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 … Continue reading →

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. The best science and technology has to offer occurred as my daughter … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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. However, the news from Europe isn’t so good. Pork prices are in … Continue reading →

Last week I wrote about the changes in synthetic amino acid supplies that will be impacting our industry in the coming months. Since then I’ve talked with several producers and suppliers about the impact of the change. One obvious impact … Continue reading →

Last week I wrote about the exciting happenings in swine nutrition research. This week my comments are still about swine nutrition, but now I’m talking about upcoming ingredient price hikes and their impacts on diet formulation. Soybean harvest has begun … Continue reading →

This past week I participated in both the Leman Swine Health Conference and the Minnesota Nutrition Conference. At both meetings one of the major topics was ‘gut health’ and the impact of nutrition on health. It was exciting to listen … Continue reading →

As we move forward with SWAP and packer on-farm audits for animal welfare and drug residue safety, many producers are now facing 3rd party audits. In the case of SWAP, these audits are randomly chosen sites where an independent auditor … Continue reading →

One of the magazines that I receive is Food Processing (www.foodprocessing.com). This is the National Hog Farmer magazine for the food processing industry. I find it really interesting to learn of their challenges/opportunities as they convert our products into consumer … Continue reading →