feedstuffs

The U.S. in recent years has seen some of the worst hatchability numbers since the late 1980s. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in January 2024 reported average hatchability at 79.6%. There are many factors in play, in the barn and the hatchery, that can impact hatchability. Some blame poor fertility and embryo mortality, while others consider more management-related issues. Regardless, the cause of this phenomenon is unclear.

Until a firm cause is discovered and addressed, what can producers do to support hatchability and better ensure those chicks make it onto dinner plates? 

Joining Feedstuffs in Focus host Sarah Muirhead is NOVUS executive manager and poultry technology lead Hugo Romero-Sanchez, a poultry expert with a comprehensive understanding of the physiological, nutritional, environmental, and economic variables that affect broiler and layer performance. Dr. Romero presented a TECHTalk on the topic of hatchability during the 2024 International Production and Processing Expo this week. 

To learn how NOVUS is using intelligent nutrition to help poultry producers do more, visit www.novusint.com

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a significant disease and cost the swine industry some $660 million annually. For multiple decades, the industry has had its hands tied when it comes to PRRS but new research out of Pipestone shows that may no longer be the case, and in fact, producers may now the ones in charge of the virus

Joining us to share newly released details on a study looking at whether the application of a comprehensive, science-based approach to breeding herd biosecurity, known as next-generation biosecurity, could reduce the PRRS risk across a large commercial production company is Dr. Scott Dee.

For more information: javma-javma.23.08.0437.pdf

This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at UnitedANH.com

The International Production & Processing Expo, also known as IPPE, is held annually in Atlanta, Ga. This year’s event is set for Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and will offer the largest trade show floor space ever and more than 80 hours of dynamic education sessions focused on current industry issues. 

Joining  Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead in this episode of Feedstuffs in Focus to talk about IPPE and everything it has to offer this year’s attendees is Sarah Novak, chief operating officer of the American Feed Industry Assn.  AFIA is one of the hosting organizations of IPPE.

This episode is brought to you by the International Production & Processing Expo, a collaboration of three shows representing the entire chain of protein production and processing. Make your plans today to join the feed, meat and poultry industry in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2024. To learn more at ippexpo.org. 

As we enter the new year, the time is now to focus on pork profitability. A good place to start is to set goals with a focus on improving KPIs, including that of improving pig health. Getting pigs started in a cost effective manner is particularly critical in these market conditions as our guests explain.

Joining Feedstuffs Precision Pork host Patrick Duerksen in this episode are Sabrina May and Ken Mooney. May is swine research and product development manager and Mooney is a swine nutritionist at Cargill.

Feedstuffs Precision Pork is brought to you by Cargill.  Never miss out on knowing today’s profitability outlook. To learn more about the general outlook, sign up for Cargill’s  Pig Flash newsletter. You can also customize the data to your operation using Cargill’s Producer Profitability tools so you always have the profitability outlook tailored to your specific situation. Just ask the Cargill team

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Soybean meal contains functional bioactive molecules that can help mitigate swine respiratory disease (SRD) effects on pig growth and development. Feeding elevated soybean levels can be especially cost-effective during winter/spring seasons, when barns are closed tight and SRD is more typically a challenge for veterinarians and producers to overcome. 

In this episode, Feedstuffs' Ann Hess talks with Dr. R.Dean Boyd, Dr. Paul Yeske and Dr. Amy Petry about how soybean meal is both a nutritional and prescriptive ingredient.  

Listeners can learn more about how soybean meal can be an easy-to-implement management tool to enhance profitability in health-challenged pig flows. Content brought to you by U.S. Soy.

View a Feedstuffs article on this topic: https://informamarkets.turtl.co/story/feedstuffs-october-2023/page/2

Pork profitability and risk management go hand in hand, and considering today’s market conditions its important to drop any existing biases and look strategically at what you might have done differently this year.

Joining Feedstuffs Precision Pork host Patrick Duerksen in this episode are Cargill’s Matt Wolfe and Andrew Leddy. They talk about specific steps that can be taken to strategically improve your operation's bottom line. It may be reevaluating your nutrition strategy, tightening down your feeder settings or doing a complete strategy review. Feed efficiency is clearly still important but, as they explain, what isn’t needed at this time is formulating for weight gain. 

