In the past 2 weeks, I’ve had a chance to ‘windshield’ tour much of the northern Iowa and southern Minnesota corn crop. An impressive crop in the making, if we can continue to get timely rains and heat units for … Continue reading
Hog barns don’t come with owner’s manuals! Many of the readers of this blog have seen me present on this topic at various producer meetings this past year. In the past 2 weeks I’ve worked with several clients on a … Continue reading
Just returned from the local barbershop. While there, visited with a local heating contractor about energy costs. He had just booked his propane for this winter at $2.30/gal, up considerably from last summer’s booking. I’ve also heard of grain … Continue reading
One of the items that has always peaked my interest is the discussion of ‘who is our market’. I think everyone agrees that the ultimate market for the pork we produce is the consumer. However, how this consumer’s desires and … Continue reading
As I write this week’s comments, I’m sitting in a feedmill just outside of Iowa City, Iowa. Dr Steve Pohl, extension ag engineer at South Dakota State University and I have been conducting a series of ventilation workshops in eastern … Continue reading
I’m sitting in the London, Ontario airport following my participation in the 35th Annual Ontario Pork Congress. While many have heard about the Canadian situation, a visit with producers and allied industry really is a good wake-up call to the … Continue reading
With daily federally inspected slaughter continually running above 400,000 pigs, there is limited evidence of a reduction in pork production in the US. On April 1, the Canadian breeding herd was down 12%, and there are lots of individual stories … Continue reading
Blogging is a new experience for me, but in many ways it is similar to what I often did in Extension meetings in Nebraska. For many years, one of the most popular sessions I led was an annual meeting with … Continue reading