I receive newsletters and commentary from my industry connections around the world. One advantage of these connections is the ability to think about how the US industry is doing relative to other major production locations around the world. Read More...

The wild gyrations in both the grain and livestock futures markets this week serve as a very good reminder that US agriculture is not an isolated production system. With talk of a possible collapse of the Russian ruble and the delay in export certificates for Russian wheat, the US was suddenly looked to as the desired trade partner by many purchasers of bulk feed grains. Read More...

As producers invest recent profits back into facilities (both new and remodeled), now is the time to give some thought to equipment operating costs. I’m referring here to ventilation fans and their CFM/watt ratings. Read More...

Is expansion finally happening in the swine industry? In the past few weeks I’ve talked with a lot of gilt suppliers, builders and equipment suppliers and I think the answer is a resounding – YES. Many gilt suppliers are telling me of very strong sales with many of the gilts destined for new breeding site projects. There are many new breed-wean units currently under construction (generally 2500-5000+ plus in size) and permit hearings on-going for new units to be constructed beginning next spring. Read More...

Last week I had a discussion with a producer who was familiar with many of the details of the fire and animal loss at the sow unit near Truman, Minnesota recently. This led to a discussion of what should producers be doing to prevent such losses at their sites. Read More...

The sudden arrival of winter has caught a lot of producers unprepared. I’ve heard of producers who still need to empty pits, but tonight’s -3F predicted low will really drive the frost down. Hopefully next weeks break in the weather will be enough to allow the remaining pits to be emptied. Read More...

I’ve missed one week of posting a blog as I experienced the best science and technology has to offer and the frustrations of technology these past 2 weeks. Read More...

Now that I’ve been back in the US for 5 days, some more thoughts about China and the changes I witnessed. Words can’t begin to describe how fast China is modernizing. I was in 7 different ‘cities’ in 8 days and the upgrade in standard of living I observed was phenomenal. There were new 40+ story apartment buildings everywhere. In many cases I observed the demolition of the old brick and plaster single story historic housing as they upgrade the housing for 1.5 billion people. Read More...

I’m writing my blog from somewhere in China. Notice I’m saying somewhere because in 8 days I’m on 5 airplanes, a 5 hr car ride and a ferry. I’m doing a 3 hr seminar at 7 locations for the US Soybean Export Council, a division of the US Soybean Board. The intent of this series of meetings in to help Chinese producers better understand the US pork production system they are trying to implement in China. My charge – explain why we have implemented wean-finish so widely in our industry and what type of feeders and drinkers we use to make this so successful. Read More...

With feed prices dropping and consumer demand keeping prices uncharacteristically strong in October, US producers are enjoying the prospects of continued profits, even if PEDv may increase seasonally. Read More...