During my time in the Southwest region, I had the pleasure of meeting Hedwig. Hedwig is a swine farmer who has been raising a small herd of swine for about 5 years. Some of those years, she has lost almost every one of her pigs to ASF outbreaks. She told me about the challenges of having to rebuild a herd with no government compensation. Another difficulty in keeping ASF out of their pig houses is the fact that they only have enough money for infrastructure to build small sheds behind their houses. If an outbreak occurs in the community, there is a high likelihood that any one of her neighbors could inadvertently bring it to her pigs, just by walking by.
Given the challenges and expense associated with raising pigs in this non-controlled disease environment, I asked her why she still farms. While it’s true that this is a source of income for her and her family, it’s not their only source. She looked at me and smiled and said “I just love pig farming. I have a passion for it. I love the animals. I love supporting my family and feeding my community.”
.....Hedwig is at left in the photo, with another pig farmer and me.....
