The Swine Health Information Center annually solicits input for its Plan of Work which guides its activities each year. The 2026 Plan of Work is currently under development and will be built around SHIC’s five strategic priorities: 1) improving swine health information, 2) monitoring and mitigating risks to swine health, 3) responding to emerging disease, 4) surveillance and discovery of emerging disease, and 5) swine disease matrices. These priorities, developed through stakeholder input, will guide the 2026 Plan of Work, implemented by Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder and Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton with input from the SHIC Board of Directors and SHIC Working Groups.
Stakeholder input for SHIC’s 2026 Plan of Work can be submitted here and is requested by December 1, 2025. Input may include topic areas, research priorities, and/or identified industry needs that will focus SHIC’s programmatic and research efforts in 2026, such as an emerging swine disease or an emerging swine health issue. Broad input is encouraged and invited to help inform priorities for broad producer value and benefits to swine health.
While SHIC’s activities are guided by the Plan of Work, the organization remains nimble and responsive to industry needs as they arise throughout the year. As challenges to swine health and production continuously change, stakeholders are encouraged to provide input and ideas year-round to address newly identified needs.
As a recent example, the development of the H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Program highlights how SHIC adapted its Plan of Work to directly address needs associated with this emerging disease. This aligns with SHIC’s mission, which is to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communication, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data, and targeted research investments.
The Swine Health Information Center, launched in 2015 with Pork Checkoff funding, protects and enhances the health of the US swine herd by minimizing the impact of emerging disease threats through preparedness, coordinated communications, global disease monitoring, analysis of swine health data, and targeted research investments. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Megan Niederwerder at [email protected] or Dr. Lisa Becton at [email protected].
