SwineCast Industry

Are You Ready for Fair Oaks Pig Adventure?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:46:45 -0400

How can consumers learn more about swine farms and how pigs are raised? The Fair Oaks Pig Adventure is being designed as a place for everyone to learn more, see actual pigs in barns, and discover the activity required behind the scenes. Mike Platt, Indiana Pork Association Executive Director, provides an update on the educational venue.

USDA Swine Health Program Update

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:00:02 -0400

via SwineCast.com

What are some of the swine health programs run under the USDA and how are they doing? Dr. Troy Bigelow provides an update on the programs, where additional surveillance is needed, and what the future looks like. Take away: surveillance activities will continue to evolve and become more comprehensive.

Swine Production In Russia

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:06:27 -0400

via SwineCast.com

Dr. Lisa Becton provides background on African Swine Fever situation in Russia, and in so doing provides some great background on the state of Russian pork production. Of note is almost half of the Russian pork production is on communal farms, peasant farms, or private small home farms, where the main use of pork production is a waste removal system.

Swine Industry Ability to Outbid Ethanol Plants

SwineCast Industry — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:35:10 -0400

via SwineCast.com

Dr. Chris Hurt shares some economics updates and what producers need to consider on their feed management as 2012 moves forward. Key take away: Swine producers have the financial ability to outbid ethanol producers for corn. This is forcing ethanol plants to shrink in capacity or shut down. Also, foreign trade is becoming a key component for the industry.

Chinese Corn Estimates Might Disrupt Markets

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:11:54 -0400

via CattleNetwork.com

China's growth means that many of its raw materials to sustain the growth must come from other parts of the world. To help gauge Chinese demand for materials, many companies and governments rely on estimates from the China National Bureau of Statistics and other sources, like U.S. Government agencies. If, however, the estimates are wrong one way or the other by a larger than expected margin, the commodity markets start to react, and cause some companies to loose business and revenue.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said that farms produced a record corn crop in 2011 of 191.8 million tonnes. But enthusiastic local officials often overstate the size of crops in China to impress central authorities and win bigger subsidies.

Beijing and the influential U.S. agriculture department may have overstated China's corn crop by as much as 14 percent, pointing to higher imports from the world's second-largest consumer of the grain that could squeeze already tightening global supplies.

This large misalignment of estimates versus reality will cause turmoil in the commodity markets and effect the local markets for feed grain and impact beef, pork, and poultry producers.

Farmers and Ranchers Need To Speak for Themselves

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:53:22 -0400

via MeatingPlace.com

Sarah Hubbart, Animal Agriculture Alliance, says farmers and ranchers need to proactively step up and speak for themselves. The alternative is that other people will do the speaking and that most certainly will not acurately reflect the farmers' and ranchers' views.

Too often, agriculture is forced to be reactive, rather than proactive in discussing farm practices. But what if agriculture were in the drivers' seat in the race to influence public opinion?

Sarah offers some models currently being pursued by farms like Fair Oaks Dairy or Rose Acre Farms. And even if the the logistics of producing internet media is too much of a burden for some operations, there are opportunities to develop smaller approaches to sharing with groups of other agri-producers.

Pig Parts In Bullets?

SwineCast Industry — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:30:07 -0400

Pig Parts In Bullets? Christien Meindertsma, author of "Pig 05049", follows the many parts of a pig to see how they are used. Of the 185 products she discovered, she shares several surprising examples. Her goal? To create an awareness of the products so that we, society, can "take better care of what's behind our products". She says the first step is to know that they [the products] are there.

Are Meat Demand and Feed Prices Related?

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:44:42 -0400

Audio via SwineCast

Paragon Economics Dr. Steve Meyer walks through meat demand, corn prices ($4-$8??) and weather issues.

The total feed supply is going down. Long term we need to get more efficient or we get smaller. Can we get efficient enough to that we can grow with a shrinking supply of energy feed?

Dr. Meyer also looks into the ethanol industry, how it fared in 2011 and what it may do in 2012, with respect to their need for corn inputs.

Swine Economic Outlook a Roller-coaster?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:28:21 -0400

via SwineCast.com

How will the pork industry fare in 2012? Dr. Steve Meyer says 2012 has five key issues to keep an eye on: exports, U.S. Demand, feed prices, hog/pork supplies, and packing capacity. Steve also highlights the relationships between crops and costs.

Total feed supply is going down. This means we either get more efficient or we get smaller.

Keeping Pigs Entertained

SwineCast Industry — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:15:06 -0400

via PlayingWithPigs.nl

How can you not love this! Pigs that play. This art and design project from Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU) Wageningen University and Research Centre aims to understand how provide entertainment to pigs.

