In 2 weeks I will be depart for a 30 day working vacation in Australia and New Zealand. I say working vacation in that I will be giving producer talks and visiting farms in both countries. At the same time, … Continue reading
A relatively quiet week in the pork industry. Good harvest weather across the Midwest has everyone out in the combines working on bean harvest, even in the very flooded areas of southern Minnesota. We will have some yield loss due … Continue reading
This past week I attended the Leman Swine Health Conference in St Paul and the Minnesota Nutrition Conference in Owatonna. At both conferences I listened to very good presentations that reminded me both of the challenges ahead for production agriculture … Continue reading
This week at a production system’s grower meetings, I always asked for a show of hands on who had full pits. At every location, hands went up. It’s only the middle of September, and we are dealing with full pits. … Continue reading
This week I’m on the road once again, doing a series of grower meetings for a production system. The good news – both owners and growers are excited once again to be in the pig production business. It has been … Continue reading
In a recent discussion, I was asked how much of Iowa’s fertilizer need was being met by land application of swine manure. At the same time, I’ve been driving across much of Iowa and looking at a corn crop that … Continue reading
The swine conference I attended in Mendoza, Argentina was very interesting. I had lunch yesterday with a producer from Chile who’s production records rival the best systems in the US. His challenge – how to source feed ingredients. In addition … Continue reading
I’m writing this blog from a motel room in Mendoza, Argentina. I am presenting 2 talks at a conference for veterinarians and producers. Mendoza is famous for its wine production and while Minnesota is sweltering, the highs here are around … Continue reading
In the past 2 weeks I’ve traveled across much of northeast and central Nebraska, northern Illinois and eastern Iowa. Other than low spots being too wet, the corn and soybean crop is looking very good. While my last blog dealt … Continue reading
With summer heat upon us, sale weights are dropping. The Iowa-Southern Minnesota average weight for the week ending July 17 was 267.3 pounds, down 0.9 pounds from the previous week. Last year at this time, weights were actually increasing due … Continue reading