At World Pork Expo, Emma Lasco, a pork production specialist with Zoetis, highlighted three of Zoetis' training programs:

1. Vaccinologist training
2. Individual sow care
3. Individual pig care

“The vaccinologist training really encompasses the importance of when we have the vaccine, why are we giving a vaccine, how does it work, the easiest way to handle a vaccine so that it's effective, and then the administration of a vaccine,” said Lasco. “How do we keep humans and pigs safe?”

The Individual Pig Care training program emphasizes the importance of getting the healthiest pigs to the market and to help with throughput. It focuses on finding the right pigs and treating them effectively to optimize farm and market performance.

“We also offer Individual Sow Care, and that's really focused on how to keep sow mortality down,” said Lasco. “It's a rising problem in our industry. How can we help customers address that - by identifying when a pig is sick. We look at key factors to identify if a sow is normal or abnormal acting, and how to address that to keep sow health up.”

Zoetis offers different platforms for starting these classes. Producers can reach out to the Zoetis sales team if they have an interest in any of the classes. Zoetis has pork production specialists who can travel directly to the farm to help train employees.

Zoetis also offers Zoetis Learning Solutions, which contains online trainings for the three programs in English and in Spanish. This can be found at zoetislearningsolutions.com. The online version is very helpful for busy producers and farm staff who do not have a lot of time to attend an in-person training session. This platform allows producers and staff to complete the sessions at their own pace or choose more detailed course options.

In-person training is a great option for a team who has more time for deep-dive into a problem or issue they are experiencing.

“We see the value in in-barn training where we can look at pigs and work together and have dialogue and conversations,” said Lasco. “That's really where the results happen. We join them in troubleshooting, in reaching their goals in production statistics. That’s always easier done face-to-face and on-farm with pigs in front of us.”

These programs offer benefits to producers such as training, which can become difficult when new employees enter the barn and helping employees and producers collectively reach their goals. Zoetis can help as a second set of eyes in terms of improving production and can offer extra training if needed.

“We never want to add more work onto someone's plate,” said Lasco. “We want to be able to take that off and make the operation more efficient. We want to help producers and employees enjoy the job that they're doing and be able to do it the most effectively.”