Updating agri-marketers on industry trends and educating them on the latest research and technology is always the goal of the NAMA Bootcamp and this year’s event also served that purpose. On the Mo-Kan Farm pre-conference tour attendees stopped at Byergo Angus Farms in Northwest Missouri to get a short-course on purebred beef production and direct market beef. Bryson Byergo led … Read More
Interpreting the FDA Veterinary Feed Directive
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a new final rule amending the veterinary feed directive (VFD) drugs section of the Animal Drug Availability Act of 1996 that will take effect in October and hog farmers, like all livestock producers, are trying to find out what it means for them. Dr. Harry Snelson with the American Association of Swine … Read More
Targeting Excellence in Swine
A non-profit is looking to feed the expected 9 billion people by the middle of this century by educating animal agriculture students. During the recent BIVI Summer Swine Health Seminar, Chuck caught up with David Funderburke, a swine consultant, who helped start Targeting Excellence. “The idea is to bring together production systems in food animal production with universities and agribusinesses … Read More
Diversity Emerging in Swine Diseases
Add IAV-S to the list of letters that are being used to identify swine diseases. Never heard of that one before the Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) North Carolina swine seminar last week. It stands for Influenza A Virus for Swine. “In general, the reason that we’re even utilizing a different term for influenza infections in swine is to represent the accuracy … Read More
Hogs and Pigs Outlook
Dr. Ron Plain has been a trusted voice for livestock industry economics at the University of Missouri since 1981, but he is heading into at least semi-retirement. “I’m retiring on September 1,” said Plain, who spoke at the Boehringer Ingeheim (BIVI) swine seminar in North Carolina last Friday. “So this is one of my last opportunities as a professor to … Read More
America's Renewable Future Makes Progress
It was only eight months ago that America’s Renewable Future (ARF) was launched in Iowa with the goal of educating presidential candidates about agriculture and biofuels in general and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in particular. But what the coalition has accomplished in that short time has been so impressive that the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) recognized them with … Read More
Emerging Swine Diseases – Past and Future
Lessons learned from swine diseases already present can help us deal with any that come up in the future, according to Dr. Robert Derosiers with Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Canada, who talked about past and future emerging swine diseases at this year’s North Carolina swine seminar. “For some diseases that are easily transmitted indirectly, an individual approach is usually not … Read More
Preparing for Foreign Animal Diseases
Pork industry preparedness for FAD was the first topic on the schedule at the Boehringer Ingelheim North Carolina swine seminar this year – and no, FAD does not mean the latest social trend. “FADs are foreign animal diseases,” said Dr. Lisa Becton with the National Pork Board. “Those are diseases that currently don’t exist in the United States and diseases … Read More
Swine Health on the Beach
Would you be talking about swine health at the beach? Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica does. It’s their annual Summer Swine Health Seminar taking place at Wrightsville Beach, NC. My name badge says, Cindy Zimmerman’s Husband.” Why? Because she usually covers this event. This year she couldn’t so here I am. To get a preview of the program here I spoke with … Read More
USDA Predicts Big Corn and Soybean Crops
USDA is forecasting the third largest corn crop on record and the second largest soybean crop in a new planted acreage update released Wednesday. U.S. growers are forecast to produce 13.7 billion bushels of corn this year, according to the report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). That is actually a four percent decrease from last year’s production, but … Read More