The threat of a trade dispute with Mexico and the Russian announcement of a possible major reduction of imports of pork and poultry were reminders this week of the impact of world trade on US pork prices. At the current pace of exports, almost 25% of the pork we produce in the US will be in the export market this year. For the first 6 months of this year, exports accounted for 21.5% of all pork produced in the US. According to University of Missouri calculations, for the first 6 months of this year, exports contributed over $42 per pig to the value of our pigs at slaughter. Read More...

Every year those of us involved in pork production hear tales of pig deaths associated with manure pit agitation and manure removal from confinement facilities. These deaths range from a ‘few’ pigs in a corner of a curtain-sided wean-finish facility to hundreds of animals. In recognition of the risks to both pigs and people working in these facilities, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Pork Board sponsored a webcast on the topic of ventilation management during pit pumping last Wednesday (http://www.extension.umn.edu/swine/porkcast/). Read More...

Later this week, Canadian government bean counters will release their July 1 inventory numbers. Everyone expectation is a continuation of the decline in sow numbers and on-farm grow-finish inventory. Read More...

This past week I spent several days working with a production system doing grower meetings. One of the topics of discussion was emergency plans for wean-finish facilities and insurance coverage of these facilities.  Read More...

In another 6-8 weeks, many of the readers of this blog will be thinking about issues associated with the pumping of manure pits. In southern Minnesota, many custom applicators will begin applying manure for some clients in the next few weeks following sweet corn harvest. For many production facilities, fall harvest can come none too soon as their pits are approaching being full. Read More...