BioSec Bob here on Thursday, May 28, 2026 — let’s get right into it.
The Swine Health Information Center released its second five-year review this week, measuring the organization’s impact on the U.S. swine herd. According to The Pig Site, the report covers work done from 2020 through 2025 and documents how SHIC’s research and disease surveillance programs have shaped herd health decisions across the country. The Center operates as a producer-funded initiative focused on identifying and addressing emerging swine health threats before they become widespread problems. SHIC’s data collection and collaborative research model have become a standard reference point for herd managers making health protocol decisions.
Over at USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, there’s a procedural change coming to your slaughter facilities. Meatingplace is reporting that FSIS is implementing new inspection rules for how inspectors document and evaluate lymph nodes and viscera during postmortem examination. The agency refined its protocols to standardize what gets flagged, documented, and recorded across plants nationwide. These rule changes affect how your carcasses move through inspection and what gets retained for further review. Plants will need to ensure their line speeds and inspector training align with the new documentation standards.
Shifting to production management — National Hog Farmer is highlighting immunocastration as a tool that more producers could be using. The practice, which uses a vaccine to suppress boar taint without surgical castration, remains underutilized across U.S. operations despite proven effectiveness and growing European adoption. Immunocastration eliminates the need for physical castration procedures, reduces stress on animals, and produces meat that doesn’t carry the risk of off-flavors some consumers detect in entire male pork. Adoption in the U.S. has been slower than in European markets, even as producers face labor constraints and animal welfare considerations.
Feedstuffs reports that USDA has finalized its postmortem swine inspection rule. The regulation codifies how inspectors will examine and document findings on swine carcasses and internal organs at the point of inspection. The rule establishes clear criteria for what constitutes a condemnation versus what passes through the system. This finalization removes regulatory uncertainty that plants have been working around and provides a consistent framework across all federally inspected facilities.
Turning to poultry — Poultry World is reporting that the Netherlands has announced a mandatory bird flu vaccination program for laying hens. Dutch producers will be required to vaccinate flocks against avian influenza as part of a broader effort to reduce outbreak risk and culling losses. The mandate applies to all commercial laying operations and marks an escalation in how European governments are approaching flock protection. Vaccinated birds can still become infected but show reduced severity and shedding, protecting both farm economics and the broader supply chain.
On the global poultry disease front, the University of Nebraska Medical Center is reporting that Vietnam has destroyed thousands of birds following multiple H5N1 outbreaks. The culling operations targeted both commercial and backyard flocks across several provinces where the virus was confirmed. Vietnam’s poultry sector has faced recurring H5N1 circulation, and the outbreak response reflects the ongoing challenge of managing the disease in a region where it remains endemic.
Keep a close eye on those new inspection procedures — they’re coming fast.