January 2026
SPS Advisory Group
The Secure Pork Supply Advisory Group, facilitated by the National Pork Board, consisted of pork producers of varied industry segments, veterinarians, academia, state pork association staff members, state animal health officials, USDA representatives, and other pork industry representatives conducted a review and update of the SPS plan in 2024-2025. The update focused on key themes of 1) increasing producer participation without reducing rigor, 2) leveraging existing programs and collaborating across the industry, and 3) maintaining and building trust in the SPS plan. Updates considered research findings, risk assessments, and field reports of SPS plan implementation.
Updates to the SPS Plan for Continuity of Business
Several improvements were made to the SPS Plan for Continuity of Business including updated layout for ease of use, simplification of tables, and updates to the content itself. Key changes are outlined below.
Layout
The updated SPS Plan for Continuity of Business now starts with a Table of Contents for ease of navigation. Content was reorganized by topics, and all links were updated to match current USDA guidance.
Traceability
Real-time animal traceability has been identified as a foundational component of FAD response. Several tools, such as AgView, are available to producers to voluntarily record movement records in an electronic database. As the pork industry continues to strive towards improvements in traceability, the SPS guidance for traceability includes a key update of maintaining 30 days of movement records electronically.
Enhanced Biosecurity
Biosecurity remains a foundational element in the SPS plan, and the updated version continues to recommend pork premises have an enhanced biosecurity plan that addresses all of the items in the enhanced biosecurity checklist. New enhanced biosecurity plan templates have been developed that have a simpler format, are organized by everyday versus enhanced biosecurity, and include a feral swine mitigation plan to be included for animals with outdoor access. In addition to the templates and checklists for indoor and outdoor raised animals, an enhanced biosecurity template and checklist was developed for exhibition swine or small pork producing farms. The biosecurity principles remain the same, now in a format that aligns with the segment.
The final change to the biosecurity guidance within the SPS plan is the “removal” of the Perimeter Buffer Area (PBA). While the term has been removed from the guidance, many of the concepts remain including minimizing cross traffic, designating a parking area away from animal areas, recommending off-site deliveries, etc. The updated guidance recommends all vehicles, equipment, and supplies that pass through the Line of Separation (LOS) be cleaned and disinfected as they enter. On some premises, vehicles may never pass through the LOS, however the updated guidance includes biosecurity practices (e.g. on-site vehicle C&D at site entry, or vehicles arrive having just been washed) for vehicles entering the site.
Monitor for Disease
The updated SPS plan continues to recommend that premises have trained Swine Health Monitors who are able to monitor, record, and report signs of FMD, ASF, and CSF. In addition, the updated guidance recommends utilizing the Certified Swine Sample Collector (CSSC) program to have trained samplers available on the pork premises or within the production system.
Permit Guidance
Since the previous version of the SPS plan, much work has been done to outline permit guidance in the swine industry. Permit guidance within the SPS plan now accounts for and aligns with the ASF National Continuity of Business Permitting Guidance published by USDA. The Summary of Movement Permit Criteria has been adjusted to reflect these updates and simplified to reduce confusion.
Acknowledgements
This Secure Pork Supply (SPS) for Continuity of Business document was developed by the Center for Food Security and Public Health (CFSPH), Iowa State University (ISU), College of Veterinary Medicine and representatives from the pork industry, state and federal agencies, and academia. This material was made possible, in part, by a Cooperative Agreement from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Additional funding was provided by the Pork Checkoff. Updates to the SPS plan were made in 2025 with input from the SPS Advisory Group facilitated by the Pork Checkoff.