Livestock Benchmarking

2024 Pig Crop Performed Well, But Livability Should Remain a Focus

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 13:43:13 GMT

Post-weaning mortality is improving and recent data compiled by MetaFarms shows the 2024 pig crop performed well.

“Pig livability and performance post-weaning are two significant drivers of profitability,” explains Chris Hostetler, National Pork Board director of animal science. “Documenting changes in specific measures of productivity over time helps the industry identify trends while benchmarking the top 10%, middle 50% and bottom 10% allows individual pork producers to focus their limited time and labor resources. This report provides valuable information about the historical and current state of the industry and valuable insights that can help pork producers make important management decisions on their farms.”

MetaFarms released the “ Production Analysis Summary for U.S. Pork Industry: 2020-2024 ” in partnership with NPB to help producers learn from each other through this benchmarking effort representing a dataset of more than 18.0 million nursery pigs, more than 18.2 million finish pigs and 10.3 million single-stocked wean-to-finish pigs from farms across the U.S.

“Don’t miss the opportunity to use this data on your farm,” says Rachel Johnson, technical account and product support lead at MetaFarms, Inc.

Evaluating each key performance indicator (KPI) and seeking to understand where opportunities for improvement exist is beneficial, she explains. In previous roles, this is the type of data Johnson says she sought to help guide the decision-making process.

“There should always be opportunities to improve,” she adds. “Sitting down with the data to figure out where you can get better is key. Who can I lean on to gain the knowledge that I’m missing? If I have a partner or a competitor who is really good at week one care, and I can see that in their numbers, what can I learn from them to implement in my system? I don’t think this industry is secretive. We all want to do better together.”

Hostetler says he’s optimistic about the improvements he’s seeing in the 2024 data as compared to the past five years.

One of his key takeaways was recognizing the discrepancy in terms of the nursery, finishing and wean to finish categories where the worst 10% of farms lead the overall changes, especially in pig mortality.

“If we look at the difference between the best 10% of farms in 2024 for nursery mortality, it’s right around 1% and if we look at the worst 10%, they’re at 7.3%,” Hostetler says. “That’s a big difference between our best farms and our worst farms in terms of mortality during the nursery phase.”

A Look at Nursery Numbers

For nursery closeout performance, MetaFarms explains that over the five-year period, the average number of closeouts per year was 12,116 with an average total pigs started at 23.8 million. The average started group size was 1,968 pigs.

Highlights for the five-year analysis of nurseries:

Mortality % decreased in 2024 from 2023 by 0.12% and by 0.52% from the high in 2022
Out weights increased in 2024 from 2023 by 2.01 lb. and by 2.31 pounds since 2022
Days on feed has increased in 2024 from 2023 by 0.6 days

Over the five-year period, mortality increased from 3.61% in 2020 to 4.2% in 2022 before decreasing to 3.68% in 2024. The average weight out increased from 51.31 in 2020 to 53.17 in 2024. Meanwhile, days on feed decreased from 45.3 in 2020 to 44.1 in 2024, with average daily gain increasing from 0.83 in 2020 to 0.89 in 2024.

Deciphering Finish Data

When looking at finishing closeout performance, MetaFarms says over the five-year period, the average number of closeouts was 13,746, with an average sum of pigs started at 22.7 million. The average pigs started group size was 1,654 pigs.

Highlights for the five-year analysis of finishing:

Mortality % decreased slightly in 2024 from 2023 by 0.03% and by 0.08% compared to 2022
Out weights increased in 2024 from 2023 by 1.93 lb.
Days on feed decreased in 2024 from 2023 by 2.4 days and by 4 days compared to 2022

Over the five-year period, mortality increased from 4.79% in 2020 to 5.31% in 2024. The average weight out increased, similar to the nursery data, from 282.20 in 2020 to 285.19 in 2024. Days on feed decreased from 122.9 in 2020 to 114.3 in 2024 with average daily gain increasing from 1.87 in 2020 to 2.01 in 2024.

Comparing Wean-to-Finish Averages

For single-stocked wean-to-finish (W2F) closeout performance, MetaFarms notes that over the five-year period, the average number of closeouts per year was 5,644 with an average sum of pigs started at 12.5 million. The average group size of pigs started was 2,218 pigs.

Highlights for the five-year analysis of single-stocked wean-to-finish:

Mortality % decreased in 2024 from 2023 by 0.41%
Out weights increased in 2024 from 2023 by 3.03 lb.
Days on feed decreased slightly in 2024 from 2023 by 0.1 days

Over the five-year period, mortality increased from 6.16% in 2020 to 6.81% in 2024. The average weight out was 279.75 in 2020 compared to 282.93 in 2024. Days on feed saw a similar decrease from 161.6 in 2020 to 156.1 in 2025 with average daily gain increasing from 1.65 in 2020 to 1.72 in 2024.

