From PPRS challenges to artificial intelligence opportunities, the Midwest Pork Conference offered pork industry enthusiasts the opportunity to delve into a variety of topics with industry leaders from across the country.
Nearly 300 people attended this one-day event in Noblesville, Ind., on Dec. 3. Here are a few things that caught the crowd’s attention.
“In our industry, hard work and doing the right thing are often synonymous with one another. That’s not always true. Just because we’re working really hard doesn’t mean we’re consistently executing at the level that we expect of ourselves. We need to get a better insight into the areas of day-to-day operations, where we are doing what we want to be doing, to see if we’re getting the outcomes that we want.” – Matthew Rooda, chief executive officer, Swine Tech, Inc. in “Industry Headlines...Roadblock or Challenge?”
“We are going back to consumer marketing in a big way. What’s different this time? We’re going to be unapologetic about pork. We’re not the ‘other’ anything. ‘Whole hog’ approach – fresh and processed product.” – Brett Kaysen, vice president of producer and state engagement, National Pork Board, in “Update on Current Industry Issues”
“The biggest challenges in managing sows in Prop 12 (really group housing) are space utilization, minimizing fighting at weaning and or estrus, gilt management and lameness and increased death loss.” – Jamee Eggers, chief operating officer, Cloverleaf Animal Welfare Systems, in “Converting to Prop 12 – After One Year, What Have We Learned?”
“Exports are critical for the red meat industry. Pork is complex. Exports of end meats allow Americans affordable access to favorite middle cuts and exports optimize overall value of each animal.” – Erin Borror, vice president of economic analysis, U.S. Meat Export Federation, in “Economic Update”
“AI [artificial intelligence] is like a rifle. It can be used to harm or feed your family.” – Ben Allen, CEO of BinSentry, in “What’s New in Barn Technology & Automation”
“Our competition used to be the guy across the street. The reality is our competitors are in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other places where pork production is growing. They are growing an infrastructure that is making them competitive on a global scale. We need to continue to change the way we think and work on things that improve overall efficiency.” – Beau Peterson, chief executive officer, Carthage Veterinary Service, in “Industry Headlines...Roadblock or Challenge?”
“We saw increased detections of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) in 2024. We can see a spike happening in October as we move into winter. Ct values of tissue samples are not too low, but the number of positives is still a concern.” – Kelli Werling, Deputy Director for the Animal Programs Division, Indiana State Board of Animal Health, in “Swine Health Update”
“History says technology generally creates more jobs than it displaces. Our position is that this will create an opportunity for people to do different things. Another observation is that one of the big things we missed in this automation piece is that the automation of physical tasks would be easier than cognitive tasks. We were wrong. I’m optimistic about automation of physical tasks like robotic washing, but I don’t think we are close on jobs like processing a litter.” – Todd Thurman, Swine Insights International, LLC, in “Industry Headlines...Roadblock or Challenge?”
“The strong U.S. dollar means international customers have less purchasing power for buying U.S. pork – the Mexican peso has lost more than 20% of its value since May.” – Erin Borror, vice president of economic analysis, U.S. Meat Export Federation, in “Economic Update”
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