University of Wisconsin - Extension

Madison, Wis. – A Swine Program Team has been organized by University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension and UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to address the educational needs of Wisconsin’s swine industry. The 2007 Census of Agriculture indicates over 3100 Wisconsin farms have hogs in inventory with hog sales of over 100 million dollars.

The Swine Program Team will plan, develop, implement and evaluate educational programs to meet the needs of Wisconsin’s swine industry. A primary function of the team will be coordinating and networking with the UW-Madison, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Animal Sciences and the Wisconsin Pork Association to tap into the latest research, knowledge and resources of swine production, economics and marketing. A major resource for the team will be the United States Pork Center for Excellence and its Pork Information Gateway. The team will work with and benefit from UW-Extension’s network of County Agriculture Agents, State Specialists and its Livestock Team.

One swine industry need the team plans to address early on is providing Pork Quality Assurance Plus training including on-farm site assessments. The United States pork industry has been proactive in establishing standards for pork production and many hog slaughtering plants will soon be requiring on-farm site assessments. The Swine Program Team will work with the Wisconsin Pork Association to develop a program to conduct fee-based on-farm site assessments.

“We are pleased to be able to support the educational needs of the swine industry in Wisconsin which are complex and involve issues like animal care, food safety, and animal health,” said John Shutske, UW-Extension ANRE Program Director/UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Associate Dean of Extension. “It is great to have a strong working partnership with an organization which has provided significant national leadership to pork production efforts in the past many years.”

Mahlon Peterson, UW-Extension Eau Claire County agriculture agent, will take on the responsibilities of Interim State Swine Specialist and provide leadership for the Swine Program Team. To facilitate Peterson’s Swine Team leadership role, UW-Extension will support a part time agriculture educator position in Eau Claire County. Other members of the team include Zen Miller, UW-Extension Outagamie County dairy and livestock agent, Randy Thompson, UW-Extension Rock County dairy and livestock agent and David Wachter, UW-Extension Grant County dairy and livestock agent.

“Mahlon brings unique skills, training and experiences to serve as Interim State Swine Specialist and Swine Program Team leader” said Dave Williams, UW-Extension’s Associate State Program Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources Program. “Each of the team members brings their own swine production knowledge to the team. Combined, the four team members have over 100 years of experience working with hogs and swine operations.”

For more information about the Swine Program Team contact Mahlon Peterson, mahlon.peterson@ces.uwex.edu (715-839-4712); Zen Miller, zen.miller@ces.uwex.edu (920-832-5119); Randy Thompson, randy.thompson@ces.uwex.edu (608-757-5696); or David Wachter, dave.wachter@ces.uwex.edu (608-723-2125).