By Eric Farrand, United Animal Health

The swine industry is no stranger to disease. Since the beginning, disease challenges have been an obstacle for all animal protein producers and continue to be an ongoing threat. It requires constant attention and vigilance to protect our animals.

Biosecurity continues to be a big part of our business and, today, we have seen COVID-19 spread through the human population eerily similar to how African swine fever could spread through the swine population. We have seen, too, some of the same containment measures taken with humans today — lockdown of entire populations to contain the virus — and we have also witnessed failures in biosecurity protocols that led us to that point. It's a scary lesson and all the more reason to be sure our biosecurity protocols are being followed rigorously to prevent any foreign animal disease from entering the food chain.

The rapid and ruinous spread of COVID-19 is a direct account of what ASF might look like spreading through our swine herds. Here are two lessons we should learn from this pandemic.

Before 9/11, no one could have imagined standing in a security line in your stocking feet. No one could have predicted this future that now is a common, expected part of life. We don't expect to follow a friend to the boarding gate to say goodbye any more than we'd expect to see someone light a cigarette mid-flight. Yet, these things all used to happen and used to be considered normal.

Certain events change life forever, and this pandemic will be no different. Now, more than ever, we must focus on biosecurity and be sure we aren't letting our guard down. This includes considering the often-overlooked feed delivery. The truck travels farm to farm, and the driver climbs out of his cab and into feed bins. Do you know where your feed delivery truck has been? Maybe it's time you do.