Iowa Governor Terry Branstad along with Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds spent some time at the Iowa Fairgrounds during World Pork Expo 2015 held is Des Moines, Iowa. While onsite, they spoke to dozens of Iowa pork producers as well as address a crowd during the SIP luncheon hosted by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Branstad noted that Iowa … Read More
West Central Expands SoyPlus Plant in Iowa
West Central celebrated a big announcement at their headquarters in Ralston, Iowa this week. The manufacturer of SoyPlus, an industry-leading high bypass protein dairy feed, made public their plans for expansion of the SoyPlus plant to increase production capacity by 50%. The $27 million investment will include an additional line of mechanical presses, soybean storage, soybean oil storage, finished product … Read More
Livestock Antibiotic Use Big Issue at #WPX15
Livestock antibiotic use was definitely the topic of the week at World Pork Expo. National Pork Producers Council president and North Carolina swine veterinarian Ron Prestage was among those who attended a White House forum on fighting antibiotic resistance. “Lot of brain power in that room looking at trying to cooperatively work together to face the issues and challenges of … Read More
Pork Leaders Highlight Industry Issues at #WPX15
This morning on day two of the 2015 World Pork Expo the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) hosted another press conference to address three issues impacting pork producers, swine businesses and organizations and the consumer. Dr. Howard Hill, NPPC past president, began the morning discussing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines that were released in February. He noted the committee did not … Read More
BIVI Announces New Diagnostic Test at #WPX15
The industry’s first commercially available quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Lawsonia (ileitis) has been developed by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Health Management Center and will become available for testing July 1, 2015. The new test provides producers with bacterial concentration levels, unlike the similar qualitative PCR testing which simply detects for the presence of Lawsonia. BIVI’s announcement … Read More
27th WPX Breaks Records, Again
The 27th annual World Pork Expo (WPX15) is underway and shattering records once again. An estimated 20,000 attendees will come through the gates this week for the largest international trade show dedicated to all things pigs. With more than 400 exhibitors plus dozens of educational events, this year is sure to be a winner. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), … Read More
Groundbreaking for New Food Bio Security Facility
This week Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack helped to break ground on the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. “The NBAF laboratory will provide the nation with cutting edge, state-of-the-art, lab capabilities and help protect our food supply and the nation’s public health,” said Secretary Johnson. “The economic impact … Read More
Time to Calculate & Monitor Your Carbon Footprint
No matter what business you are in, having an edge on the market only makes sense. A company’s carbon footprint is very important in today’s marketplace. Are you being a REBEL and identifying your’s? Alltech ECO2 collects farm information, calculates the carbon footprint and then helps put plans into place to reduce that footprint. Andrew Wynne, Business General Manager for … Read More
Officials Say Final WOTUS Rule Respects Agriculture
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday released the final version of the Clean Water Rule that has become known as the Waters of the United States or WOTUS which they say protects clean water “while respecting agriculture.” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy released … Read More
Alltech Tackles Antimicrobials in Livestock
Dr. Karl Dawson, Chief Scientific Officer and VP at Alltech, talked antibiotics at the recent REBELation in the beef breakout session. Companies like McDonald’s and Costco have said no to antibiotics. Is it time for the industry to be a REBEL and say no too? “The term antibiotic is somewhat controversial. I prefer to talk about antimicrobials. The use of … Read More