At the National Pork Industry Forum, USDA Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach announced an African Swine Fever Action Plan is in place should the disease be detected in the U.S. pork herds.
So far, the U.S. is free of the ASF virus and prevention remains the number one priority for the National Pork Producers Council.
According to the plan, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue would immediately declare an “extraordinary emergency” if ASF is detected in the U.S.
By doing that, the USDA would be established as the leader of a national, coordinated response to control and eradicate the swine disease.
It would also ensure the availability of funding and other resources to manage the response.
Other plan elements include a national stop-movement of pig’s order of at least 72 hours, depopulation efforts aligned with guidance from the American Veterinary Medical Association, support for carcass disposal, and payments for virus elimination based on the size of affected premises.
The NPPC remains committed to working with the USDA and Customs and Border Protection to keep ASF out of the United States.
