HIGHLIGHT JUNIOR SWINE DAY Hands-on, Real-life Tools

The Ohio Pork Council and OH-PIGS program hosted the annual Junior Swine Day event in April at the Union County Fairgrounds in Marysville. More than 80 youth and their families participated in a day of hands-on learning from pork industry leaders and professionals who stressed the need for youth and their families to do their part to protect and build Ohio’s overall pork industry.

To give all the event’s attendees a comprehensive view of modern pork production, participants rotated through educational sessions, which included topics such as biosecurity, Youth Quality Assurance, and animal nutrition. Those attending had the opportunity to participate in several hands-on activities, ask questions, as well as receive expert showmanship tips with live pigs.

Dr. Andreia Arruda, a veterinarian and professor from The Ohio State University, led a team who walked the attending parents through stations about foreign animal disease preparation.

The team also helped participants create Secure Pork Supply (SPS) plans for on-farm biosecurity, register for a premises identification number (PIN) for their swine housing location if they didn’t have one, and register for AgView, the industry’s web-based platform that provides animal traceability and vital herd health information in case of a foreign animal disease.

“On behalf of the Ohio Pork Council, we would like to thank everyone who joined us for the 2023 Junior Swine Day, and everyone who helped put together a successful and educational day for the youth and their families involved in the show pig industry,” said Cheryl Day, OPC executive director. “We look forward to another great event in 2024 as we continue to provide education-based activities that help meet the needs of Ohio’s swine exhibitors and the greater pork industry.”