The U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan, also known as SHIP, is designed to protect the pork industry from foreign animal diseases.
Jason Probst, a National Pork Producers Council Delegate, has been involved in SHIP since its early stages and highlights its critical role in maintaining market stability.
According to Probst, “The U.S. SHIP idea started back in probably 2019-2020 by some of the vets in the industry. They were looking at the concern with foreign animal disease coming to the U.S., mainly African swine fever and classical swine fever. And so, there’s concern of if it came to the U.S., what would that do to our exports of product. Because if those foreign animal diseases are found in the U.S., that would immediately stop our exports of pork products, and so, in turn, approximately 25% of our production would stay domestically and would kind of potentially overburden our markets.”
He says that producers must follow specific biosecurity practices to get certified under SHIP. It will help producers prioritize product movement during a foreign animal disease outbreak.
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Quinn Rutt of Upstream Ranch previews the Nebraska cattle operation’s 49th Annual Production Sale where buyers can expect standout sire groups and a blend of long-standing ranch practices with modern genetic selection.
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CattleCon 2026 officially kicks off Tuesday and continues through Thursday, bringing producers together to shape the future of the U.S. cattle industry.
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A rapidly intensifying winter storm is expected to develop into a bomb cyclone this weekend, affecting the Southeast, southern Virginia, and potentially parts of the mid‑Atlantic and New England.
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