As part of its mission to fund research with direct application to the profession, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation awarded almost $100,000 in funding for research. Dr. Ross Kiehne, chair of the AASV Foundation, announced the selection of 4 research proposals for funding during the AASV and AASV Foundation cosponsored luncheon on March 3held during the AASV Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. The foundation granted funds to support efforts by principal researchers from the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, and Swine Services Unlimited, Inc.
University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Cesar Corzo and coinvestigators were awarded $28,664 to fund the proposal, “Understanding the risk of trailer contamination at the harvest plant”. Researchers proposed a study to assess the level of dock contamination at a harvest plant to address a critical issue within the swine industry. This study builds upon a larger ongoing study.
Dr. Cesar Corzo and coinvestigators also received $25,112 to fund the proposal, “Using viability RT-PCR to better understand the risk of trailer contamination at the harvest plant.” This investigation will evaluate viral viability at harvest plant docks over time and quantify trailer contamination. This study builds upon a larger ongoing study.
The foundation granted $30,000 to Iowa State University’s Dr. Daniel Linhares and coinvestigators to fund the proposal, “Herd closure protocols and PRRSV: comparing changes in productivity and economic value.” The overarching goal of the project is to identify the combination of herd closure practices to optimize recovery from PRRSV outbreaks and to perform an economic analysis to estimate the economic value of different herd closure protocols.
The foundation partially funded Dr. Nathan Winkelman and coinvestigators’ proposal, “The effect of subclinical ileitis on performance, diagnostic parameters, and economics in grow-finish pigs experimentally challenged with a Lawsonia intracellularis oral gavage,” at $16,000. The study aims to evaluate the economic costs of subclinical ileitis in finishing pigs on growth performance.
Investigators will share results at various swine meetings and in peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of Swine Health and Production.
Dr. Brett O’Brien chaired the scientific subcommittee responsible for reviewing and scoring the 12 proposals received for consideration, and she joins the AASV Foundation in thanking Drs. Eva Jablonski, Christine Mainquist-Whigham, Brandi Burton, Kimberly Crawford, Kurt Kuecker, and Emily Mahan-Riggs for their participation on this important subcommittee.
An overview of past and current projects funded by the AASV Foundation is available at https://www.aasv.org/foundation/research/. The foundation will issue its next call for research proposals in fall 2025.