“Nearly every KPI is positive throughout the five years represented,” Hostetler says. “When considered through the lens of significant swine health, labor and economic challenges, these numbers demonstrate that U.S. pork producers are committed to continuous improvement in all phases of production. Furthermore, it is a testament to continued innovation in swine health, biosecurity, swine nutrition and genetic improvement.”

Read the full report here.

Sow Mortality Decreases for First Time in 5 Years

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 18:10:36 GMT

For the first time in years, recently released MetaFarms data shows a decreasing trend in sow mortality. From a high of 14% in 2022, the 2024 data shows a decrease to 12.2%.

Still, disease or health continues to comprise 31% of all sow mortality causes, and lameness is a contributor at 17%. Challenges like disease, lameness or welfare are reasons why the industry is developing a National Swine Health Strategy . In collaboration with an advisory group, National Pork Board and National Pork Producers Council are using producer feedback to inform the strategy’s development.

“Focusing on selection of gilts for structural soundness can help in reducing lameness issues in sows,” says Chris Hostetler, NPB director of animal science.

Pre-wean mortality was at a five-year high in 2024, at 16.4%, up from 13.7% in 2023 and 12.9% in 2020. Hostetler emphasizes pre-wean mortality is an area the industry can’t afford to lose focus on right now.

“Even the very best producers – the top 10% – saw an increase pre-wean mortality in 2024, so I think it’s important to not lose sight of that,” says Rachel Johnson, technical account and product support lead at MetaFarms, Inc. “But the good news was the pigs that made it to weaning performed very well last year, and the industry continues to get better. Mortality was down in nursery-to-finish and wean-to-finish categories in 2024 as compared to the previous years. That, combined with the pigs growing really well last year, means we are hopefully offsetting some of those early losses with good performance afterward.”

MetaFarms released the “ Production Analysis Summary for U.S. Pork Industry: 2020-2024 ” in partnership with NPB to help producers learn from each other through this benchmarking effort representing a dataset of 1.28 million females from 462 sow farms, more than 18.0 million nursery pigs, more than 18.2 million finish pigs and 10.3 million single-stocked wean-to-finish pigs from farms across the U.S.

Analytical analysis on percentile performance shows the differences among the best performing farms (top 10%), middle-of-the-road farms (50%) and the poor performing farms (bottom 10%). Each Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is ranked independently among the different percentiles, meaning a farm can be in the top 10% in one KPI but in the bottom 10% in another.

Mortality Takeaways

Hostetler says one of the biggest things that stood out to him while reviewing the report was how the bottom 10% of producers affect the average and overall industry mortality.

“If we could figure out how to address the issues the bottom 10% of our production is being affected by, it would be a situation where a rising tide lifts all ships,” Hostetler says. “We could make some progress in terms of overall mortality for all phases of our production.”

He’s also quick to point out how the top 10% and average has been a sideways affair in this data set. Mortality in all phases of production for the top 10% moved sideways.

“The data has not had that upward and to-the-right curve that we’ve experienced as an industry as a whole,” he says. “That tells me our top 10% is doing a really good job in terms of mortality and in all phases of production.”

He also notes if a farm has a mortality that exceeds 6%, you’ll likely see the farm also has a very poor average daily gain, a very high number of days on feed and a very poor feed efficiency.

“Mortality affects more than throughput of animals. It underpins other key productivity indicators that, in turn, affect profitability,” he says. “It has a substantial impact on sustainability, for example. If we have a poor feed efficiency, that requires more feed to be provided to the animals, which increases our carbon intensity and environmental footprint that’s associated with growing that feed.”

Steady Sow Improvements

Today’s sow is incredibly productive, Johnson explains. Data shows continued steady improvements in total born and live born.

In 2024, the industry hit some five-year highs for average born alive at 14.28 pigs, up from 13.49 in 2020, Johnson says. Pigs weaned per sow farrowed was 11.92 pigs, up from 11.34 in 2020.

“With the percent of stillborn pigs, it looks like we’re making progress, and that probably comes back to being able to assist sows during farrowing,” Hostetler says. “A larger percentage of farms are beginning to hire dedicated farrowing room staff who are involved with obstetrics or assisting sows during the birthing process. That is a win for sure.”

Pigs weaned per mated female per year (PWMFY) was at 27.27 in 2024, as compared to 25.42 in 2020.

Improving Pig Livability

Over the last three years, NPB has asked MetaFarms to look at this data through a mortality lens, because they have been working in the area of improving pig livability, Hostetler says. In 2019, NPB funded a consortium to work in this space. One of the outcomes is a pig livability conference that will take place in Omaha on November 5 and 6. https://piglivability.org/2025-conference

“Having MetaFarms look at the production statistics through a mortality lens has been an important and key piece of that effort,” Hostetler says.

