of an FAD, including ASF, please report it to your herd veterinarian or to your state or federal animal health officials. You can also call the USDA’s toll free number at (866) 536-7593 for proper testing and investigation details.

3) Participate in your state’s Secure Pork Supply program Having a Secure Pork Supply (SPS) plan is a critical step in ensuring that your operation is secure. To become involved in creating an SPS plan in Ohio, all you need to do is contact Dr. Andreia Arruda and her team at The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Arruda and her team will help you to create a plan specifically for your program at no cost to you! You can contact Dr. Arruda at (614)688-3277 or Arruda.13@osu.edu to set up a consultation.

4) Enhance on-farm Biosecurity practices Producers should implement enhanced biosecurity measures by working with your trusted veterinarian. This is increasingly important since the ASF virus can easily travel on clothing and shoes. Limiting foreign visitors on your farm is also a recommended practice to help enhance your farm’s biosecurity.

5) Create an AgView account AgView is a free technology that is sponsored by Pork Checkoff. It uniquely makes disease traceback and all pig movement data available to the USDA and state animal health officials on day one of an FAD.

SUPPORTING YOU TODAY, TO FEED THE WORLD TOMORROW.

Farm Credit Mid-America is proud to work with industry partners who share our purpose: to secure the future of rural communities and agriculture. As our industry evolves, we remain committed to supporting the pork producers today and in the future – just as we have for the past 100 years. To learn more, visit e-farmcredit.com or call 800-444-FARM.

Ohio’s bacon and egg farmers give back with Best Buckeye Breakfasts

If you could choose one meal to eat out, would you choose breakfast? The first meal of the day has always been the easiest to make at home with a bowl of cereal or a granola bar, and this statement was even more prevalent at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Families were less likely to order out from their favorite breakfast spot due to the ease of a quick breakfast in bed.

Let’s be clear, pork remained an item on the weekly grocery list, but the usual purchasing of bacon and sausage turned into dinner-time pork cuts. As the world begins to turn back to normal, the emphasis on going out for breakfast with friends and family was something that Ohio’s bacon and egg farmers wanted to bring back to the daily routine.

With this in mind, the Ohio Pork Council and Ohio Poultry Association teamed up this summer to create the Best Buckeye Breakfasts campaign, bringing Ohio’s bacon and egg farmers together to promote the Buckeye State’s best breakfast spots, what they have to offer, and where to find them.

Here are the different ways that Best Buckeye Breakfasts puts your Checkoff dollars to good use.

Encouraging consumers to ditch the bowl of cereal – Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers became accustomed to doing everything from home, including work, shopping, groceries, and especially eating. What Best Buckeye Breakfasts is doing is giving the consumer a reason to go out and eat again. Whether it’s through nominations, prizes, or simply giving the consumer a voice, BBB is encouraging the consumer to support local restaurants, try their favorite breakfast meals of pork and poultry, and support Ohio’s pig and poultry farmers.

Reinforce the idea of eating safe and healthy pork at restaurants – While Best Buckeye Breakfasts is encouraging consumers to eat breakfast out again, it is also highlighting the positive experiences had at many local restaurants. Consumers have questions about pork, and BBB drives home the truth about safety, quality, and the benefits of consuming pork. The partnership with the Ohio Poultry Association in this campaign benefits The Ohio Pork Council, as bacon and eggs have a natural marriage at the breakfast table. As the campaign continues to give the

indUstry news consumer a reason to talk about their best breakfast spots, it will also raise confidence in the consumers’ ability to go out for breakfast and have their favorite pork dish.

Keeping restaurants a player in the pork demand game – Yes, the Best Buckeye Breakfasts campaign is promoting the consumption of pork and poultry through different restaurants throughout the state, but the amount of breakfast spots that they highlighted is impressive. Each week, a new slate of breakfast spots and dishes was featured at bestbuckeyebreakfasts.com, giving more and more restaurants the spotlight as consumers sent in their nominations. The BBB’s weekly $2,500 grant also influenced the restaurant to push the consumer for a nomination, meaning that more people will come to their restaurant for breakfast, and they will have a higher demand for bacon, sausage, ham, etc.

Best Buckeye Breakfasts called for nominations from Ohio’s farmers, while also asking the public to give their take on the top go-to restaurants with the best breakfast across the state. Throughout the summer, bestbuckeyebreakfasts. com collected some of the best bacon and egg nominations that Ohio has to offer, splitting them across five different regions of Ohio. Whether it was “The Candied Bacon Crepes” from The Woodbury in Columbus, or the “Sausage Gravy and Biscuits” from Lyn-Way in Ashland, BBB utilized the state’s best resource, its people, in helping it shine a light on where Ohio’s pig and poultry farmers are best supported for that first meal of the day.

Ohio’s pig farmers also showed their support of the state’s best breakfast spots in the form of six, $2,500 grants that were awarded to nominated restaurants throughout the summer who continued to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The six different grant winners are: •5 Points Café – Xenia, Ohio •Gregory’s Family Restaurant – Canton, Ohio •Grill & Skillet Diner – Columbus, Ohio •The Fountain – Celina, Ohio •C-J’s Family Restaurant – Stockport, Ohio •SuperChef’s Ohio – Gahanna, Ohio

A special thank you goes out to all of Ohio’s pork producers and the great citizens of Ohio for making this an amazing summer with Best Buckeye Breakfasts, as the impact that your support and contributions made to many different restaurant owners across the state will always be greatly appreciated. Without you, none of this would’ve been possible.

indUstry news Ohio Pork Council seeks Summer 2022 Communications Intern

The Ohio Pork Council is looking for a highly motivated communications intern to join their team during Summer 2022. The ideal candidate should be majoring in the field of agriculture, communications, marketing or journalism; preferably going into their junior or senior year. Knowledge of swine and modern agriculture is a plus, but not required.

The intern will be responsible for developing written and graphic communications for members, the media and consumers; increasing member participation and awareness of producer education programs; promotion of education and food stands at the Ohio State Fair; in addition to special events planning and volunteer recruitment.

The Ohio Pork Council Communications Internship is sure to provide a variety of learning opportunities and awesome experiences within the agriculture field. Interested applicants can view the complete job description at ohiopork.org/internship2022/, with applications due December 31, 2021.

For more information, contact Curt Ashcraft at cashcraft@ohiopork.org or 614-882-5887.

indUstry news Bacon Vending Machine Returns to Ohio Stadium

After missing the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Pork Council’s famous Bacon Vending Machine is making its official return to Ohio Stadium for fans to have access to some delicious bacon at Ohio State football games in 2021.

Located at its usual spot on the B-deck at the south side of the stadium,

Ohio Pork Council’s Bacon Vending Machine Buckeye fans will have their choice of three different types of ready-to-eat bacon strips, which will include Hormel and Smithfield, while various brands of bacon bits will also be available. The cost for each product will be $6.

Ohio State football will host seven home games during the 2021 season, giving fans and spectators ample opportunities to indulge in their favorite bacon as they watch the Buckeyes embark on another impressive season. The 2021 schedule also includes two games in October (Oct. 9 vs. Maryland; Oct. 30 vs. Penn State), allowing for the OSU faithful to support the Buckeyes during National Pork Month.

If you make your way out to a game this fall, we encourage you to take a photo with the Bacon Vending Machine and share it on social media with the hashtag #OHPork.

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