In this episode of The Maine Farmcast, Dr. Colt W. Knight sits down with Dr. Jacqueline Nolting, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Animal Biosecurity at The Ohio State University, to discuss one of the most critical threats facing agriculture today, African Swine Fever (ASF). Dr. Nolting shares her journey from growing up on a small Ohio hobby farm to leading national education and preparedness efforts for the U.S. swine industry. Together, they explore the origins of her innovative Swientist Program, a nationwide youth initiative that uses hands-on education to teach disease prevention, animal handling, and real-world biosecurity practices.

Listeners will gain practical insight into how to prevent the spread of disease, from safe quarantine and disinfection protocols to responsible livestock exhibition and international travel precautions. Dr. Knight and Dr. Nolting break down the science behind ASF and why proactive education is the key to protecting herds both large and small. Whether you raise one pig or one thousand, this episode delivers the essential knowledge every producer needs to help keep our pigs healthy, our farms strong, and our bacon safe.

• Learn more about Dr. Nolting
  https://vet.osu.edu/people/jacqueline-nolting
• Learn more about the Swientist Program
  https://vet.osu.edu/departments-offices/veterinary-preventive-medicine/swientist
• Learn more about disease transmission in show pigs
  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6749708/
• Learn more about African Swine Fever
  https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-disease/swine/protect-pigs

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