The opportunity to participate in peer groups has also been very eye-opening, Johnson adds.

“If we’re truly honest and willing to take a look at things – warts and all – everybody at the table has something to learn from each other,” she says.

Hostetler appreciates how lenders, college instructors, high school ag teachers, nutritionists, geneticists and more are digging into these reports every year.

“I think it’s one of the best things that we do bang-for-the buck for our industry,” he says. “The return on this relatively small investment has the opportunity to inform decisions that are made on the pig farm every single day. For me, that’s a big win for our pork producers to have this as a resource to inform decisions.”

Read more about post-weaning performance here.

Read the whole report here.

Data’s Role in Sustainability on Swine Farms

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 22:02:14 GMT

Technological advancements continue to shift the pork industry. While not new to producers, data is integral to furthering sustainable pork farming. Producers are experienced in recording data on various aspects of their operations — feed use, litter size, rate of gain and the list goes on — to ensure they run efficient and cost-effective operations.

A similar approach can be applied to better collect and leverage data to reach sustainability goals by measuring items such as estimated tons of carbon sequestered in soil, soil erosion rates, land-applied manure amounts, etc. By measuring environmental impact and outlining plans for improvement, producers are poised to minimize their impact and preserve their farms.

Data is a tool to gain public trust
Consumers are increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from. Data can help tell the story of a producer’s efforts and operation and establish trust. Producers can show consumers that they are responsible with the amount of feed, land and water used while also showing how they are tangibly working towards sustainability. For example, data can show how much organic waste is reused as fertilizer; how much carbon is emitted on a farm and how much carbon they sequester through crop growth; soil erosion levels; and percentage of no-till adoption, to name a few.

“I think data is all about using this formula: Principles + Practices + Proof = Public Trust,” said Jamie Burr, Chief Sustainability Officer at the National Pork Board (NPB). “The principles are the Pork Board’s We Care Ethical Principles, which include environment, animal welfare, food safety, people, public health and community. Then, practices are the things that we have underneath each of those ethical principles such as the carbon footprint calculator, certification programs, etc. Then, lastly, the proof is the data that shows a farm is following and collecting data on those practices. All the hard work to complete that formula equals public trust.”

The first step in being able to communicate data to stakeholders is obtaining and understanding on-farm data and facing the facts of how a farm is performing.

Collecting and interpreting data on swine farms
The Pork Cares Farm Impact Report, offered by the NPB, provides producers an opportunity to measure and document continuous improvement efforts on their farms. The NPB is partnering with Eocene Environmental Group, Nestlé and Ducks Unlimited to collect and interpret data for producers and provide grant opportunities for practice implementation. This service equips producers with data specific to their farms, as well as insights on what data means, all with the goal of improving sustainability and a producer’s bottom line.

Information from the report includes statistics producers would not be able to estimate otherwise, such as carbon dioxide emissions, sequestered carbon, soil erosion, manure application rates and conservation practices in use, among others.

“This report brings true value to producers,” Burr said. “It provides producers with their baseline and an opportunity report that details areas to improve sustainability practices. This is important because it outlines areas of opportunity the producer may not know are there. Participating in the report is the first step to taking ownership for sustainability needs that are unseen. For example, if they aren’t using cover crops, they would give them an improvement score if they were to implement them. Eocene helps producers truly understand what their data means and what they should do with it.”

The benefit of tracking data relevant to sustainability is two-fold.

First, producers have clear benchmarks for where they are and how they can improve. Data provides a tangible perspective on how to further sustainability goals.

Second, data tells the story of the hard work done by producers to become more sustainable. This is valuable information for pork consumers and will continue to be a critical point for consumers.

Trails End Farm uses data to make sustainable improvements
Dale Stevermer, along with his wife Lori, are owners of Trails End Farm and know first-hand the value of leveraging data to drive farm improvements. As fifth-generation farmers, and farmers of the land Dale’s father and grandfather farmed, they place a high value on their stewardship of the land.

Trails End Farm is a 500-acre farm that houses 4,000 swine with 2,000 in finishing barns at any given time. They also farm corn and soybeans as cash crops. The Stevermers work to balance innovation with reliability; they were quick to see the value in the Pork Cares Farm Impact Report and signed up to take part in it within its pilot year.

Stevermer, like most producers, was already collecting data about his herd, land and crops. He remembers the process of getting this data to Eocene being simple. Because Stevermer’s equipment logs data as he farms and applies manure to fields, he could easily pull the information.

“I gathered all the data I had into one place and sent it over to Eocene,” Stevermer reflected. “Then they created a report that’s two pages, and it outlines things you did and how they affect the environment. For example, how many pigs did you finish, how many gallons of manure did land apply, etc. It gets into environmental scores, too, so it tells you the estimated tons of carbon sequestered in your soil per year and your soil erosion.”

