National Pork Board Initiatives for PRRS
The National Pork Board (NPB) will spend $1.25 million this year for PRRS Initiative research. Once a year, the board calls for proposals involving PRRS. A swine health committee then prioritizes proposals based on key issues producers would like addressed, explained Dr. Lisa Becton, director of swine health information and research.
NPB also coordinates the call for proposals with the PRRS CAP2 (Coordinated Agricultural Project) call. A collaborative review between the two groups limits overlap of research and maximizes the effort to address unanswered questions.
The 2008 PRRS research call closed July 15, said Becton. Proposals will be awarded late summer.
Other Pork Board efforts involving PRRS include the International PRRS Symposium. The Pork Board is a cosponsor of this free seminar for students, researchers and veterinarians interested in PRRS research.
This year the symposium is December 5-6 at the downtown Chicago Marriott. Information on the annual symposium is available.
Lastly, the board participates in the North Central-229 Research collaboration process to provide direction and input to multi-state researchers. The 11-state cooperative project specifically focuses on PRRS. The Pork Board publishes research results on its Web site when projects are approved for publication.