The past president of the National Pork Producers Council, Dr. Howard Hill, spoke at a Congressional sub-committee hearing on livestock, and said the U.S. is unprepared for a foreign animal disease outbreak. He says Foot and Mouth disease poses a serious threat to hog farmers who have no way to treat the disease should American pork producers be hit by an outbreak. Brownfield reports that Hill says the only way to treat the disease is with vaccinations. The U.S. currently cannot produce a large number of vaccines for even an initial outbreak, let alone long term. Hill said the country must put together an FMD vaccine bank, and that’s consistent with a recent Homeland Security presidential directive. NPPC wants the government to establish an offshore vendor-maintained bank, which would contain an inventory of 10 million doses, which NPPC estimates will be needed during the first two weeks of an outbreak.