As Stevermer explained the report, he pointed out that data is compared to national and state averages to help producers understand how their farms are performing comparatively. After delivering the report, the Eocene schedules a time to call the producer and discuss the report in detail and answer any questions. Additionally, they help the producer set up a continuous improvement plan, outlining what practices they could add to positively impact their scores.

Farmers know that the bottom line is essential in their line of work. The Eocene helps producers estimate the potential return on investment of sustainability practices, for example, addition of solar panels or selling manure. Stevermer shares that the return on investment will not be immediate, but working with the Eocene helps producers make decisions that are best for their operations. The Stevermers chose to install solar panels to offset their electricity usage and Stevermer went as far as purchasing an electrical truck for his farm work. Additionally, Stevermer installed monitoring systems in his barn so he can closely monitor the temperature as well as water and power usage.

How to access the pork cares farm impact report
Pork producers from across the country can request a Pork Cares Farm Impact Report on the NPB’s website. The initial form takes only 30 seconds to complete. After the form is completed, a NPB staff member will reach out to schedule a 15-minute introduction call with Eocene. Staff from Eocene leads producers through the process of collecting and submitting data, analyzes data to create the report, walks through the report with the producer and provides insight for additional practices to incorporate.

Knowing this data is unique to each producer, the NPB and Eocene have gone to great lengths to ensure reports and documents stay private. All data shared is uploaded through a confidential, secure online platform. Individual producer data is not shared or made public in any way. Aggregate data, which is the collection of results, is used to tell all of pork production’s sustainability story on a broad level.

There is grant funding available for producers in Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota to implement sustainability practices following the results of the Pork Cares Farm Impact Report.

“Valuing sustainability is the right thing to do, which is something all producers believe,” Stevermer says. “But, if we look at sustainability as not just environmental sustainability, but also the ability to continue to operate and the potential to pass the operation onto the next generation, then it’s undeniably important.”

Additional sustainability resources from the National Pork Board

The NPB has additional tools for producers to aid in data collection and interpretation. The Carbon Footprint Calculator is an in-barn calculator to determine carbon output. This calculator provides in-depth data on carbon in swine barns.

Certifications such as the Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) allow producers to receive certifications confirming their commitment to animal well-being, environmental stewardship, food safety, worker safety, public health and overall quality throughout the pork life and production cycle. These certifications not only provide education to producers but speak volumes about their operations when they look to create business or financial partnerships.

“Pork producers are proud to create a healthy, reliable, ethical and delicious meat for consumers,” Burr says. “The Pork Cares Farm Impact Report, and additional resources, provides tools to continually invest in and strengthen their operations so they can continue to prosper while doing the right thing for people, pigs and the planet.”

PRRS-resistant pigs an industry "game-changer"

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:15:02 GMT

Since the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus first appeared in the U.S. in 1987, it has cost the U.S. pork industry roughly $10 billion.

PRRS causes severe pneumonia or respiratory problems in newborn piglets and young pigs, resulting in a 20 percent to 80 percent mortality rate, and reproductive failure in sows.

Now, teams of researchers from the University of Missouri and Kansas State University have collaborated with experts from Genus plc to develop the first generation of pigs resistant to PRRS.

Randall Prather, a distinguished professor of animal sciences at the University of Missouri and one of the study’s researchers, explained the science behind PRRS itself.

“Once inside the pigs, PRRS needs some help to spread; it gets that help from a protein called CD163,” he explained. “We were able to breed a litter of pigs that do not produce this protein, and as a result, the virus doesn’t spread. When we exposed the pigs to PRRS, they did not get sick and continued to gain weight normally.”

Raymond “Bob” Rowland, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State University and another researcher on the project, praised the discovery, stressing that it not only will significantly improve animal well-bring but will also save hundreds of millions of dollars each year. In the U.S. alone, PRRS leads to annual losses of approximately $664 million.

“In the decades that we have had the PRRS virus, we have looked at vaccines, diagnostics and other strategies and we have never been able to eliminate the disease,” Rowland said. “This is the first time that we have established the potential to eliminate this devastating disease.”

The collaborative research appears in Nature Biotechnology in the article, “ Gene-edited pigs are protected from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus .”

“The demonstration of genetic resistance to the PRRS virus by gene editing is a potential game changer for the pork industry,” said Jonathan Lightner, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D of Genus plc. “There are several critical challenges ahead as we develop and commercialize this technology; however, the promise is clear, and Genus is committed to developing its potential. Genus is dedicated to the responsible exploration of new innovations that benefit the well-being of animals, farmers, and ultimately consumers.”

