With predictions of another week of wet weather in the upper Midwest, harvest of corn and soybeans will lag even further behind the 5 year average. In conversations with producers, I’m hearing reports of stalk rot and other stand problems. … Continue reading
For many years, following the release of the quarterly USDA hogs and pigs report I write a commentary on the changing structure of the US industry as documented by the numbers in these reports. This commentary is circulated via email … Continue reading
In the past 3-4 weeks I’ve given presentations to producers and their advisors at meetings in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota. At each of these sessions I’ve included a discussion of ventilation management strategies to reduce the likelihood of pig … Continue reading
On Wednesday of this week I was a speaker at the Midwest Pork Conference in Indiana, sponsored by the Indiana Pork Producers. In spite of tough current economic conditions, attendance at the meeting was surprisingly good. I spoke with several … Continue reading
There are days I’m really glad that I’m not the commodity risk manager for a production company. In addition to trying to outguess the weather impacts on prices, keeping track of the basis for feed grains and soybean meal can … Continue reading
I am a member of the Minnesota Pork Board’s research committee. This committee is charged with making the call for research proposals (RFP’s) and then deciding which proposals to fund using producer’s checkoff dollars. Have you given thought to … Continue reading
Yesterday the USDA and Statistics Canada released their combined quarterly estimates of the Canadian and US Hogs and Pigs inventory. The US numbers came from the June 1 estimate while the Canadian numbers are their July 1 estimate. The … Continue reading
We are all aware of the negative impact on our industry from the use of the term Swine Flu during last springs world wide outbreak and spread. Just last week, Korea re-opened its borders to our products and live animals, … Continue reading
Last week I had the opportunity to tour RiverView Dairy at Morris, Minnesota. I was part of group of ag engineers who were interested in viewing the application of evaporative pads and tunnel ventilation to a 5000 cow dairy barn. … Continue reading
As part of my consulting business, I am in a large number of swine facilities every year. When added to my years of experiences while an Extension Swine Specialist at the University of Nebraska, I like to think I’ve seen … Continue reading