Feedstuffs Precision Pork is brought to you by Cargill.  Never miss out on knowing today’s profitability outlook. To learn more about the general outlook, sign up for Cargill’s  Pig Flash newsletter. You can also customize the data to your operation using Cargill’s Producer Profitability tools so you always have the profitability outlook tailored to your specific situation. Just ask the Cargill team

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California’s Proposition 12, which restricts gestation crate usage and requires 24 square feet of space per sow, has been a hot topic of conversation in swine circles since the Supreme Court upheld the law earlier this year. While some producers swear they won’t make the change on their farms, other states are following in California’s steps. A similar law approved by Massachusetts voters in 2016 will finally go into effect this year, and recently New Jersey unanimously passed a similar law, making it the 11th state to implement such regulations.

The new laws ultimately force producers to expand the physical size of their barns or reduce the number of sows in their herd to accommodate the square footage required by law.

Regardless of what producers do to follow these rules, sow productivity, and piglet uniformity and livability are more important than ever. 

Joining Feedstuffs in Focus host Sarah Muirhead is Novus Technical Service Manager Alex Hintz and Novus Sales Manager Andrew Howerton. Hintz is a veterinarian focused on maximizing lifetime sow productivity and profitability as well as nursery and growing pig performance. Howerton is a seventh-generation pig farmer who served as a production manager for a 5,600-sow unit prior to joining Novus.

Understanding the challenge producers are facing, intelligent nutrition company Novus International is sharing ways to support sows and the people who raise them. For more information, visit www.Novusint.com

Separating farming and non-farming assets between heirs, bringing in outside investors and management, and preparing for life’s unexpected challenges are just a few of the issues to consider when building a succession plan for your farming operation. 

Joining our Ann Hess to walk us through various succession planning scenarios and to discuss opportunities and challenges within each plan is Jim Marzolf, Vice President of Business, Pipestone System.

This episode is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at UnitedANH.com

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.beefmagazine.com, www.Feedstuffs.com,  and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

Production costs continue to climb across the swine industry, and the health costs associated with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome only make it worse. PRRS is estimated to cost the industry $1.8 million per day.

Host Sarah Muirhead talks with Dr. Katie Coleman from Iowa Select Farms to discuss how Iowa Select reduced PRRS incidence by more than 90% in affected barns, without building new barns in a swine-dense area. 

They discuss: 

• Costs of PRRS to a system
• A specific type of filtration addition that didn’t require a new barn build
• Timeline necessary for modifications and culture shift
• How improved herd health benefits employees
• Tools they used and lessons learned

This podcast is one of a four-part series on controlling costs with herd health, which is brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health. Check out the other three episodes for discussions on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Lawsonia and porcine sapovirus. Call your Pharmgate representative or visit pharmgate.com to learn about their broad portfolio of options to support your protocols.

Production costs continue to climb across the swine industry, and the health costs associated with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome only make it worse. PRRS is estimated to cost the industry $1.8 million per day.

Host Sarah Muirhead talks with Dr. Katie Coleman from Iowa Select Farms to discuss how Iowa Select reduced PRRS incidence by more than 90% in affected barns, without building new barns in a swine-dense area. 

They discuss: 

• Costs of PRRS to a system
• A specific type of filtration addition that didn’t require a new barn build
• Timeline necessary for modifications and culture shift
• How improved herd health benefits employees
• Tools they used and lessons learned

This podcast is one of a four-part series on controlling costs with herd health, which is brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health. Check out the other three episodes for discussions on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Lawsonia and porcine sapovirus. Call your Pharmgate representative or visit pharmgate.com to learn about their broad portfolio of options to support your protocols.

Good help can be difficult to secure for your ranch, and that makes finding ways to maximize animal performance with less labor input even more important to your bottom line. 

Joining us on this segment of Feedstuffs in Focus to explain how labor efficiency can be maximized through feed is Dusty Abney, Ph.D., with Cargill Animal Nutrition.  