Related Links

From the University of Missouri: Pigs that are Resistant to Incurable Disease Developed at University of Missouri
From Kansas State University: Research develops breakthrough technology to address devastating pig disease PRRS
From Genus plc: Genus tackles major pig disease with breakthrough technology

National Western Stock Show to feature antimicrobial stewardship workshop

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:14:57 GMT

Stewardship of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food animals is the subject of a workshop to be offered Saturday, Jan. 16, as part of the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, CO. This free workshop will be 9 a.m. to noon at the Beef Palace Arena on the NWSS grounds.

A collaboration of Farm Foundation, NFP and the Livestock Division of the NWSS, the workshop will focus on two Guidance for Industry (GFIs) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals, as well as the FDA’s revised Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD). These actions mean some drugs will see label changes allowing only therapeutic uses, and some drugs will require veterinary oversight in the form of a veterinarian’s prescription, direct administration by a veterinarian or a veterinary consultation on disease management protocols.

Officials from FDA and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will participate in the workshop to discuss specific elements of the policies. An update will also be provided on USDA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan. A major portion of the workshop is designated for participants to identify and give feedback to federal officials on the management challenges ahead.

The workshop is targeted to livestock producers, including youth raising and showing cattle, as well as veterinarians, feed suppliers and educators. Kevin Ochsner of the Adayana Agribusiness Group will lead the workshop.

This workshop will be webcast live by BARN Media, as well as archived for later viewing. To access the webcast go to:

http://livestream.com/BarnMedia/events/4637175.

Between August and October 2015, Farm Foundation conducted 12 regional workshops on this topic across the country. These were opportunities for producers, veterinarians and feed suppliers to gain information on the new policies, and for FDA and APHIS to gain feedback on the management challenges involved in implementing the policies. NWSS provided facilities for a Sept. 28 workshop, and invited Farm Foundation to present another workshop as part of the 2016 Stock Show.

Many producers and businesses across the entire food and agricultural value chain have already taken action to reduce the use of medically-important antimicrobial drugs in food animal production. FDA’s GFI 209 and GFI 213 call on animal drug

sponsors of approved medically-important antimicrobials administered through medicated feed or water to remove production uses (i.e., to promote growth or improve feed efficiency) from their product labels, and bring the remaining

therapeutic uses of these products-to treat, control, or prevent disease-under the oversight of a veterinarian by the end of December 2016. Manufacturers of products containing these medically-important antimicrobial drugs have voluntarily agreed to submit changes to their product labels to comply with the GFIs. FDA also revised the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) to facilitate the increased veterinary oversight of medicated feeds called for by GFI 209 and 213.

Successful adaptation to the policy changes is critical to public and animal health, ensuring consumer confidence in food safety and the future viability of animal agriculture in the United States. “The success of achieving this goal--for both public health and the economic health of animal agriculture--hinges on producers having access to the information they need to adjust production practices, feed retailers and distributors understanding their changing responsibilities, and the capacity of veterinarians to provide the additional oversight needed,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin.

A national summit,

Antibiotic Stewardship: Policies, Education and Economics , will take place Jan. 20-21, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. This summit is a collaboration of Farm Foundation, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and USDA’s Economic Research Service. This will also be an opportunity for farmers, ranchers, feed suppliers, veterinarians, academics and government agency staff to advance the conversation on the industry’s adaptation to the changing landscape of antimicrobial drug use.

Pork's global roadmap, local drivers

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:14:20 GMT

The pork industry lived through Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus,

(PEDv)

but there will probably be other disease outbreaks in the future, says Dr. Corrie Brown, with the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. She spoke at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Association of Swine Practitioners.

“Unfortunately, not all animal health emergencies are created equal, and much depends on the missions and abilities of the emergency management systems operated by the governmental and intergovernmental organizations,” Brown said. “This requires some backgrounding in how national animal health systems are constructed and how they operate in today’s interconnected and globalized world.”

For 2015, Brown said there were 117 notifiable diseases, which means notifying the international community of the occurrence of any of these diseases is required. Of these diseases, six are swine-specific: African swine fever, classical swine fever, Nipah virus infection, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, porcine cysticercosis, and transmissible gastroenteritis.

How a disease is treated depends to a large extent on whether or not it impacts the “public good.”

“As Napoleon the pig stated in the classic novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, ‘All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.’ The same is true for diseases. Our regulatory systems, both national and international, are designed to deal with diseases of established public good. For those diseases that are traditionally considered within the realm of private good, it falls to local actors for the assessment and control,” Brown stated.

Looking into the future, what are we going to see?

“We lived through PEDv, but will there be another one?” Brown asks.

“There probably will be - it’s likely that something else will sneak in,” she says. “A recommendation would be, when the next one comes, you’re going to need all hands on deck from the beginning, but hopefully in a way that does not impede economics or restrict trade.”

Are U.S. corn, soybean farmers "playing poker with the Chinese"?

