There’s a classic saying: “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
Pork producers could easily apply this phrase to their work because, for years, they have earned a 99% compliance score for animal well-being.1But for U.S. pork producers, that mindset stopped being enough about the time they achieved it
Instead, pork producers live by a different rule: “When we know better, we do better.” Today, pork producers are continually refining how they care for pigs, ensuring that even the best practices are always evolving to meet consumer and supply chain demands while at the same time, moving the industry toward a more sustainable future
End-to-End Certification: A Paper Trail for Pig Care
Consumers and the supply chain continue to demand transparency from pork producers
The National Pork Board (NPB) administers programs that promote transparency and provide end-to-end certifications to verify producers’ compliance, including Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus), Transport Quality Assurance® (TQA) and PQA Plus site assessments.2Focused on training employees and producers, PQA Plus certification provides resources and training to help improve production practices that impact food safety, animal well-being, environmental stewardship, worker safety, public health and community.
Similarly, TQA trains pig transporters, producers and handlers how to properly move and transport pigs. It includes training on the potential impacts transporting can have on pig well-being and pork quality. What’s more, PQA Plus and TQA have earned USDA approval under the ISO/TS 34700 Animal Welfare Assessment Program, confirming that they conform to an internationally recognized, science-based framework grounded in World Organisation for Animal Health principles. This recognition gives producers, customers and consumers confidence that these programs reflect globally accepted expectations for animal care.
To ensure farm buildings optimize pig care and employee safety, producers also can complete an on-farm evaluation called a site assessment. Conducted by a PQA Plus Advisor, site assessments include a review of records, facilities, equipment and animal care and well-being practices with approximately 95% of pigs produced annually coming from locations that participate in PQA Plus site assessments
Finally, the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) also is used to track pig well-being. As a standardized, science-based, third-party verification tool, the CSIA establishes a single, unified standard for the industry, assuring food safety and animal well-being. Along with PQA and TQA programs, the CSIA adds to the tools helping pork producers easily prove to packers and processors that animal care is paramount
Importantly, these programs represent the majority of U.S. market pig production, proving producers and employees are ahead of the game when it comes to pig welfare
From Making the Grade to Creating a New Grade
It would be easy to stop there. After all, if 99% of the industry is already making the grade,1 how do you go up from there?
The answer: Update the way you’re grading
The industry relies on the CSIA to audit 27 key aspects of pig care throughout their lifecycles, from caretakers and facilities to animal observations and records. But this year, the CSIA completed its most comprehensive update since 2014, reflecting years of data, validation, research and industry input
The CSIA overhaul includes updates in three key areas, including animal sampling, animal benchmarking questions and animal handling. These updates boil down to one key truth: Grading positive animal behavior rather than logging adverse animal behavior allows the industry more accurately track health and well-being
The shift represents an entirely new and groundbreaking way of thinking about animal well-being. Rather than documenting problems, the updated audit measures positive animal outcomes, such as the percentage of pigs walking normally or in good condition, giving producers a more complete picture of herd well-being while recognizing practices that help pigs thrive
Allowing audits to better measure and recognize positive outcomes answers the call consumers are making — asking for pigs who are raised in conditions where they thrive. It’s also proof that the pork industry — specifically, pork producers — are moving the needle, going above and beyond to improve animal welfare while meeting what the supply chain and consumers want at the same time
Excellence in Animal Care
Consumers care about pigs. They’re going to continue to ask for more proof that animals are raised in optimal conditions and greater expectations that the animals they consume were raised with the utmost respect, safety and sustainability
That’s why delivering pork from farms to tables around the world is a shared responsibility. Animal welfare always has been and will always remain a top priority for producers and on-farm employees, along with business partners like transporters, packers, processors and retailers
By utilizing certification programs that provide standardized best practices to unbiased third party-verified audits, pork producers are partnering with the supply chain to deliver pigs which exceed consumers’ expectations for animal well-being and care.
NPB is dedicated to animal care and well-being as an ongoing advocate for raising the bar on already-exceptional animal care, helping supply chain partners prove to their customers that the pork they buy is raised to exceed their animal care and well-being expectations
Because excellence in animal care isn’t just an expectation of consumers and supply chain partners — it’s a commitment to always doing what’s right for pigs and people
Visit porkcares.org/partnerships to discover how NPB’s work advancing pig well-being can help you achieve your measurable sustainability goals for your customers and consumers
Stephanie Wetter, director of animal welfare for the National Pork Board, oversees animal care content for NPB’s training and certification programs and manages Checkoff-funded animal welfare research. Wetter also implements the industry-led Common Swine Industry Audit while serving as the primary NPB staff member on the CSIA Task Force. Additionally, Wetter assists in the development and delivery of sustainability and animal welfare educational material for industry and supply chain professionals.
[1]Based on April 2026 animal welfare criteria analysis of more than 21,000 PQA Site Assessment evaluations by trained PQA Plus advisors in independent, on-farm assessments of science-based animal well-being practices.
[2]U.S. Pork Producers.We Care Dashboard. Built and maintained by We Write Code. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