The driver for this research is European legislation that requires pig farmers to provide entertainment in the pens to combat boredom, aggression and tail biting amongst pigs, which will hopefully eliminate the need for routine tail-docking.

Playing with Pigs: Pig Chase from Utrecht School of the Arts on Vimeo.

Are There Market Struggles in Meat and Poultry Demand?

SwineCast Industry — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:56:39 -0400

via ThePigSite.com

Dr. Steve Meyer, Paragon Economics, provided an update on the state of the meat and poultry markets. His main take away is that the demand continued to struggle late 2011.

The bad news is that these "annual" numbers for 2011 have been getting worse and worse as the year has progressed.

Steve reminds us that the indexes only describe how demand is changing, not why a change is occurring. He believes consumer incomes and spending was the major negative force in the domestic market in 2011.

Charts below from Paragon Economics, using USDA data.

China’s Pork Price, Most Watched Economic Indicator

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:34:57 -0400

via thejakartaglobe.com

The pork market in China is larger than all the other world markets combined. This fact offers an indicator into how pork markets and pricing may move. One might ask "With China goes the rest of the world"?

And there are few better ways to gauge that demand than by tracking staple food prices that directly hit discretionary consumer spending — a sector of economic activity that typically generates 40 percent of China’s annual GDP growth.

Economists and investors believe the price of pork in China could soon rival US payrolls as the world’s most watched economic indicator.

2012 Pork Events Coming Up Soon!

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:38:56 -0400

Coming up in January are two main pork industry events.

The Minnesota Pork Congress is January 18-19 in Minneapolis, MN. Of note: The pre-congress ventilation seminar on January 17, the keynote January 18 featuring Haydn Shaw on Leading Across Generations, and the Pork Congress trade show January 18 and 19.

The 2012 Iowa Pork Congress, January 25-26, in Des Moines, Iowa offers insight and observations on the swine production, economics, and legislative activities. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the presentation experts and discover more on the trade show floor.

Is There a Consumer / Producer Communications Gap?

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:28:49 -0400

Audio link via SwineCast

Dr. Marty Strauss understands the issues consumers have in understanding food/food information. He also understand agricultures desires to help. Dr. Strauss offered how to better bridge the producer/consumer communications gap.

WTO, "Not" on Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:57:40 -0400

via Bloomberg Businessweek

The World Trade Organization has ruled that the USA Country of origin labeling (aka COOL, USDA info) is violating global trade rules and may impact global agricultural commerce.

“We remain committed to providing consumers with accurate and relevant information with respect to the origin of meat products that they buy at the retail level,” [Andrea Mead, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative] said in a statement. “In that regard we are considering all options, including appealing the panel’s decision.”

COOL is considered by the US Swine industry to be a burden because the costs to implement and use out weight the benefits. For beef, many countries avoid exporting the the USA, also because of the USA COOL regulations.

How does MF Global impact the Swine Industry?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:25:43 -0400

AgStar's Steve Malakowsky discusses MF Global and their current bankruptcy.

How running is like competing in the swine industry

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:50:55 -0400

AgStar’s Mark Greenwood discusses values for swine facilities and briefly shares about his recent half marathon running triumph and how it relates to the swine industry.

The Future of America, What Does It Hold?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:36:36 -0400

via portfolioofideas.com

What does the future of America hold? Some good perspective from a recent video series at the Wall Street Journal titled "America: A Portfolio of Ideas" featured several different perspectives and is highly recommended. To give you a feel for what it holds we share this brief audio featuring John Naisbitt (Megatrends) and Gloria Naisbitt on the influence of culture on our trading relationship with China.

FFA Impromptu Performances

SwineCast Industry — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:48:16 -0400

Video via TruffleMedia.com

Madison FFA chapter members setup an impromptu performance. Mayson Briggs, Jackson Adams, Sam Adams, Jr., Sam Adams, Sr., and Matthew Ray, from the Madison FFA chapter, Madison County North Carolina - Westin Hotel lobby, National FFA Convention, Oct 20, 2011, Indianapolis, IN, USA

For full screen, click on player below. Click to share video with others.

What Is Happening in Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:06:44 -0400

Audio via SwineCast.com

Dr. Bob Morrison connects on recent conference presentations from 6th International Symposium on Emerging and Re-emerging Pig Diseases. On the panel: Carl Grontvedt, DVM, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science; Amy Vincent, Veterinary Medical Officer, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA; Marie Gramer, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota; and Montse Torremorell, Allen D. Leman Chair, University of Minnesota.

What Is A Successful Breeding Management Program?

