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The boars can't take all the blame swine o'clock Aug 16, 2022

The Executive Director of the Swine Health Information Center says recent leaps of African swine fever (ASF) over large distances can be attributed to the movement of people and products, rather than pig-to-pig movement. 

  • Concern has heightened as the result of long-distance jumps taking place across Europe.

Recent outbreaks have occurred not by the typical spread from wild boars or from place to place by pig contact, but due to the movement of products or people that are carrying contamin...

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Not just a matter of taste swine o'clock Aug 16, 2022

Forget about diets that cut out proteins! Researchers at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studied the association between eating protein and health outcomes, and their results were clear: we all need it.

  • Protein is important for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs, as well as a healthy immune system, as explained by Shanon Casperson, Ph.D., DTR, Research Biologist and Lead Scientist with the USDA ARS’s Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Cen...
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Keep ’em coming! 💸 swine o'clock Aug 16, 2022

Brian Earnest, the lead economist for animal protein in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division, examines the continued strong demand for meat despite double-digit price increases. Consumers are still buying meat even though prices are rising!

  • Inflation will continue to be the top challenge for retail meat demand in the foreseeable future. The combination of tight supplies and solid demand kept meat prices 20% higher than the five-year average for the March-May period overall.

Mr. Earnest’s l...

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Should I stay in or should I eat out? 😷 swine o'clock Aug 16, 2022

A new study examines the food habits of Americans during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the creation of vaccines. Besides revealing interesting information on the restaurant and grocery industry, it also illustrates how people behave in a time of crisis – and how to prepare for the next one!

  • The results indicate a rising class of hybrid shoppers who buy food both in person and online – with online shopping being complementary rather than a substitution for the former. So grocer...
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Optimism about pork 🐷 swine o'clock Aug 16, 2022

Japan is one of the U.S.' strongest trading partners for beef, but continued COVID restrictions have limited the return of the foodservice sector in the country, even though restaurant traffic is beginning to rebound. Also, buyers are expressing a growing interest in pork for retail.

  • U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom notes that even though the government wants to keep things open, people are still worried – and fully masked inside and outside. So while food service is...
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#158 Swine it Podcast - Future swine farming may be vastly different than you believe - Dr. John Carr swine it podcast Aug 15, 2022

What will the future of pig farming look like? That is an old question with many different possible answer. Some people imagine more robots and technology, but what about some changes that you may not see coming? In this episode, I talk with Dr. John Carr about his take on what the future of our industry will look like and what areas of swine production we need to further emphasize. Some of his answers may surprise you…

  

What you will learn:

1. The future of swine production

2. Labor i...

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Swine Nutrition Blackbelt #27 - Benefits from better understanding BCAA transporters in the pig's body by Dr. Woongbi Kwon swine nutrition blackbelt Aug 11, 2022

Several new research studies have demonstrated the mechanisms behind branched-chain amino acid transporters and nutrient utilization in pigs. Better understanding this concept can be crucial in some diets due to the high leucine content of dried distillers grains. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Woongbi Kwon about his study delving deeper into this topic, feeding elevated levels of leucine and tryptophan to study the effects on growth performance and serotonin metabolism.

 

Meet the guest...

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