Growing the benefits of AgView’s robust preharvest traceability platform

The drive to improve preharvest traceability for the US swine industry led to the creation of AgView (agview.com). This commercial-grade software system, developed using Pork Checkoff dollars along with funds from US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service, functions as a database of record for a preharvest traceability program. It enables the tracking and sharing of all live pig and semen movements with state animal health officials, aiding in the rapid response and control of suspected or confirmed foreign animal disease outbreaks. Continual upgrades also address pain-points for swine veterinarians, including making it easier to set up Swine Production Health Plans (SPHP), also known as commuter agreements.

Swine veterinarians and animal health officials know SPHP creation and approvals, which may include at least eight signatures, require significant time and effort for compliance with 9 CFR 71.19, the portion of the US Code of Federal Regulations outlining the steps for SPHPs. Recognizing this challenge, an AgView update was implemented in late 2023, with a successful field test conducted in Ohio and Indiana. This update significantly streamlines the SPHP process making it easier and more efficient. Once the SPHPs are approved, the movements are automatically provided to the state animal health officials through the producer’s AgView account, eliminating an administrative burden of reporting movements manually.

“If the herd veterinarian for a swine production system wants to set up a commuter agreement, it requires approval by the state veterinarian, USDA Area Veterinarian in Charge, attending veterinarian, and site or barn manager from the sending state. Then those same persons in the receiving state must also sign off,” explained Dr Patrick Webb, assistant chief veterinarian at National Pork Board. “To create, review, revise, and share the plan among all eight people for their approval could take up to two months. With AgView, the process is easier and will save a lot of valuable time.”

Dr Webb said state animal health officials and production companies were eager for a solution to the time-intensive systems in place today. “Using the Account Manager, Partner Account feature in AgView, the herd veterinarian or assigned staff person can create the needed SPHP documentation for companies moving pigs within their production systems, inviting all required signatories to the process,” he explained.

Similar to cloud-based systems, stakeholders engaged in the SPHP process will login to AgView, review the documentation prepared by the production company’s herd veterinarian or assigned staff person, and request revisions as needed. The details of the SPHP, including revisions and resolutions, will be visible to all eight people required to approve the agreement. Approval signatures occur in AgView, which then files the documentation and provides the movements in real-time as they are uploaded into the producer’s AgView account. This collaborative process within AgView replaces email chains, tracking of eight stakeholders’ input, review of revisions, and emailing spreadsheets of documented movements to the appropriate agencies every month.

“Because this process is all contained as a capsule within AgView, state animal health officials and USDA Area Veterinarians in Charge can visualize swine movements in real time, rather than delayed by up to 30 days through monthly spreadsheets. This greatly improves their situational awareness,” Dr Webb explained. “There is no additional cost to pork producers for AgView which allows for sharing of traceability data prior to, or during, a swine disease outbreak. AgView also communicates with software platforms that state animal health officials use in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. Producers own their data in AgView, which is secure and confidential.”

Traceability has a role in swine disease management and response, provides for business continuity which can help decrease the economic impacts of an outbreak, informs trading partners of product safety, unifies response nationally, and safeguards the pork industry’s future. During the 2024 National Pork Industry Forum, producer delegates approved a resolution seeking to make traceability a mandatory process. The resolution was submitted to USDA and the anticipated implementation will occur in 2027.

An opt-in software program with no cost to the pork producer, AgView promotes business continuity for America’s pig farmers by making disease traceback and pig movement data available to state animal health officials at the producer’s discretion in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak. AgView has been designed to support voluntary participation in US Swine Health Improvement Plan (US SHIP). Implementation of SPHPs may be one way that producers can demonstrate compliance with the voluntary US SHIP traceability standard. 

To learn more about AgView, request a product demonstration, or learn more about creating commuter agreements, call 800-767-5675 or email help@agview.com.