Across the globe, a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak represents the most substantial and immediate threat to the pork industry. Like it or not, deny it or not, prepared or not, the same can be said right here in Oklahoma.
From California’s Proposition 12 to veganism, there is no ballot initiative or diet trend that could suddenly, without warning, threaten livelihoods and have a staggering impact on local and national economies quite like a FAD outbreak.
While we have vaccinations and mitigation efforts for certain diseases, the impact of an effective response to an outbreak absolutely pales in comparison to the impact of proactive preparation, education, and vigilance. That is why Oklahoma Pork takes FAD preparedness so incredibly seriously and why, in 2022, we launched the first ever Oklahoma Pork Council FAD Hub.
The FAD Hub is a one-stop-shop for education, tips, step-by-step guides, helpful resources, communications plans and key contacts. We have gathered and organized the best available information from the National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF), and many others.
While this information is useful to pork producers across the nation, many pieces of content and contacts are customized specifically for Oklahomans.
According to Dr. Patrick Webb, National Pork Board (NPB) assistant chief veterinarian, having information customized to each state is a crucial need for our industry.
“We are constantly updating the Pork Checkoff website with the most up-to-date information available,” Dr. Webb said. “But when it comes to FAD response, there are so many nuances for each state’s rules, capabilities and contacts.”
“It is important that pork producers in each state know where to start, like Oklahomans now have with the Oklahoma Pork Council’s FAD Hub.”
With so many curated resources in one place, it can be hard to know where to begin.
“NPB has invested a lot of money in AgView, a free service for every pork producer whether they have one pig or one million,” Dr. Webb said. “AgView helps us collect and organize data and make it useful for state health officials.”
Signing up for AgView is one of the easiest and best things producers can do to help the industry ensure that any potential outbreak is short lived and handled correctly, Dr. Webb added.
At Oklahoma Pork, we could not agree more with Dr. Webb, which is why website visitors can find information about AgView in the resources section of the FAD hub.
The time you spend educating yourself and your operation on FADs, the time you spend engaging with resources like the Oklahoma Pork FAD Hub, is time invested in the future.
FADs do not care about fences or boundaries or surnames, they impact us all. With vigilance, preparedness and the resources on our FAD Hub, we can be better prepared together.