A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey is underway to take an in-depth look at swine operations.
The aim is to gather data to benefit swine producers by exploring current production practices, countering consumer misinformation, helping to guide public policy and both public and private research benefiting the industry.
The 2021 Swine Enterprise Study will be conducted by USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
One part of the swine study will focus specifically on operations with fewer than 1,000 pigs and will include about 5,000 producers in 38 states, including Texas.
The other will examine operations with more than 1,000 pigs and include about 2,700 producers from 13 states.
Responses will be kept confidential and no data will be tied to a producer’s name or contact information. The study will ask about practices related to health and disease management, marketing and other day-to-day operations.
Selected Texas producers with fewer than 1,000 hogs total inventory were notified of the survey by mail the week of June 15. Those producers were sent a questionnaire that can either be mailed back or completed online. A reminder was mailed on June 28, and NASS will follow up with producers who have not responded by phone.
Producers are encouraged to respond as the study is intended to benefit the industry. In addition to objectively measuring how producers’ livelihoods were affected in 2020 and gathering information to better inform public policy, the study will provide accurate information about animal welfare and production practices to better inform consumers and push back against misinformation.
For more information, contact USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Charles Haley at 970.225.1377 or charles.a.haley@aphis.usda.gov.