SwineTime with Pipestone

Join Dr. Spencer Wayne as he chats with Dr. Jeff Blythe and FarmPro Production Consultant, Nick Enfield about the everyday ventilation challenges pig farmers face. They dive into practical solutions to improve barn conditions, focusing on the importance of getting airspeed right, placing temperature probes effectively, and keeping equipment well-maintained. The trio discusses how poor ventilation...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, Dr. Spencer Wayne is joined by colleague Dr. Emily McDowell of Pipestone Veterinary Services for an in-depth discussion on managing E. coli in weaning pigs. They explore the evolving strategies and technologies, especially around weaning, a stage where pigs are most vulnerable to infections. Dr. McDowell emphasizes the importance of early intervention, out...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, hosted by Dr. Spencer Wayne of Pipestone Veterinary Services, listeners are treated to a fascinating discussion with Dr. Maggie Behnke, Director of the Animal Resources Unit and attending veterinarian at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. Dr. Karyn Havas, PIPESTONE’s Director of Foreign...

In this episode of SwineTime, host Dr. Spencer Wayne dives into critical health issues and their impact on industry relations and trade with guests Terry Wolters, VP of Customer & Industry Relations with PIPESTONE, and Dr. Joel Nerem, a practicing veterinarian and Director of Industry Relations with Pipestone Veterinary Services. The discussion centers around the global spread of African Swine...

In this episode of SwineTime, Dr. Spencer Wayne sits down with Jake Geisler and Hayden Kerkaert, both with Pipestone Nutrition, to chat about the basics of commodity management. They discuss the tools farmers can use to save money on better ingredients and boost their bottom line.  Jake emphasizes the importance of customer service, simplifying the process, and delivering high-quality ingredients...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, host Dr. Spencer Wayne interviews Dr. Megan Niederwerder, Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC). SHIC, established in 2015, focuses on identifying and mitigating emerging disease risks for the U.S. swine herd.   SHIC is supported by pork checkoff funds and its mission involves global disease monitoring, data analysis, coordinated...

In this episode, Dr. Spencer Wayne sits down with Nick Fitzgerald, Director of Business Development for PIPESTONE for a great discussion on facilities. The pair delve into essential considerations for optimizing swine farming operations. From wean-to-finish construction to barn remodeling and the repurposing of sow units, explore strategies and innovative solutions to enhance productivity and effi...

In this episode, host Dr. Spencer Wayne sits down with Erin McCoy, a veterinary physician assistant with Pipestone Veterinary Services, to discuss proper barn ventilation as the weather begins to warm up. Erin shares her warm-weather ventilation checklist and emphasizes the importance of opening soffit doors and ensuring proper ventilation by uncovering fans. She provides practical advice on check...

Join Dr. Spencer Wayne on the latest episode of SwineTime, where he dives deep into swine genetics with experts Erin Little, Pipestone Research, and Carrie Pollard, Pipestone Business. In this engaging discussion, Erin and Carrie discuss how PIPESTONE is unlocking valuable insights into swine genetics for producers using both research and production data. With over 4 million pigs' worth of pro...

Join Dr. Spencer Wayne and Dr. Cameron Schmitt in a discussion of the ever-evolving landscape of swine diseases. In this episode, Dr. Schmitt, Executive Vice President of Pipestone Veterinary Services, delves deep into the nuances of various pathogens affecting swine health today. From the notorious PRRS virus to resilient strains of E. coli, they dissect the challenges and advancements in disease...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, host Dr. Spencer Wayne interviews Dr. Darin Madson, a diagnostician at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University. Dr. Madson shares his background in swine production, veterinary school, and his journey to becoming a diagnostic pathologist. The conversation covers the expansion of the diagnostic lab at Iowa State, new technologies in di...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, Dr. Spencer Wayne welcomes Dr. Kiah Berg, Senior Supervisor of Nutrition with Pipestone Nutrition, to discuss the state of feed costs and her recommendations for proper nutrition strategies. Dr. Berg explains the recent trends in feed costs, highlighting the notable decrease in prices for key ingredients such as corn and soybean meal, resulting in signific...

In this episode of the SwineTime podcast, hosted by Dr. Spencer Wayne, the featured guest is Dr. Scott Dee who shares valuable insights for young veterinarians, emphasizing the importance of perseverance, recalling his journey from being told he couldn’t attend vet school to becoming a prominent figure in the field. The discussion also touches on the balance between scientific and artistic talents...

