Swine Health and Production — Sept ’96 President’s Message

It is hard for me to think about the next AASP Annual Meeting in the dog days of summer, but the lead time for publication forces us to think and plan well in advance. I hope all of you have marked your calendars for March 1-4, 1997. I believe the Quebec City meeting will be one of the AASP’s more memorable annual meetings from both a location/hospitality and informational standpoint. Our Canadian hosts are planning some excellent tours before and after the meeting that will give us the opportunity to sample the culture and learn about swine production in Canada. There are also many activities planned for significant others. Larry Rueff and his program committee have planned an excellent scientiÞc meeting. In response to suggestions from several members, Larry is planning a special mailing in September that will describe the scientiÞc meeting and the extracurricular activities. This edition of Swine Health and Production also contains an Annual Meeting agenda. We hope this will enable you to make your travel plans well in advance so that you can take advantage of airfare specials.

The AASP had two booths at the Pork Expo. The Public Relations Committee under David Madsen’s leadership organized a booth that was hosted by AASP members. The theme of the booth was educating producers on what AASP members have to offer in the health and production area. Mark Engle organized the other AASP booth which was part of the Pork Pro Center. This booth was also hosted by AASP members who answered producers’ questions about SEW, PRRS, and probably the price of corn. Thanks to David and Mark and all of those members who worked at the booths.

The comment period for the Animal Medicinal Drug Use ClariÞcation Act (AMDUCA) will be closed by the time you read this. The AASP leadership was very involved with this legislation in an effort to get it right. I want to thank all of the members who have taken the time to read, study, and comment about this legislation. In conjunction with the AASP leadership, we will be meeting with Dr. Sundlof, Director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, to discuss any concerns we have.

The staff of Swine Health and Production have developed a homepage for the AASP on the Web. It’s located at http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/cvm/aasp/ courtesy of North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. In the near future, current journal abstracts as well as the journal will be available to AASP members on the Internet. Yes, even the AASP is clawing and scratching into the electronic information age. Swine Health and Production staff — thanks for taking on this project and making it happen.

Tom Neuzil is working on updating the AASP directory. He will be sending all AASP members a form that needs to be Þlled out as completely as possible. Our goal is to make the directory more useful by indicating home versus ofÞce phone numbers, and we will also add email addresses.