Registration Now Open for 2019 ISU James D. McKean Swine Disease Conference

October 9, 2019 — 

The Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, the Iowa Pork Industry Center, The Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), District 6, sponsor the ISU James D. McKean Swine Disease Conference. The conference was renamed in 2015 after the death of longtime conference chair, Dr. James D. McKean, and was previously known as the Annual Swine Disease Conference for Swine Practitioners. The conference will be held at the Scheman Building, in Ames, Iowa, on November 7-8, 2019.

The program is designed to answer daily concerns of swine practitioners.

With the recent introduction of African Swine Fever into the Asian countries, our program this year is going to heavily focus on ASF, biosecurity, and how we can be prepared if it arrives the U.S. The pre-conference sessions focus on helping producers develop their Secure Pork Supply Plan and what is new in diagnostic surveillance tools. On the main program at the conference (November 7-8), we feature two veterinarians who have first-hand experience dealing with the introduction of African Swine Fever into swine farms as well as what the state and federal response would look like if a foreign animal disease were to show up on U.S. soil. We will see how ASF in Asia is impacting global markets as well as learn what mass disposal options are available. Several presentations focus on biosecurity including some recent research on how to enhance on-farm biosecurity and what additional biosecurity steps have been successful in keeping ASF out of farms in countries that are endemic for ASF. New research will be reviewed on endemic diseases such as PRRS, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Rota virus, and corona viruses. Antimicrobial resistance and judicious use of antibiotics and their impact on swine production, pelvic organ prolapses, and precision livestock farming round out the program you won't want to miss.

We are also pleased to announce that we will again be holding pre-conference workshops on the Wednesday afternoon prior to the beginning of the main conference, November 6, 2019, approximately 1-4pm. These workshops will cover Disease Surveillance and Secure Pork Supply Plan Development.

For more information and to register, visit https://register.extension.iastate.edu/swinedisease. Register on or before October 20 to receive the early registration discount.