Dr. Spencer Wayne welcomes Dr. Cara Haden, Director of Animal Welfare at PIPESTONE, and Dr. Carissa Odland, Director of Sustainability for Wholestone Farms, a producer-owned packer enterprise.  The episode provides insights into the complex dynamics of animal welfare, sustainability, and consumer preferences in the swine industry.

Dr. Spencer Wayne welcomes Dr. Adam Schelkopf, Health Director for Pipestone Management, for a discussion on the overall health status of PIPESTONE-managed farms. Historically, this time of year brings an increase in illness, especially PRRS infections. Dr. Schelkopf reports less than 10% of PIPESTONE-managed farms breaking with PRRS over the last two years, which is far better than in the past. H...

Dr. Spencer Wayne welcomes Marty Rost, Environmental Specialist with PIPESTONE, to talk about the valuable commodity we have in manure. The pair discuss the importance of understanding its value and making it work for you and your neighbors. Marty talks about the differences in facilities he sees and shares insight on finding opportune times to pump a farm. Additionally, Dr. Wayne asks Marty to ex...

Dr. Barry Kerkaert, Chairman of the Board, takes the reigns and puts Dr. Spencer Wayne in the hot seat to celebrate our 50th episode of the podcast.   The pair discuss the goals of SwineTime and reflect on some of Dr. Wayne's favorite episodes. He shares behind-the-scenes happenings reflecting on memorable guests and the impactful work our experts have shared on the podcast.   Dr. Wayne and Dr...

Dr. Spencer Wayne welcomes Hannah Walkes, President of Pipestone Services, to chat about the recent leadership transitions at PIPESTONE - including the creation of two divisions, Pipestone Services and Pipestone Partnerships. Hannah provides insight into how her upbringing and tenure at PIPESTONE have fueled her passion and made her uniquely qualified to take the reigns as President of Pipestone S...

In this episode of SwineTime, host, Dr. Spencer Wayne, is joined by Dr. Taylor Spronk to talk about the pig promotion activities happening at PIPESTONE.  Dr. Taylor discusses the county and state fairs that PIPESTONE supports with exhibits and live sows across Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa.  Additionally, she describes the Discovery Barn, championed by PIPESTONE’s own Sylvia Wolters, which is...

In this episode of SwineTime, host, Dr. Spencer Wayne, sits down with Jon DeJong, President of Pipestone Nutrition to talk about what’s new with his team and all things nutrition. Pipestone Nutrition provides economic-driven, feed ingredient procurement and performance-based diet formulations that fit both your operation and your bottom line. Dr. Wayne and DeJong discuss a variety of interesting t...

In this episode of SwineTime, host, Dr. Spencer Wayne, sits down with Dan Hanson and Giovanna Penuelas to discuss FarmTeam, a service offering of Pipestone Business. FarmTeam utilizes the human resource expertise of PIPESTONE to provide independent pork producers access to qualified farm employees for grow/finish teams. From a producer’s perspective, Hanson, the Director of FarmTeam, highlights th...

In this episode of SwineTime, host, Dr. Spencer Wayne, sits down with Damon Vander Maten, Director of FarmBooks for Pipestone Business. Dr. Wayne and Damon talk about the accounting demands on producers and define what it means to be financially sustainable. He explains how the FarmBooks program came to be and what value it provides an operation. Dr. Wayne calls on Damon to share his thoughts on w...

In this episode of SwineTime, host, Dr. Spencer Wayne, sits down with PIPESTONE Nutritionists Hayden Kerkaert and Jacob Koepke. They share their perspective on what factors are impacting today’s high feed costs and discuss considerations for producers to remain profitable despite rising costs. PIPESTONE's mission is "Helping Farmers Today Create the Farms of Tomorrow." The SwineTime...

In this episode of SwineTime, host Dr. Spencer Wayne and PIPESTONE CEO Dr. Luke Minion answer all your big burning questions: what’s to come in the pork industry next year? What’s new with PIPESTONE? And will Luke ever run for office? Fresh off the campaign trail against a Sioux Falls ballot measure that would have prevented the construction of a new Wholestone Farms pork processing facility, Luke...

In this episode of SwineTime, host Dr. Spencer Wayne sits down with Dr. Scott Dee, who currently serves as the Director of Research for PIPESTONE Veterinary Services. Dive into the viral risks associated with feed, and how to alleviate the risks on your operation. According to Scott, this information is relatively new to the industry as is the use of feed mitigants to deal with the risk of introdu...