With record numbers of pigs being killed and the upcoming hogs and pigs report, I’ve been asked several times in recent weeks for my thoughts on inventory numbers and producer attitudes. Builders have told me interest in new wean-finish, nurseries … Continue reading
This past week I’ve been on rural roads in 5 different states as I’ve visited production sites. While there has been quite a variation in the quality of the roads, etc. in all cases we had little difficulty in getting … Continue reading
With the mild fall in southern Minnesota and Iowa, pig performance has been outstanding based on the closeouts I’ve seen recently from client sites. With new crop corn and the ability to keep barns within the thermal-neutral range, feed intake … Continue reading
In early November I had data loggers placed in production facilities in west central Minnesota to collect producer data for an upcoming ventilation workshop. In addition to logging temperatures every 2 minutes for a 7 day period we collected information … Continue reading
Earlier this week I drove to Lincoln, Nebraska and back to Mankato. There is a lot of corn piled at country elevators everywhere along the route. While some of it is covered (both with and without aeration fans under the … Continue reading
If you’re a US producer selling slaughter pigs, you have felt a lot of pain the past 2 weeks as live prices have collapsed. Since many of the readers of this blog are located in other countries or serve in … Continue reading
Some more thoughts about Argentinian pork production as I head home. As I wrote, the growth rate is astounding. I ate lunch with producers with 1000 sows who were expanding to 3000, 1500 to 3000, 1000 to 2000, etc. All … Continue reading
This week I’m writing my blog from a convention center in Rosario, Argentina. This is my second day in Rosario working with pork producers and I will be here until Sunday evening when I return to the US. The pork … Continue reading
Have you paid attention to the cull sow market lately? A lot has been written about the very good prices (relative to seasonal expectations) the industry is receiving for market pigs but I’ve seen no comments regarding cull sows. According … Continue reading
Fall is in the air and for northern Iowa and southern Minnesota the ‘air’ includes the familiar smell of land application of stored manure. While I live in the community of North Mankato, this weekend I was constantly reminded that … Continue reading