It’s Time to Talk About Depopulation in the U.S. Swine Industry

When reports of African swine fever outbreaks in China hit the news in 2018, the U.S. pork industry went right to work to boost preparedness and prevention efforts. Industry strides and advancements in these areas were shouted across the news headlines; meanwhile, work taking place on the critically important aspects of depopulation and mortality management were less talked about. If the worst-case scenario happens and animals need to be depopulated in an effort to contain and eradicate the disease, how would the pork industry respond? “No one is excited about the process or idea of depopulating, whether it’s one or multiple animals. I would say it’s quite the contrary,” says Jeremy Seiger, agriculture department manager at Envirotech Engineering. “However, it is an unfortunate likelihood that a catastrophic event of this nature will eventually occur.” That’s why the U.S. pork industry can’t afford to not be prepared. The National Pork Board has teamed up with university researc