The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Monitoring System is launching a voluntary study on swine farms of all sizes across the U.S.
Selected producers will be notified by mail. The study will be conducted separately for farms with fewer than 1,000 swine and those with more than 1,000 swine.
The study of smaller farms runs from May through July, and it will involve 5,000 swine operations from 38 states, including Indiana. It will focus on issues such as current health and production practices, slaughter channels and marketing practices. Producers participate simply by filling out a questionnaire.
The study of larger farms will run from July through January 2022 and will involve 2,700 operations from 13 states, including Indiana. The aim is to provide farmers and others with information related to housing, productivity, and morbidity and mortality prevention.
This study also will involve a questionnaire, to be completed during a visit from representatives of the National Agricultural Statistics Service in July or August. If the producer chooses to continue in the study, USDA or state veterinary health professionals will visit the farm between September 2021 and January 2022 to complete a second questionnaire and discuss free biologic testing.
NAHMS emphasized that no name or contact information will ever be associated with individual data, that all data will be reported in summary manner, and that no data will ever be reported in a way that could reveal the identity of a participant.
For more information, call the USDA’s Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, 970-494-7216, email NAHMS at NAHMS@usda.gov, or visit the NAHMS website.