This summer, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) randomly surveyed small-enterprise hog operations (less than 100 pigs) in 31 states to learn more about health and management practices.

The study covered states considered at risk for exposure to feral swine and transmission of classical swine fever (CSF or hog cholera) and pseudorabies.

“Although the United States was declared free of CSF in 1978, the disease remains a threat to the U.S. pork industry, and is currently present in neighboring countries such as Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Mexico,” the NAHMS report states.

The information gathered will provide a more complete understanding of small hog operations and the risk of introduction of these diseases. It will also help further clarify the risks and hazards presented by feral pigs, the role they play in disease transmission and how to minimize the threat they pose to domestic swine.