This podcast is brought to you by Cargill Animal Nutrition and its Ranger Limiter Technology, a proprietary technology that works with your forages and feeding programs to meet your animal performance goals in a self-fed format. Ranger provides versatility to fit a variety of commodities and feed ingredients while optimizing performance and the right gain for your cattle and operation. Ranger Limited,  do it your way. Find out more about Cargill and Ranger Limiter at RangerLimiter.com

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.beefmagazine.com, www.Feedstuffs.com,  and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

The hog industry is currently dealing with numerous stressful situations, and one, in particular, that needs to be on the industry's radar as new crop corn starts coming in is that of grain quality.  What is  the mycotoxin risk and how may that change as harvest season progresses?

In this episode of Feedstuffs Precision Pork, host Patrick Duerksen, Commercial Director for Cargill, is joined by Drs. Wes Schweer and Chris Parks, Swine Nutritionists with Cargill. They discuss the current situation related to mycotoxins and what to watch for in the coming months.

Feedstuffs Precision Pork is brought to you by Cargill.  Never miss out on knowing today’s profitability outlook. 

To learn more about the general outlook, sign up for Cargill’s Pig Flash newsletter. You can also customize the data to your operation using Cargill’s Producer Profitability tools so you always have the profitability outlook tailored to your specific situation. Just ask the Cargill team. 

The quality of animal drinking water has been historically overlooked in production systems. The good news is that is changing and more attention is starting to be paid on-farm to water quality and quantity.

Joining us to share her expertise on water is Dr. Susan Watkins. Dr. Watkins is a distinguished professor emeritus of the University of Arkansas’s Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. During her 22-year career, she assisted the poultry industry throughout the US and world with identifying, quantifying and correcting drinking water challenges. 

You can hear more from Dr. Watkins and many other experts for FREE at the virtual Kemin Intestinal Health Symposium – Sessions are available for on-demand viewing now. Register and access  today at www.kemin.com/symposium.

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com,  and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

In an industry where health challenges can determine the difference between profitability and loss, why not eliminate a challenge when you can? 

Host Sarah Muirhead sits down with Dr. Amy Maschhoff from The Maschhoffs LLC System to discuss practical strategies, lessons and benefits seen from eliminating M. Hyo, a common cause of coinfections.

They discuss: 

• Costs of mycoplasma to a system
• Lessons learned from eliminating the disease
• Benefits to the production system as a whole
• Backup plans if the original elimination plan doesn’t work
• Future opportunities

Dr. Amy Maschhoff is the director of health and animal care for The Maschhoffs, LLC. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and began her career as herd veterinarian for The Maschhoffs. Now she serves in a more central role for the Maschhoff system.

This podcast is one of a four-part series on controlling costs with herd health brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health. Check out the other three episodes for discussions on PRRS, Lawsonia and porcine sapovirus. Call your Pharmgate representative or visit pharmgate.com to learn about their broad portfolio of options to support your protocols.

In an industry where health challenges can determine the difference between profitability and loss, why not eliminate a challenge when you can? 

Host Sarah Muirhead sits down with Dr. Amy Maschhoff from The Maschhoffs LLC System to discuss practical strategies, lessons and benefits seen from eliminating M. Hyo, a common cause of coinfections.

They discuss: 

• Costs of mycoplasma to a system
• Lessons learned from eliminating the disease
• Benefits to the production system as a whole
• Backup plans if the original elimination plan doesn’t work
• Future opportunities

Dr. Amy Maschhoff is the director of health and animal care for The Maschhoffs, LLC. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and began her career as herd veterinarian for The Maschhoffs. Now she serves in a more central role for the Maschhoff system.

This podcast is one of a four-part series on controlling costs with herd health brought to you by Pharmgate Animal Health. Check out the other three episodes for discussions on PRRS, Lawsonia and porcine sapovirus. Call your Pharmgate representative or visit pharmgate.com to learn about their broad portfolio of options to support your protocols.

In this episode of Feedstuffs Precision Pork, host Patrick Duerksen, Commercial Director for Cargill, is joined by Cargill nutritionists Chad Pilcher and Chris Parks to talk feed conversion and profitability. They kick off with a discussion on how best to roll up feed conversion and set as a priority that of saving money or making money.  

How then does one set a feed conversion goal for a hog operation based on economic conditions, energy costs and other factors? What about variation within an operation? What needs to be considered there? Can feed variation be a factor as well when it comes to feed conversion? These are all questions that are addressed.