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:32:26 -0400

via SwineCast.com

Dr. George Foxcroft, University of Alberta, Edmonton, gives the Pijoan Lecture at the 2011 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference. He talks about genes, gametes and gestation outcomes: essential links in a successful breeding management program. From the 2011 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 17-20, 2011, St Paul, MN USA.

Can Managing Gene X Environment Interactions Work?

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:25:11 -0400

via SwineCast.com

Dr. Billy Flowers, NCSU, talks about managing gene X environment interactions on reproductive performance of replacement gilts and boars through pre-weaning management at multiplication level. He looks into if this is a reality and what are its implications. From the 2011 The Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 17-20, 2011, St Paul, MN, USA.

Large Operation Odor Management Technology

SwineCast Industry — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:33:51 -0400

via agebb.missouri.edu

The University of Missouri awarded the $50,000 Mizzou Advantage grant to Dr. Teng Teeh Lim to develop a computer model as a tool to help large producers understand the amount of their emissions and what they can do to address odor or emission issues.

"Measurement of emissions in the field can be very costly, very tedious to conduct and requires such hard work, set up and equipment maintenance for forever changing pollutants and exhaust from such facilities," Dr. Teng Teeh Lim [University of Missouri Extension researcher] said.

The computer model will be available on line late in 2011.

What do farmers think about consumers?

SwineCast Industry — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:49:27 -0400

via USFRAonline.org

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance's Survey of Farmers, Ranchers, and Consumers suggests that 93% of farmers and ranchers believe consumer's perception of US modern farming practices are somewhat or not accurate at all. The survey also notes that consumers are firmly divided on the direction of modern agriculture. These and other survey observations were discussed in the Food Dialogues Town Hall, segments of which can be watched on-line.

What do consumers really think about farming?

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:31:08 -0400

via USFRAonline.org

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance released a consumer, farmer, and rancher survey that says 42% of consumers believe US is heading in wrong direction. Additionally, it states 93% of farmers believe consumer perception of modern farming is somewhat or not accurate. This sets up a disconnect in the US on food production practices and consumer preferences.

Consumers think about food production constantly, yet know very little about how food is brought to the dinner table. Consumers are firmly divided on the direction of modern agriculture.

Can Mycoplasma Diagnostics Be Improved?

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:46:33 -0400

Audio via SwineCast.com

Dr. Erin Strait, Iowa State University, shares what we should expect from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo.) diagnostics today and what the future may hold.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a bug that is a challenge to detect in live pigs.

How Is Pig Lameness Being Researched?

SwineCast Industry — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:18:42 -0400

via Iowa State University

It is estimated that pig lameness costs pork producers $23 million a year. Being able to understand the condition and how to address pig lameness is key to helping producers put in place better management practices.

"Lameness is the second highest reason that sows leave the breeding herd early,” [Anna Johnson, an Iowa State University animal scientist] said. “Problems during reproduction are rated as the number one problem, but we think that lameness may be contributing to the reproduction problems.”

Dr. Johnson will lead a four-year research project to understand lameness in pigs and provide solutions to producers. This project is funded by a $700,000 grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Food Research Initiative (USDA-AFRI).

Keeping Pigs Cool

SwineCast Industry — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:16:21 -0400

via extension.umn.edu

The midwest is experiencing high heat and humidity this summer. These high temperatures not only make you feel terrible but your livestock can feel bad too. It is important to keep an eye on the animals and take action before they start to get heat stress.

This document provides guidelines on identifying optimum swine temperature ranges and tactics to keeping the pigs cool.

PRRSv Area Regional Control Updates

SwineCast Industry — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:30:12 -0400

via SwineCast.com

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSv) is a disease that is a problem for those in swine production. For the last several years there have been regional efforts aimed at understanding the disease and identifying ways to control and eliminate it. At the 2011 World Pork Expo, several regions shared updates on the efforts. Also, key findings and constraints were presented and research on PRRS disease identification and transmission were provided.

Better Pork, Lower Temp

SwineCast Industry — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:00:17 -0400

via Pork.Org

The USDA issued new pork cooking guidelines that allow for pork to be cooked at a lower temperature that has traditionally been done in the past. The new recommended temperature is 15 degrees less than previously recommended, resulting in pork being pinker than most cooks are accustomed to.

"Our consumer research has consistently shown that Americans have a tendency to overcook common cuts of pork, resulting in a less-than-optimal eating experience," said Dianne Bettin, a pork producer from Truman, Minn., and chair of the Checkoff's Domestic Marketing Committee. "The new guidelines will help consumers enjoy pork at its most flavorful, juicy - and safe - temperature."