Swine Care

Education Programs for Swine Care in the United States

To fulfill its vision of providing knowledge and
opportunities that enable producers to be competitive,
the Pork Checkoff has developed several education and certification programs. These programs are designed to help producers tackle issues facing modern pork production.

Several Checkoff-funded programs, such as the the
Pork Quality Assurance™ (PQA) and Trucker
Quality Assurance™ (TQA) programs are considered industry standards. Others are designed to improve the image of the pork industry with customers and consumers, while providing producers with an
opportunity to learn. Such is the case with the Swine
Welfare Assurance ProgramSM and the Take Care™ - Use Antibiotics Responsibly program.

Also, as part of the National Pork Board’s commitment
to producer education, Checkoff funds are used to
deliver informational material, in flexible formats, that
producers can use in their day-to-day operation. This isthe case with the Distance Learning courses.		 Trucker Quality Assurance™ (TQA) Program
The TQA program reached a milestone in 2004, with
over 10,000 truckers and animal handlers receiving
certification. The Pork Checkoff-funded program instructs all participants in the humane and safe
handling of pigs, focusing on the effect handling and
transport have on pork quality.

The program’s success is proven by the support
received by packers in the United States, where, in
many cases, TQA certification is required of any person delivering pigs. Anecdotal data suggest a reduction of dead and fatigued pigs arriving at plants since the inception of TQA.

Producers, their employees and all those involved in
the transport of pigs can attend TQA training sessions
organized by their state pork associations, Extension
departments or the Pork Checkoff.

Those who attend courses receive an official
certificate from the Pork Checkoff that can be used to
demonstrate attendance and satisfactory understanding of TQA concepts. This certificate may be requested of truckers when they deliver pigs to processing plants.