The National Retail Federation just released its ranking of the top 100 retailers in the US for 2013. Not surprising – Wal-Mart was the largest by a wide margin. In 2012 Wal-Mart had US sales totaling $328.7 billion dollars. Worldwide … Continue reading →

The Canadian swine industry continues to shrink in size. We won’t know the exact numbers of pigs until the results of the July 1 inventory count is released by Statistics Canada in late July. However, we are seeing the impact … Continue reading →

Dr Tom Gillespie, a swine veterinarian from Rensselaer, Indiana replied to my blog on Crop Progress and Hog Barns from earlier this summer. He asked that I comment on the possible differences in performance between wean-finish barns and nursery moved … Continue reading →

By now most readers of this blog, at least in the US, have read about the spread of PED virus in the Midwest swine industry. On Wednesday at a meeting of veterinarians and producers at World Pork Expo it was … Continue reading →

This week is the 25th World Pork Expo in Des Moines. I look forward to visiting with many of you at this event. If the rains hold off I expect many of you with plans to attend will change those … Continue reading →

This past week I participated in the Alltech Symposia in Lexington, KY. One of the speakers was Dr Tony Edwards, a consulting swine nutritionist from Adelaide, Australia. Tony’s task was to take us through the dynamics that are associated with … Continue reading →

This week’s blog is being written in the MSP airport. Storms shut down all departures and landings for over 1 hour so all flights the remainder of the evening are messed up, including mine. The good news – more moisture … Continue reading →

In the past couple of months the pork industry has realized the important role exports plays in our long term profitability. Exports are down both due to trade issues (ractopamine ‘free’ pork to Russia and China) and currency exchange rates … Continue reading →

In the past few weeks I’ve put on quite a few miles as I’ve worked with producers and production systems across the upper Midwest. With so much road time I’ve had a chance to think about the importance of pork … Continue reading →

It’s Monday morning and I’m in the office of one the SVC Research swine research facilities. We’re currently looking to fill 2 research technician positions. In the meantime – I’m getting to spend time with our current employee crew doing … Continue reading →