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:31 GMT

On the heels of the October USDA crop production report, many farmers are wondering what to do with the predicted 51.4 bushels per acre soybeans and 173.4 bushels per acre corn. Compared to the September forecast, corn acres dropped a bushel and soybeans increased 0.8 bushel.

Some believe the soybean yield will be pushed higher. On U.S. Farm Report, Mark Gold of Top Third Ag Marketing told host Tyne Morgan he’s heard from farmers across the country and very few farmers are pulling yields below 50 bpa. More often than not, farmers have between 65 to 75 bpa, some have yields in the 80s, and there’s even a few reporting 90 bpa.

“When all is said and done, the bean number will be higher,” said Gold.

On the other hand, it’s more difficult to tell when it comes to corn.

“Basically they’re playing poker with the Chinese again,” said Kevin Duling of KD Investors. “Do they really have half the world’s corn, and if they do, is it worth anything? It comes down to, ‘Are we going to move it?’”

If these massive crop predictions come to fruition, many farmers are concerned if there will be a strong demand for both corn and soybeans.

Gold advised farmers to take advantage of funds to cover corn and beans until there’s a selling opportunity. According to Gold, fundamentals have remained unchanged , only the technical side of the market has changed.

Watch

Duling and Gold discuss wheat, when corn and wheat will see a bottom, and how the strong dollar will play in exports above.

Singer Luke Bryan dishes on farming, hunger and his latest tour

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:31 GMT

Luke Bryan is known as a country music superstar, topping the charts and selling millions of albums worldwide. Over the last couple of weeks, he took a break from his ‘Kill The Lights Tour’ and dedicated time to a special tour partnership with Bayer. It’s focused on hunger and our nation’s farmers on a 2016 Farm Tour.

‘What makes it truly unique is two days ago we were in a hayfield or some sort of field. Now, we have thirty tour buses and tractor trailers and stuff. We are kind of like a circus,” he says.

The farm tour has two goals in mind: thanking farmers during harvest and providing meals for those in need.

Bayer is donating one meal to Feeding America every time the hash-tag #Thankful4Ag is used on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram now until November 30.

It’s more than just lip service for Bryan - it’s also part of his personal history. Agriculture runs deep in his family. His dad is a peanut grower in Georgia.

“I would spend my afternoons working at the peanut mill. I’d have to go out to the fields, pull the peanuts on trailers and get moisture on them and get them dried and get them ready to go to the shelling plants,” Bryan says.

Knowing if he wasn’t singing on stage, farming would likely be his future, he says.

“At any moment in my life, I could have taken a different path or different direction and still certainly could have been working in ag,” he says.

Watch the accompanying video to learn more about the tour.

Kent Nutrition Group acquires Deluxe Feeds

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:31 GMT

Kent Nutrition Group (KNG), a division of Kent Corporation (kentww.com), and DEL-uxe Feeds (Deluxe) have entered into an agreement where KNG will acquire the Deluxe organization, including its feed mills, retail business, and Midwest EnRG Flakes operations.

“We are very pleased to have Deluxe join our family of companies as we both share a passion and long tradition for providing customers with quality products and service,” said Gage A. Kent, chairman and CEO, Kent Corporation. “Our company has always been a strong supporter of U.S. and Iowa agriculture. The acquisition of Deluxe will continue to position us well in the industry and enhance our long term ability to serve customers with trusted brands, superior customer service and competitive ingredient sourcing.”

Deluxe, founded in 1972, is a private independent company with two primary feed mills located in Sheldon and Ireton, Iowa. With state-of-the-art facilities at both locations, Deluxe prides itself on providing quality feed products for swine, dairy, and beef producers in their service area as they continue to address today’s rapidly changing livestock needs.

This transaction allows KNG to bolster its commercial business and regional focus by joining forces with another respected feed manufacturer in one of the top commercial animal producing regions in the country. This combination of resources, capabilities and a long history in the nutrition and feed industries provides an expanded opportunity to better serve customers throughout the market area. Deluxe customers will continue to receive quality products and services from the familiar faces at the Deluxe organization.

Zinc Plays Vital Role in Animal and Human Fertility

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:21 GMT

Infertility affects about 20 percent of the U.S. population and can be incredibly costly ; it also costs the livestock industry billions of dollars each year. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that zinc plays a key role in promoting fertility in males, a discovery that has implications for improved in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination in livestock, and for human infertility diagnostics and therapies.

“Zinc is linked directly with fertility,” said Peter Sutovsky , a professor of animal science in MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “We have known that giving males zinc supplements—whether pigs or humans—improves fertility. Now we know that analyzing zinc signatures can help us quickly evaluate the fertilizing potential and quality of sperm.”

