Though I want readership of all of National Hog Farmer’s content, I truly hope that you are not reading this today. Instead, I hope that you are spending time with those near and dear to you this Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I will not be the least bit offended if you do not read this blog until Dec. 26.

But, if you insist on reading this on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, I will keep it short.

Here are my wishes for you and the entire swine industry as we celebrate Christmas, and flip the calendar to 2019.

I’ve already covered my first wish for you — that you are spending time with your family and friends.

Secondly, I hope that you, your family and hog herds remain healthy and happy. My wish is that everyone practices the utmost in biosecurity to keep invasive foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever, classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease far away from the U.S. swine herd.

National Hog Farmer will continue to bring you the latest information from veterinarians, university researchers and industry leaders that aim to keep your herds healthy and profitable.

I also wish you the marketing advantage that you need to succeed in the current climate and into the future. Tune in to our weekly marketing columnists — Steve Meyer, Joseph Kerns, Ron Plain, Dennis Smith, Chip Whalen — for their insights into the ever-evolving markets.

Let’s all hope that the current trade uncertainties get resolved, enabling more of the wonderful U.S. pork supply to find its way onto more tables of foreign consumers.

But as for now, get back to spending the holiday with your loved ones!