Take extra care with pigs during exhibit season

Winter’s finally finished, field work is in full swing, and the livestock exhibition season has begun. Like most Minnesota agriculturalists, I enjoy the summer’s county fairs and their animals … and, of course, the ultimate competition exhibited at the Minnesota State Fair’s youth and open-class swine shows. It’s terrific to see so many folks who’ve worked hard to bring the best pigs in the Midwest to compete in classes with optimum quality peers.

My recent work has focused on disease preparedness and pig farm biosecurity, and it always comes to mind when I’m attending livestock shows. Of primary importance is that exhibitors return to their animals at home without bringing along a disease. For this reason, the messages of meticulous biosecurity and careful monitoring of animals’ health are integral parts of exhibitor education.

A core element of Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) education is biosecurity on the pig premises. Folks who raise pigs want to keep diseases out of their farms. If a disease does break out in their herd, the want to keep it from spreading throughout all the pigs there. To practice ultimate biosecurity, producers, caretakers and exhibitors of pigs are challenged to establish the habit of following specific protocol as they move about the farm.

Limit visitors and vehicle traffic to only those who have a reason to be there. Never allow unsupervised visitors. Ask all non-farm workers and visitors to sign the farm visitor log. Require downtime away from pigs or pig facilities — including harvest plants, livestock markets and exhibitions. Create a barrier to disease entry including showering in/out, washing hands, changing to dedicated farm clothing, coveralls and footwear, and/or wearing disposable coveralls and footwear. Avoid taking food into animal areas.

Isolate new or returning animals to the farm. Temporarily isolate all incoming pigs separate from the animals already on the farm. The ultimate iso-