Many of the readers of this blog have tunnel ventilated wean-finish or grow-finish facilities. Others have seen these type of facilities and have questions about how they function in terms of meeting the heat removal needs of growing pigs. A … Continue reading →

I track the carcass weight and weighted average net price as reported daily in the National Daily Direct Prior Day Slaughtered Swine report (LM_HG201) from USDA. This report gives a detailed look at the prior day slaughter numbers, carcass measurements … Continue reading →

Once again there have been reports of pig deaths due to fires in production facilities. Earlier this winter I wrote about communicating with your local fire department regarding details of your production site, maps of facilities, etc. I recently came … Continue reading →

Last week I was a participant at the London, Ontario Swine Conference. This conference is the largest swine conference in Eastern Canada and was well attended. There were over 360 registrants for Wednesday’s general sessions and breakouts. On Thursday the … Continue reading →

I’m writing this blog at the Minneapolis airport as I travel to London, Ontario for this weeks London Swine Conference and do a client farm visit. Both my presentations at the London Conference and my client visit deal with the … Continue reading →

Spring doesn’t officially arrive in southern Minnesota until tomorrow evening, but signs of it are everywhere. I saw pits being pumped in Northwest Iowa this afternoon with dust being generated in the soybean stubble where they were injecting the manure. … Continue reading →

It’s the season for producer meetings and I’ve already spoken with many producer groups and production system growers this winter. Another round of meetings begins again tomorrow. At the previous meetings this winter I’ve been asked to spend time on … Continue reading →

USDA released the estimates for the combined US and Canada swine herds this afternoon. The US numbers are based on the quarterly USDA Hogs and Pigs report while the Canadian numbers are from Canada Statistics semi-annual inventory report. US numbers … Continue reading →

When I arose at 6 am this morning the outside temperature at my house was -12F. With an office in my basement, I don’t have to go outside and ‘brave’ the cold today. However, all of those people responsible for … Continue reading →

As carcass bids continue to decline at a relatively rapid rate and slaughter numbers grow, I’ve been asked about the expansion plans for 2015 that I and other have written about. Will producers go ahead with their plans in the … Continue reading →