Knowing a site’s disease status is important. Making sure the right people can use that information is where it begins to make a difference.

Currently, reliable site status information can help producers and veterinarians make decisions about pig placement, animal movement and disease response. When that information can be shared appropriately across the industry, it also helps identify disease risks and coordinate action beyond a single farm.

That connection between information and action was evident throughout the 2026 U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) House of Delegates meeting, held Sept. 9–11.

Delegates approved four new or revised program standards, including a Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) Monitored classification. They also passed seven resolutions addressing issues ranging from feral swine and live-haul sanitation to traceability and animal movement documentation.

Together, the actions show the depth of the work behind a deceptively simple goal: healthier pigs and better disease preparedness.

Site Status Moves to the Forefront

The addition of PEDV Monitored gives participating premises another voluntary way to document their PEDV status.

The classification joins PEDV Clean, which was established within U.S. SHIP in 2025. The two classifications have different testing requirements, allowing participating producers to pursue the status that aligns with their operation and disease-management goals.

PEDV Monitored is one piece of a much larger conversation about site health status. For status information to be valuable, it must be current, credible and accessible to the people making animal health and movement decisions.

That work also connects directly with the producer-led National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS). Reducing the spread of disease is one of the strategy’s initial priorities, along with developing national plans for PEDV and PRRSV elimination, strengthening foreign animal disease (FAD) preparedness, and monitoring and detecting emerging diseases early.

The U.S. SHIP decisions are one example of the detailed standards, systems and producer participation that must be worked through as the industry pursues those broader priorities.

Four Program Standards Approved 

Four proposed program standards were approved by the House of Delegates. These changes apply to producers and premises participating in the U.S. SHIP pilot program. The changes are as follows:

  • PEDV Monitored: Adds a voluntary classification for herds that may be either positive or negative for PEDV, or which may not yet have accumulated three months of negative test results required to achieve PEDV Clean site status.
  • Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Monitored: Establishes a voluntary classification with sampling and testing requirements outlined in the standard.
  • Participant Definition: Further defines what it means to be a U.S. SHIP participant and how participating premises demonstrate compliance with program requirements.
  • Participant Recertification: Establishes a biennial recertification process. Participating premises will review their demographic and biosecurity information, report changes or confirm that existing information remains accurate, and continue maintaining movement records.

The adoption of new standards in the U.S. SHIP pilot project demonstrates that producers see value in further developing this swine health framework that was initially developed to prepare the industry for continuity of business and resumption of trade in the event of an ASF or CSF outbreak.

Seven Resolutions Move Key Issues Forward

Delegates also passed all seven resolutions considered during the meeting.

Unlike program standards, resolutions do not immediately create new requirements for participating producers. They identify issues for further study or direct a working group to develop recommendations.

The approved resolutions address:

  • Feral swine risk-mitigation factors
  • Participant support for a national PEDV elimination program
  • Live-haul sanitation challenges
  • Tonsil oral scrubbing as a potential sample type for M. hyopneumoniae detection
  • Potential requirements for an M. hyopneumoniae Clean classification
  • A traceability demonstration project involving state animal health officials and producers
  • An assessment of acceptable animal movement documentation

Disease elimination cannot be separated from transportation sanitation, surveillance, traceability, or mitigating wildlife risks. Progress in one area often depends on progress in several others.

The Work Behind Better Swine Health 

The 2026 meeting brought together pork producers, swine veterinarians and state animal health officials representing 38 participating states. It was the sixth gathering of the House of Delegates and the second since USDA assumed federal oversight of the U.S. SHIP pilot program, which continues to be administered at the state level.

USDA describes U.S. SHIP as a cooperative state-federal-industry program through which participants may apply for disease-specific certifications recognized across participating states.

The program is one of several places where the industry is working through the details of disease status, traceability and coordinated disease response. Those conversations also inform the broader work of the NSHS.