AMES, IOWA — The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) received a grant for research designed to reduce the risk of imported feed ingredients from spreading African swine fever.

The four-year project will specifically look at the stability of ASF in soybean products commonly imported into the United States for complete feed diets and improve diagnostic capabilities and surveillance tools for the detection of ASF.

The $650,000 grant is from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the US Department of Agriculture.

Soybean products, widely used in complete pig feeds, are globally traded and serve as a potential risk if imported from ASFV endemic countries or regions.

Megan Niederwerder, Ph.D., DVM, associate director of the SHIC, will serve as project director. This work will benefit pork producers, better equipping them to address foreign animal disease vectors.

SHIC, launched by the National Pork Board in 2015 solely with Pork Checkoff funding, continues to focus efforts on prevention, preparedness, and response to novel and emerging swine disease for the benefit of US swine health.