Scientists have long struggled to understand what regulates sperm “capacitation,” the vital physiological process sperm must undergo to become capable of fertilizing an egg cell. Sutovsky and doctoral student Karl Kerns used a state-of-the-art image-based flow cytometer—which can take images of up to 2,000 cells per second and track biomarkers such as zinc with fluorescent dyes—to monitor zinc localization during various stages of capacitation in sperm cells. They found that zinc ions (Zn2+) exert significant control over capacitation beyond merely enabling the process, in that the ion can prevent and even reverse the capacitation process in some cases. This also occurs when an egg has already been fertilized and must defend against another fertilization.

Another product of the research was the ability to quickly and accurately evaluate the fertility of livestock or humans by analyzing their sperm cells with the flow cytometer. This allows for more informed decision-making when it comes to alternative processes like in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination. For example, sperm cells are traditionally “diluted” before artificial insemination into livestock, which eliminates some of the zinc. Preserving the zinc would lead to healthier sperm and a greater ability to identify infertility.

“Infertility is a costly issue for both humans and animals,” Kerns said. “This study gives us tools to approach the problem more efficiently by demonstrating the importance of zinc—both as a mediator of fertility and as an indicator we can use to identify issues with sperm. If we could add just one more pig to every litter, that would increase the income of U.S. pork farmers by $130 million per year.”

The study, “Zinc ion flux during mammalian sperm capacitation,” was published in Nature Communications . Coauthors Michal Zigo, Erma Z. Drobnis and Miriam Sutovsky of the University of Missouri were also involved in the study. Funding was provided by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (grant number 2015-67015-23231, predoctoral fellowship award number 2017-67011-26023) and the National Institutes of Health (grant number 5 R01 HD084353-02), as well as with support from the European Development Fund, the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of Missouri. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

China Using Artificial Intelligence to Monitor Pigs

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:11 GMT

As the world’s largest pork producer—and consumer—a wave of new technology is allowing the country to dramatically modernize and increase production efficiency. A new project from tech conglomerate Alibaba could change the game even more.

Alibaba is working with Chinese pig producer Dekon Group and feed manufacturer Tequ Group to develop artificial intelligence systems to track pigs. The deal , announced earlier this month is worth tens of millions of dollars and will rely on video monitoring to replace radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags.

The cameras will identify and track numbers tattooed on the animals’ bodies. At the very basic level, it will count pigs, but Alibaba is planning for additional analysis, such as temperature readings from infrared sensors, how much individual pigs move per day and monitor disease spread by recording the sounds of pigs coughing.

The intended result? Lower production costs, and “safe, tasty pork,” says Zhang Sheng with Alibaba.

The advancement of technology in agriculture is leap frogging. Cargill recently started testing facial recognition for dairy and beef cows. Blue River Technology’s See and Spray can detect and identify weeds in the field , spraying one and avoiding another.

Zinc Plays Vital Role in Animal and Human Fertility

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:11 GMT

New Technology Aims to Improve Early Disease Detection in Swine Herds

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:06 GMT

The winning project in the Merck Animal Health High-Quality Pork — Precision Farming Award contest aims to improve early disease detection in swine herds by implementing next-generation technology that monitors the feeding and drinking behavior of pigs, as well as their weight gain, to detect acute and chronic illnesses and anomalous events.

Led by Tami Brown-Brandl, PhD, professor of Biological Systems Engineering at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the project titled “Next-Generation Grow-Finish Swine Health and Growth Monitoring,” utilizes radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on the ear of each pig that track when it eats and drinks. This allows researchers to pick up on the pigs that go off feed more quickly. Depth cameras are used in tandem to measure the weight of the pigs, providing more accuracy than the naked eye and experience alone.

As with humans, when pigs don’t feel well, the animal will typically eat and drink less. Inspiration for the technological breakthrough came for Brown-Brandl and her team, which includes Yijie Xiong and Raj Sharma, following an outbreak of pneumonia in their research barns. They had been monitoring the eating and drinking habits of the pigs and noticed that feeding behavior was off days before animal care takers noticed pneumonia in the pigs.

“The RFID tag goes in the ear of the pig, and when the pig puts its head in the feeder, the system will pick up the ear tag and record that the pig’s head was in the feeder. If the pigs are just walking by the feeder, it doesn’t pick the tag up. The pig’s head actually has to enter the feeder,” Brown-Brandl says. “This will allow us to detect animals that go off feed for a variety of reasons. We might not be able to pick up the specific type of illness, but we’ll pick up places in which we need management intervention and can say, ‘Please go check this group of animals because these animals are off of feed.’”

One of the great things about the RFID technology being utilized is that it’s scalable. Whether it’s a small farm or large commercial operation hogs, the technology and monitoring system will work.

The other aspect of the project focuses on weighing the hogs. In commercial operations, judging which animals have reached market weight is done on visual observation by the animal caretaker who has to make a judgement call, Brown-Brandl says. It takes experience and can be difficult. That’s where depth cameras can come into play.

