I spent 4 days this week in 2 2500 sow breed-to-wean units ear tagging 5 day old pigs on their birth litters as part of an upcoming research project. I don’t normally spend much time in sow units, other than to help them with ventilation issues. Being in the units and working side by side with the employees made me appreciate even more the effort that goes into the weaned pigs that many of us receive in our nurseries and wean-finish facilities.  Read More...

The long and dreary harvest season, when combined with the continued lack of optimism for next summers hog market has many of the readers of this blog concerned about their future in agriculture. I thought I use this week’s blog to share some personal news that should brighten the day for many of you. Read More...

It’s Monday afternoon and I’ve delayed writing this weekend’s blog due to a hectic schedule of telephone calls on Friday. A majority of the calls were related to the many foaming issues many producers in the upper Midwest are reporting in their manure pits. Read More...

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. Read More...

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 and continues to be posted at the University of Nebraska’s Pork Central Website (www.porkcentral.unl.edu). The following is the text of this report. The report itself also included 26 graphs. If you would like to be included in the email distribution of this report, please reply with a comment to this blog and I will add your email address to the distribution list. Read More...