Fiber is very commonly used in gestating sow diets for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that sows are capable of utilizing more energy from the fiber as they have increased hindgut fermentation capacity; can it have other effects that we haven’t considered? In today’s episode, I talk with Garrin Shipman about his study feeding different levels of dietary fiber to gestating sows with different carbohydrase mixture concentrations to see how it affects amino acid digestibility and the total...

As the old saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry. That applies to ASF spread in the US too. Being prepared for ASF introduction and having the best possible plan in place to eliminate its spread is critical for our swine infrastructure. Hopefully we can do a better job at controlling it than we did with Covid-19. In this episode, I talk with Abby Sykes about her work creating an ASF transmission model to predict the best possible outcomes and what measures must be taken if a farm tests...

If you think about your career plans back when you were in highschool or college, you’ll probably realize that, just like most people, you aren’t doing exactly what you thought you would. It’s funny how life has a way of leading you down paths that you may had never considered before, but ends up enjoying. In this episode, I talk with Erica Lain about her switching from the beef industry to the swine industry, her current role as a sustainability manager, and how she has learned to become a uniq...

Do you have your science project ready? High school science fairs are awesome for geeky teenagers, but this is a bit more expensive… AgLaunch is hosting six livestock agtech start-ups during the AgLaunch 365 Livestock Challenge week. 

• At tradeshows, the participants will have the opportunity to showcase their solutions for on-farm issues and deploy on-farm trials with AgLaunch farmers.

• They’ll also be able to learn from pitch experts, farmers, other entrepreneurs, investors, AgLaun...

👮‍♀️Imagine you’re a first responder – say, a police officer – and you’ve just received a call. Never an easy task, right? Now imagine an accident involving animals during transportation is part of the picture. Much worse, isn’t it? Michigan State University thinks so too.

• That’s why they’re launching a program – Emergency Response to Accidents Involving Livestock (ERAIL) – to build a network of trained and properly equipped responders across the state.

• Pretty relevant, considering...

Did you know that the grow-finish period is the longest phase in commercial swine production – and the greatest opportunity to improve pig health and welfare? The two of them go together, and improving them at that phase results in improved feed efficiency, ensures a more homogenous herd, and reduces the need for antibiotics. 

🤔 But is there a smarter way to do it?

• Well, minerals play a very important role here – they can greatly improve the overall immune capacity of the pig by increasing T...

A UN-backed group of 11 global financial institutions set out new goals aimed at driving a shift to a more sustainable food system. 

• The environmental and social objectives include stopping deforestation and expanding the use of agroforestry.

🌐 The COP27 global climate talks in Egypt are almost here… 

They’re taking place in November, and investors are increasing the focus on links between a healthy food system and efforts to fight global warming and preserve biodiversity.

...