November 2025 – Swine in Minnesota

Happy Thanksgiving from the UMN Swine Group!

We hope you have a wonderful break filled with gratitude and good food!

Swine Practitioner Practices on Oral Fluid Sampling in U.S. Swine Farms: A Nationwide Survey

Today, we are sharing a recent publication from the MSHMP team in the journal Pathogens. This project set out to gather information on how swine veterinarians use oral fluids in the USA through a nationwide survey.

An estimation cost calculator to assess the economic impacts of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae disease

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

Today’s Science Page takes a look the Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Cost Calculator developed by researchers Kaydance Hinn, Paul Yeske, and Maria Pieters.

“Inside PRRSV: Close to Real-Time Variant Tracking” a podcast with Dr. Mariana Kikuti

Looking to learn something new this weekend? Check out this new podcast featuring the UMN Swine Group’s very own Dr. Mariana Kikuti!

Dr. Mariana Kikuti, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, explains how PRRSV variant classification is structured and how it supports more effective monitoring of disease outbreaks in swine herds. She shares how lineage and variant tracking improve virus identification and situational awareness. Discover how real-time data enables smarter decision-making in swine health.

Want to dive deeper? Learn more about VUMs (Variants Under Monitoring) on the MSHMP website!

Beliefs, Behaviors, and Practices of Farm Biosecurity in the Midwestern U.S. Swine Operations

Today, we are sharing a recent published manuscript from a collaboration between the swine group and the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Minnesota. The project focused on biosecurity practices from the Secure Pork Supply plan and the consistency with which they were applied on farms. The full text is available in open access on the journal Animals’ website.