Feedstuffs in Focus

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has a complex interaction with a pig’s  immune system. Understanding this response is essential to recognizing the pathogen’s role in respiratory disease, as well as treatment and prevention decisions. Welcome to the third of four episodes of Feedstuffs Swine Healthline, brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health and focused on  Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae . Our guest is Dr. D...

For those who spend too much time online, it may seem that farmers are frequently under the gun for a range of issues, from greenhouse gas emissions to GMOs. But despite the occasional hue and cry from some quarters, recent survey data suggests that the average consumer actually holds the U.S. farmer in relatively high regard. In this episode we talk with one of the leaders at the United Soybean B...

Recent headlines have suggested that food prices are rising faster than inflation or incomes, prompting concerns that consumers struggling through a pandemic-racked economy may be spending more of their dollars to feed their families. But what is the data really saying – are we talking about retail grocery prices, food consumed away from home, or simply about rising commodity prices? In this episo...

Accurate detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection in live pigs is critical for timely disease control, but it is challenging. New, practical tools that improve upon or complement existing diagnostics can make a difference.  Our guest is Dr. Maria Pieters, a faculty member with the Veterinary Population Medicine Department and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the College of Veterinary...

At first glance, Donald Trump would not have appeared to be the type of politician rural Americans would identify with; a lifelong New York real estate developer, born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, and with essentially zero experience dealing with agriculture or other issues of importance to those of us who live in “flyover country.” And yet, for the past four years the former Pre...

You know that Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a primary pathogen in swine respiratory disease (SRD) complexes and a gateway to endemic health challenges.  Jordi Mora of ECO Animal Health explains the impacts of M. hyo and swine respiratory disease in modern finishing operations and what swine health professionals can do to prepare for continuing challenges. This podcast is brought to you by Pharmgate...

Technology drives so much of the modern economy. From app-based food ordering to online banking to the idea that someday we may be ferried about in autonomous vehicles, our lives are increasingly aided or driven by technological advancement. What about livestock production? Are food animal producers keeping pace with the developments in automation, innovation, big data or artificial intelligence?...

Winter Storm Uri, the latest in a series of winter storms this month, pummeled much of the Heartland, from deep into Texas on through the High Plains and across the Midwest. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 73% of the Lower 48 states was covered in snow by Wednesday — the largest snowcover for a single day since NOAA began tracking this data in 2003. With...

Last year was a record-setting year for U.S. pork exports. Sales abroad in 2020 were up 11% by volume and value increased 11% compared to 2019, according to recent data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. From January to December, 6.56 billion pounds of U.S. pork and pork variety meat, valued at $7.7 billion, were exported globally...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week that beef cattle inventories were slightly smaller than a year ago, but given long-term market trends, there may yet be too many cows producing too many calves to keep producers profitable over the long haul. Couple that with rising feed costs and a shifting policy situation in Washington, and it’s an interesting time — to put it mildly — to be...

When you go to the grocery store, why do you buy what you buy? Are you most concerned with price, with a product’s taste or appearance, or are you more interested in its impact on your body and the environment? And has the importance you place on those attributes shifted over the past 10 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic? In this episode we talk with a University of Illinois economist who recent...

Initial research in the U.S. on African swine fever started in the 1970s when the viral disease was spreading through Spain and Portugal. In the 1990s, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service started looking for a vaccine. After years of work, sometimes was a bit sporadic due to funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it has a new vaccine for African swine fever that is he...

Now two decades into the “new” millennium, there is little question the livestock industry has changed, and continues to grow and evolve as time goes by. While technological improvements get a great deal of attention, one nutritionist says the evolution of genetics over the past 10 years has radically changed the way the swine industry feeds, houses and manages the modern hog. In this episode we t...

A new year, a new way of communicating, and a new benefit to Feedstuffs  subscribers: Feedstuffs 365 , a new virtual community and events platform for the feed and livestock industry, launches later this month. In addition to delivering live, interactive presentations and discussions on the day’s leading news and technical information, the new service also includes a new, more in-depth look at fee...

When it comes to imported feed ingredients, it is important for feed manufacturers and livestock producers to have as much information as possible related to that ingredient and its origin. At stake is the health of our nation’s herds as unapproved ingredients can introduce significant disease risks.  Unlike in Canada and now in Australia, the U.S. lacks any requirement that a supplier or trader c...

While the world has been focused on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a small but diverse group of members of the food supply chain gathered to evaluate if there are enough shared goals and beliefs on climate policy to speak on the issue with a unified voice for agriculture. In the past, climate legislation has failed in the U.S. in no small measure because the agriculture and forestry industrie...

In 1987, when Congress voted to keep the Farm Credit System going with an infusion of funds, a contingency was that each of the system institutions needed to have a young, beginner and small farmer program. With the average age of the U.S. farmer pegged at 57.5 years, that young, beginner and small farmer program is a particular focus of the current chairman of the Farm Credit Administration. In t...

U.S. pork exports to China skyrocketed in 2020 as African swine fever (ASF) eroded two-thirds of China’s hog herd and drove local hog prices to record highs. A new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange notes that exports to greater China now accounts for nearly 8% of U.S. pork production, compared to just 2% in 2018. However, the report also suggests that as China makes progress rebuilding its h...

Kicking off this year's holiday season will be a couple of  real turkeys. That is, turkeys raised  by National Turkey Federation chairman Ron Kardel and his wife Susie  on their farm near Walcott, Iowa. They have produced the birds for this year's National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation at the White House. The Kardels will be accompanying the birds to the White House this week and pres...

Feed ingredients imported into the U.S. from countries with known foreign animal disease risks, such as African swine fever (ASF), present a threat to the U.S. pork industry. But just how great is this risk and where exactly does it originate when it comes to entry into the U.S.? To answer those questions, Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead catches up with Dr. Scott Dee of Pipestone Veterinary Servi...

For the first time, the dairy industry has signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reinforce "shared values" in the areas of environmental and economic sustainability for dairy farmers. Earlier this month EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Lisa Watson, social responsibility officer for the Innovation Center, sa...

The “Wienermobile” is that hot-dog-on-a-bun-shaped vehicle long used by the Oscar Mayer company to promote and advertise its products in the U.S. The first Wienermobile was created by Oscar Mayer’s nephew Carl G. Mayer in 1936. Today, there are six such giant hot dog vehicles that travel the nation promoting the brand and creating miles of smile. The Wienermobile concept has evolved over the years...

Meat, poultry, dairy and grain markets were all rocked by COVID-19 in the early months of 2020, and the ongoing repercussions from the pandemic injected massive uncertainty for farmers throughout the rest of the year. As with a variety of industries, agriculture was the beneficiary of government stimulus efforts coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. In this episo...

COVID-19 injected massive disruption into the meat supply chain throughout the first half of 2020. From plant-shutdown supply shocks to foodservice-shutdown demand shocks, the animal protein markets have been rocked on a variety of fronts. But what about the consumers of meat? How has a global pandemic and relatively unprecedented economic uncertainty affected their purchasing habits and preferenc...

COVID-19 caused some significant disruption in the food system in March and April of this year, with consumers stocking up on a number of meat items, and retailers limiting the purchases of a number of staples like eggs and dairy products. That disruption fueled a spike in demand for local meat processing as consumers — many for the first time ever — sought out a small butcher or processor to sour...