As the nation prepares for an introduction of african swine fever (ASF) into our national swine herd, the highly mobile exhibition swine sector is largely not engaged in foreign animal disease planning

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a $224,926 Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 10.025 - Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care) to The Ohio State University. The goal of this 2-year project, which runs from August 2024 to August 2026, is to strengthen outreach and education on foreign animal disease prevention, preparedness, and response to exhibition swine producers at the local, state, and national levels. The project will: 1) Develop an educational program on foreign animal disease risk and response for local exhibition swine producers using a train-the-trainer approach; 2) Expand an existing program to provide disease education to youth and adults involved in Florida's exhibition swine industry; and 3) Leverage an existing program to deliver foreign animal disease education to youth and adults at national-level swine shows across multiple states.

Therefore, most exhibition swine producers are unaware of the impact a foreign animal disease outbreak will have on their industry, and they are poorly equipped to respond if such an event were to occur. A successful education program focused on zoonotic disease prevention in swine exhibitors has been ongoing for eight years, which has allowed this team to build trust and rapport with the target audience. The goal of this project is to strengthen outreach and education on foreign animal disease prevention, preparedness, and response to exhibition swine producers at the local, state, and national levels. To accomplish this goal we will: 1. Develop an educational program on risk and response to a foreign animal disease outbreak in the US for local exhibition swine producers using a train-the-trainer approach. 2. Expand established swientist program collaborations with florida junior swine circuit to provide education on risk and response to a foreign animal disease outbreak in the US to youth and adults involved in florida's exhibition swine industry. 3. Use the existing swientist program to provide ED ucation on risk and response to foreign animal disease outbreaks in the US to youth and adults at national level swine shows in multiple states across the US.