Do you want to keep the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus from pounding on your ornate sculpted bronze pig door-knocker? If so, you can use your trusty 15-inch fixed-blade Bowie knife to cut all ties with any known risk factors. Once all risk is removed, you can sit back, pull out one of your hand-turned wine-bottle stoppers and pour yourself a glass of red while reading your 1925 copy of Common Diseases of Swine harkening back to a simpler time of hog cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, and pseudorabies virus.

As you glance around the room, you suddenly notice your 1760 copper engraving of a wild boar. Remembering that feral swine may pose a risk of disease spread, you rush to make sure all the fence gates and barn doors are closed. Once back at the office, you stop in the dispensary to count your bottles of Enroflox 100. Luckily, all 12 are still there. Confident in your ability to stop a respiratory infection, you decide to consult your American Heirloom Pork Cookbook to find something for dinner.

Following a fabulous pork loin dinner with all the trimmings, your thoughts shift to the carved statue of breeding pigs on your mantle – I’m not sure why you leave that thing on your mantle, maybe you should move it somewhere more “appropriate.” Anyway, your spouse notices the “glimmer” in your eye, but rebuffs your advances saying, “There’s a hand-blown glass flying pig’s chance in hell that’s going to happen until the dishes are done!” So you give in and join the little missus by the sink. She’s already wearing the hand-crafted cooking apron, leaving you no choice but to don the baby-bathing apron.

Vacation time is coming up and you’re struggling to decide whether to take your three friends pheasant hunting in Iowa, duck hunting in North Dakota, or maybe walleye fishing in Minnesota. Just then you notice the G Loomis fishing rod with the Pflueger Patriarch spinning reel sitting over in the corner under the framed copy of Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer” 1978 FFA speech. You give the wooden-barrel piggy bank a good shake to see how the vacation fund is coming along and pull out your iPad Mini to start making travel arrangements to Minnesota.

The AASV Foundation auction will be here before you know it. Being that the 2014 AASV Annual Meeting is in Dallas, the foundation auction committee selected “Big as Texas!” as the theme for the fundraising auction. We’ve received some incredible items (as highlighted in this fanciful tale) so be sure to check them out at https://www.aasv.org/foundation/2014/auction list.php.

Remember the foundation! And do your part to help the foundation reach its $100,000 goal again this year.

AASV Foundation issues call for research proposals: $60,000 available

As part of its mission to fund research with direct application to the profession, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation seeks research proposals for funding in 2014. Proposals are due January 31, 2014, and may request a maximum of US $30,000 per project. A maximum of $60,000 will be awarded across two or more projects. The announcement of projects selected for funding will take place at the AASV Foundation Luncheon in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, March 2, 2014 (awardees may be notified in advance).

Proposed research should fit one of the five action areas stated in the AASV Foundation mission statement (see sidebar).

The instructions for submitting proposals are available on the AASV Foundation Web site at https://www.aasv.org/foundation /2014/research.php. Proposals may be submitted by mail or e-mail (preferred).

A panel of AASV members will evaluate and select proposals for funding, based on the following scoring system:

•  Potential benefit to swine veterinarians/swine industry (40 points);

•  Probability of success within timeline (35 points);

•  Scientific/investigative quality (15 points);

•  Budget justification (5 points); and

•  Originality (5 points).

For more information, or to submit a proposal, contact AASV Foundation, 830 26th Street, Perry, IA 50220–2328; Tel: 515-465-5255; Fax: 515-465-3832; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org.

Swine veterinarians invited to apply for Hogg Scholarship

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation is pleased to offer the Hogg Scholarship, established to honor the memory of longtime AASV member and swine industry leader Dr Alex Hogg. Applications for the $10,000 scholarship will be accepted until February 1, 2014, and the scholarship recipient will be announced on Sunday, March 2, during the Foundation Luncheon at the AASV 2014 Annual Meeting in Dallas.

The intent of the scholarship is to assist a swine veterinarian in his or her efforts to return to school for graduate education (resulting in a master’s degree or higher) in an academic field of study related to swine health and production.

Dr Alex Hogg’s career serves as the ideal model for successful applicants. After 20 years in mixed-animal practice, Dr Hogg pursued a master’s degree in veterinary pathology. He subsequently became Nebraska swine extension veterinarian and professor at the University of Nebraska. Upon “retirement,” Dr Hogg capped off his career with his work for MVP Laboratories. Always an enthusiastic learner, at age 75 he graduated from the Executive Veterinary Program offered at the University of Illinois.

The scholarship application requirements are outlined here and on the AASV Web site at http://www.aasv.org/foundation/hoggscholarship.htm.

Hogg Scholarship application requirements

An applicant for the Hogg Scholarship shall have

1. Five or more years of experience as a swine veterinarian, either in a private practice or in an integrated production setting;

2. Five or more years of continuous membership in the AASV.

Applicants are required to submit the following for consideration as a Hogg Scholar:

1. Current curriculum vitae;

2. Letter of intent detailing his or her plans for graduate education and future plans for participation and employment within the swine industry;

3. Two letters of reference from AASV members attesting to the applicant’s qualifications to be a Hogg Scholar.

Applications and requests for information may be addressed to AASV Foundation, 830 26th Street, Perry, IA 50220–2328, Tel: 515-465-5255; E-mail: aasv@aasv.org.