While it is the middle of July, now is the time to think about next winter’s propane needs. For those of us in the upper Midwest, thoughts of last winter’s spike in spot prices to over $5 per gallon along … Continue reading
Yesterday I was at a production site working with production supervisors for a production system. While they spend every working day in production facilities directing the care of pigs and making individual pig marketing decisions, the supervisors really had not … Continue reading
This past week I’ve been reviewing pig inventories as reported in both the Jun 1 USDA Hogs and Pigs report and the 2012 USDA Census of Ag. As readers of this blog well know, prices on the Chicago board have … Continue reading
While many of us involved in pork production have a general idea of current prices and we generally pay attention to the Chicago Futures prices, I thought I would put current prices in laymans terms so we really appreciate today’s … Continue reading
I’m writing this week’s blog ahead of the Hogs and Pigs Report, the planted acres report and the quarterly grain stocks report. All of these have big implications for producers as they make marketing and production decisions. At the same … Continue reading
I’ve been tracking weekly weaned and feeder pigs prices from USDA for almost as long as they have been reporting them at the following site: www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/NW_LS255.txt There has been a clear seasonal cycle to the pricing of these pigs. For … Continue reading
World Pork Expo is over for another year and once again, not enough hours in the day to visit with everyone. Many of the readers of this blog visited with me about many topics. One topic I was asked to … Continue reading
With record profits projected for this year, even in the face of a shortage of pigs due to the PEDv outbreak, many producers have begun thinking about appropriate reinvestment strategies. Lately I’ve begun thinking about the need for repair/replacement … Continue reading
This week I was asked if I had any data on the impact of transport distance on weight loss and recovery in weaned pigs. Transport loss has the potential to be a big factor in our industry as almost … Continue reading
This past week I was in a planning meeting for next year’s American Association of Swine Veterinarians annual meeting. The obvious topic on the table was PEDv which led to a discussion of the industry risks associated with foreign animal … Continue reading