NAHMS Swine 2007: A national study of small-enterprise swine operations

摘要

In the summer of 2007, USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) launched it's first national study of small-enterprise swine operations. The typical NAHMS national swine study concentrates on the top swine producing States and only includes operations with 100 pigs or more. Since operations with less than 100 pigs account for only 1.0% of the nation's 66 million hogs, they are of minor importance in describing the health and management of commercial pork production. However, these small swine-enterprises account for more than half of the estimated 65,940 swine operations in the United States. Therefore, no statistically valid national estimates have been generated to describe the behaviornagement, or productivity of this large group of swine owners. Such estimates are needed to objectively describe the disease risks posed by this segment of the national herd, particularly in regards to the potential spread of Pseudorabies virus (PRV)and Classical Swine Fever (CSF) via exposure to feral swine. The study has also provided a more complete picture of small-enterprise swine operation and elucidated the risks and hazards presented by feral pigs, the role they play in disease transmission, and how best to minimize the threat they pose to domestic swine.