Feedstuffs Precision Pork is brought to you by Cargill.  Never miss out on knowing today’s profitability outlook. 

To learn more about the general outlook, sign up for Cargill’s Pig Flash newsletter. You can also customize the data to your operation using Cargill’s Producer Profitability tools so you always have the profitability outlook tailored to your specific situation. Just ask the Cargill team. 

The swine industry is currently facing some real economic challenges. Joining us from World Pork Expo to provide perspective on the industry and what is driving this economic uncertainty, as well as thoughts on how long it might last is Dr. Matt Ritter, Sr. Vice President Research & Development with United Animal Health. 

This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at UnitedANH.com

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

Researchers in swine nutrition have focused much of their recent efforts on exploring how feed can benefit sows and pigs beyond growth and production. Historically, interventions have concentrated on attacking a particular pathogen, but modern technologies have shown promise in proactively supporting and developing pigs’ immune systems. 

This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus is sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition. Driven to unlock the greatest potential in every animal, Purina is an industry-leading innovator offering a valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets. For more information, visit purinamills.com. 

For additional background on this topic: https://www.feedstuffs.com/news/purina-announces-new-swine-feed-additives 

With us today to talk about the science behind the immune system as well as new feed additives that proactively support immune function is Dr. Erin Bryan, a swine nutritional immunologist with Purina Animal Nutrition. Dr. Bryan is on the Swine Innovation Team and conducts much of her research at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center, the company’s state-of-the-art research farm in Gray Summit, Missouri. Dr. Bryan and Feedstuffs’ Ann Hess caught up at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

It’s all the buzz in the business world. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a public relations, and even marketing, tool is on the rise and making headlines.

But what is true risk? What is the real cost of getting your messaging wrong or using AI to craft your messaging? Is AI a business opportunity, risk or a bit of both?

 Hinda Mitchell, President of the Inspire PR Group, shares with us her insight on AI and automation as a replacement for trained marketing and PR staff.

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

During World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, NOVUS International, a global feed additive company, revealed its comprehensive rebranding initiative. The changes reflect the more than 30-year-old company’s promise to deliver more to its customers and its commitment to providing solutions created through advanced technology, based on global scientific research that goes further to offer unexpected benefits to customers. 

“Intelligent nutrition is how we support animal health and performance,” says NOVUS SVP and Chief Commercial Officer Ed Galo in this week’s Feedstuffs in Focus podcast and press release. “Our novel combination of experienced people, insightful perspective, and smarter solutions allows us to put more into everything we create. Because we want to deliver more benefits that deliver more for producers. That’s intelligent nutrition.” 

As Galo explains, Made of More™, the company’s new slogan, represents the focus of all its future endeavors.  

NOVUS liquid and dry methionine solutions utilize the HMTBa molecule, which is a precursor to L-methionine. Because of this unique molecule, ALIMET® feed supplement, MHA® feed supplement and MFP® feed supplement are nitrogen-free and have properties of an organic acid benefiting overall gut health. Liquid ALIMET® feed supplement requires virtually no handling thanks to the company’s automated inventory system for customers (AIMS). HMTBa is also the backbone for MINTREX® bis-chelated trace minerals, highly bioavailable and absorbable organic zinc, copper, and manganese that allow producers to use lower inclusion of minerals in the ration while seeing the same or improved performance and growth. MINTREX® is also a source of methionine through HMTBa. ACTIVATE® nutritional feed acid is made from a blend of organic acids and HMTBa shown to reduce the survivability of certain pathogens in feed. 

Just as NOVUS works to do more for its customers, it’s also working to offer more to the industry. Galo says new products – created in-house, through partnerships, or via mergers and acquisitions – are on the horizon. 

“Innovation remains our core priority. As experts in the global food system, we can see where the animal protein industry is heading and this vision directs how we can help meet regional goals from performance and environmental sustainability to return on investment,” he says. “We are driven to create new ideas and technologies that improve the health of animals and animal protein production.”

For more information on intelligent nutrition and how NOVUS is made of more, visit http://novusint.com/MADE-OF-MORE.