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 →

Last week I was on the program for the Western Nutrition Conference in Winnipeg. Much of the meeting dealt with such topics as the intestinal tract biomass, how enzymes can improve availability of nutrients, standardized ileal digestible phosphorus and application … Continue reading →

Last Friday’s hogs and pigs report showed the largest US inventory of pigs on record at 68.395 million pigs. While this sounds like a lot of pigs (and it is), it is still fewer pigs than the recent reduction in … Continue reading →

It’s 7 am on Friday morning in Xiamen City, China and my most recent trip to China is rapidly coming to an end. I am scheduled to visit a swine farm today. I have no idea if I will see … Continue reading →

I’m writing this week’s thoughts as I sit in the MSP airport on my way to China. I will be working with the US Soybean Export Council and Chinese pork industry people on this trip. Some of the attendees at … Continue reading →

In the upper Midwest, grain producers are preparing for bin-busting yields. For many corn growers, this means getting as much storage capacity cleared on-farm as possible to avoid harvest delays because of long lines at country elevators. This means quite … Continue reading →

This past week I’ve been working on a presentation for the China Swine Science Conference in Xiamen, China on September 17-20. My topic – optimal farm size for profit in pig farming. Talk about a challenge. While somewhat limited, the … Continue reading →

Pit pumping has begun in areas with small grains such as oats, barley and wheat. In corn-soy country producers are monitoring pit depth in anticipation of soybean harvest beginning in 6-7 weeks. With this in mind, I’ve had some inquiries … Continue reading →

As I slowly return to the world of pork production following the loss of my wife on June 21, I find that my priorities aren’t quite the same as they once were. Some of that is driven by family demands. … Continue reading →