United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 1922

Swine 2007 

Small-Enterprise 

Study

A “First Look” 

at Small-Enterprise Swine 

Operations in the 

United States Confidentiality

Because NAHMS studies rely on voluntary 

participation, APHIS protects the privacy of 

every participant. Only those collecting the 

data will know the identity of the respondent. 

No name or address is ever recorded in any 

APHIS database. No data will be reported on 

any individual or in a manner that would allow 

the identification of an individual.

NAHMS Studies

NAHMS has developed national estimates on 

disease prevalence and other factors related 

to the health of U.S. dairy cattle, swine, beef 

cattle, equine, poultry, catfish, and sheep. 

The science-based results produced by 

NAHMS have proven to be of considerable 

value to the U.S. livestock, poultry, and 

aquaculture industries. NAHMS studies are

National in scope,

Voluntary and confidential,

Statistically valid, 

Scientific, and 

Collaborative in nature.

For more information about the 

Small-Enterprise Swine Study 2007, 

please contact

USDA–APHIS

Veterinary Services, Attention: NAHMS 

NRRC Building B, Mailstop 2E7

2150 Centre Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80526–8117

Phone: (970) 494–7000

E-mail: NAHMS@aphis.usda.gov

Or visit NAHMS on the Web at 

<http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov>.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where 

applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, 

religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political 

beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication 

of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 

(voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write 

to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 

Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call 

(800)795-3272 (voice) or (202)720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an 

equal opportunity provider and employer.

Photo credits: All images in this leaflet were provided 

courtesy of the National Pork Board.

Issued February 2007
In July and August 2007, the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) National 

Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) 

will launch its first national study of smallenterprise swine operations. The Swine 

2007 Small-Enterprise Study will focus on 

health and management practices of small 

swine operations in 31 States,* specifically 

operations with fewer than 100 pigs.

The study will cover States considered 

at risk for exposure to feral swine and 

transmission of classical swine fever (CSF) 

and pseudorabies. Although the United 

States was declared free of CSF in 1978, 

the disease remains a threat to the U.S. 

pork industry and is currently present in 

neighboring countries, such as Cuba, Haiti, 

the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. The 

information gathered in this study will provide 

a more complete picture of small-enterprise 

swine operations and the risk of introduction 

of these diseases. It also will further the 

understanding of the risks and hazards 

presented by feral pigs, the role they play 

in disease transmission, and how best to 

minimize the threat they pose to domestic 

swine.

How You Can Help

By participating in this voluntary study, you will 

contribute reliable and valuable information to

■ Better understand potential risk factors for 

certain diseases associated with exposure 

to feral swine,

■ Define and summarize current management 

practices and health conditions present on 

small-enterprise swine operations,

■ Help government and industry representatives make informed decisions, and

■ Help university researchers and private 

enterprises identify and focus on vital 

issues related to small enterprises.

What Your Participation Involves

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) will randomly select a sample of 

small-enterprise swine operations (fewer than 

100 pigs). If your operation is selected to 

participate, NASS will send you a letter during 

summer 2007 explaining the study. Shortly 

thereafter, a study questionnaire will be mailed 

to you. If the questionnaire is not returned, 

a NASS representative will contact you via 

telephone and offer you the opportunity to 

complete the questionnaire at that time. 

Participation in the study is completely 

voluntary and strictly confidential. Because 

of the limited information that currently 

exists on this segment of the swine industry, 

participation in the study is very important. * Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, 

Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, 

New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, 

Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, 

Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Study Results

Questionnaire data will be entered in a 

database for analysis and summarization. 

No individual herd data will be published. 

Only combined herd results will be published. 

Study results will be available on the NAHMS 

Web site, <http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov>, and 

may be reported in industry trade magazines 

and newsletters or other media and at 

association meetings.

Previous NAHMS study results have been 

widely used by academic researchers, 

industry representatives, and legislators 

to better understand research needs and 

important animal-health issues.

Swine 2007 Small-Enterprise Study