“The second part of our project will be to monitor the weight of all the pigs on a daily basis, which we’re doing with a special camera called a depth camera. It gives you the distance from the camera to all the pixels, this allows us to capture the volume of the pig, and that volume is very closely related to weight,” she says.

A secondary goal for the project is to then create a dashboard of all the data that a producer or animal caretaker could use to see a quick snapshot of what’s going on with their herd, and more quickly and easily intervene should an issue arise.

“With a dashboard, you can pull the information in and summarize it, and then a producer can quickly look at it and say ‘Okay, these are the pigs that I know I need to look at. I have three pigs in pen six I need to look at. And I have 25 pigs in pen eight that are ready to be marketed.’ Being able to put that dashboard together so the producer can see it before going to the barn will make the job more efficient,” Brown-Brandl says.

The Merck Animal Health High-Quality Pork — Precision Farming Award builds on the company’s heritage and commitment to scientific excellence and innovation. When the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the original format of the High-Quality Pork Award, in which the winner would travel to three different Merck Animal Health High- Quality Pork events around the world, the company decided to take its focus on innovation and technology and make it central to the revamped High-Quality Pork — Precision Farming Award.

Instead of the typical essay format, entrants completed a virtual “Shark-Tank”-like pitch process that included a video, and now Brown-Brandl will partner with the judge who scored her team’s project highest to test and implement the idea, much as the “Shark” works with the entrepreneur that pitches their product on the show. The award also includes a grant of up to $200,000 to implement the project, says Rika Jolie, DVM, PhD, global swine lead for Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside of the U.S. and Canada).

“There were 32 total entries from around the world, and 30 of them really fit all of the entry criteria. This shows that there is a very strong interest, and a lot of innovators out there, to bring digital technology into swine farms,” says Jolie.

The judges were impressed with Brown-Brandl’s project in particular because it was well-rounded, addressing labor efficiencies as well as animal well-being, Jolie says.

“It was well-rounded with respect to animal well-being and the efficiency of labor of activities on the farm, and also efficiencies around raising the animal and bringing the animal to market and making the right decision around which animals are ready to go to market,” Jolie says.

As for future applications, in addition to the potential for better animal care, Brown-Brandl also hopes this system could help with the labor retention issues that are seen in the swine industry by changing some aspects of the job and making them more technology based.

“We have a really hard time getting people into taking care of pigs. There’s a turnover issue and finding a sick pig in a pen is not something you can necessarily put in a training video. It takes time. You can show a new employee how to find a sick pig, but until they’ve done it for a while, they aren’t going to be as effective,” Brown-Brandl says. “I think this technology will help even experienced people find sick pigs faster, but is especially important for less experienced people.”

Color-Coded Feed Line Control

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:13:06 GMT

Infrared sensing works by utilizing small transmitters to project invisible light beams to receivers located on the opposite side of the body. As feed accumulates in the control body, the beams are interrupted, and the control shuts off the motor operating the feed line. As the feed is consumed and falls down the end tube, the infrared beams make the connection again, switching on the motor.

Infrared detection has several advantages compared to other types of sensing devices. First, there are no moving parts to wear out or replace. Second, infrared beams are not affected by excess moisture and feed buildup on the control’s interior. To demonstrate, we sprayed water on the interior of the control, allowing feed dust to cake on the walls. Even in this extreme condition, the controller continued to operate without failure.

Hog Slat’s newest feed line control, the HS820, uses infrared technology along with a color-coded display to quickly inform the user of its operational mode.

The basic operation of the HS820 is easy to follow. When the system is running, the display is green. When feed builds up in the drop tube, the screen turns purple indicating feed has been detected. As the feed drops away, activating the control, it goes into delay mode to prevent the feed motor from short cycling, and the display turns blue. After the delay, the controller turns the feed motor on to fill the system, with the screen returning to green. Should the system run longer than the preset maximum run time, the controller shuts down the system, and the display turns red. The red display alerts the user that there is a problem with the feed delivery; empty bin, broken drop tube, etc. The system will not run again until the user manually resets the control. The control also comes with an alarm contact that connects to an alarm system or house controller.

The color-coded display permits the user to see what mode the system is in from a greater distance. For instance, the herdsmen easily see a red error message on the screen from the alleyway without entering the pen.

The HS820 also includes a built-in, 24-hour time clock. This feature allows a user to set a window of time the system can run. For example, by setting the on time to 6 am and off time to 10 pm, the system is only operational during the day and shuts off at night. Most competitive models require wiring an external timer to the system to add this feature.

Retrofitting the HS820 to existing feed systems with mechanical or proximity switches is straightforward. The unit is self-contained with a relay contact that connects directly to the feed system control box.

For more information, click the link to HS820 .