Sows
Feedyard margins improved last week despite a $3 per cwt. decline in cash cattle prices.
Cowboys and packers finished 2016 on a high note, maintaining per head profits north of $100 for the week ended Dec. 30.
Feedyard margins declined $28 per head last week to total an average loss of $70 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Feedyard margins dropped another $20 last week to total an average loss of $90 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Calling losses of $193 per head an improvement may be painful, but it’s accurate.
Feedlot closeouts continue ending on positive notes.
Cattle feeders turned a profit for the eighth consecutive week.
Cattle feeders saw positive margins on closeouts for the ninth consecutive week.
Feedyard profit margins rebounded slightly after last week’s $2 rally in the cash fed cattle market.
Kelsey Hammers, a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota, is studying the impact of high zinc supplementation to gestating sows on sow and piglet performance, specifically the effects on piglet mortality.
Adequate colostrum intake after birth helps promote piglet survival. As litter sizes increase, the demand for colostrum proportionately increases to achieve this desired intake. Here are three ways to improve intake.
The hot summer months are upon us, and a team at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists recently announced a new smartphone application, HotHog, to help predict heat stress in pigs.
Experts from across the country came together at the 2023 World Pork Expo for an in-depth discussion on what the industry knows – and doesn’t know – about sow longevity and pig survivability.
How can the use of a feed flavor in sow lactation impact sow feed intake, body condition changes and piglet growth? Mikayla Spinler, our latest addition to Farm Journal’s PORK’s Up & Coming Leaders, sheds insight.
By the world’s standards, they looked like an unlikely group of employees to bring into a sow barn. But to Jimmy Tosh, owner of Tosh Farms, they looked like a group of women who could use a second chance.
How can better understanding the sow’s amino acid demands in lactation ultimately lead to more profitable pork production? Iowa State’s Dalton Humphrey is exploring how to nutritionally support the sow better.
Sow behavioral changes from weaning to 10 days post-weaning can provide important clues about the optimum time for breeding. Nicole Moest, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, is exploring possibilities.
Sow caretakers often focus on increasing feed intake in lactation. However, gestation feed intake comprises over 50% of sow feed intake. Here’s how you can improve sow gestation in your barn.
Check out the 2023-24 line-up of topics for SowBridge, the distance educational series for those who work with sows, boars and piglets, and with genetic and reproductive issues.
When it comes to rearing healthy pigs, sows possess the superpower: colostrum. That’s why Kara Stewart is so invested in improving pig livability by starting with one of the most basic building blocks in a pig’s life.
Being an advocate for your employees is one of the best things you can do as a sow farm manager because it pays off in their work and in their mental health, says Danielle Voelkel of New Fashion Pork.
As one of the researchers who helped developed pigs resistant to the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus said, “At the very least, the development of PRRS-resistant pigs is a new tool for im
When John Deen, DVM, was a kid, he remembers a time when sow mortality was not a problem. However times have changed, and Deen says it’s partly our creation. Here are seven sow management trends to watch in 2022.
Iowa State graduate student Jamie Studer is studying immune cell profiles and circulating biomarkers in sows at farrowing to determine if they are predictive of future agalactia, or the absence of milk production.
It’s hard when sows die, says Luis Lopez, a breeding team lead at New Fashion Pork. The reality that you can do everything right and still experience loss on a farm is hard to deal with day in and day out.
Every detail matters when you’re talking about preventing a bacteria or virus from walking onto your sow farm. Here’s a look at why employee turnover may be one of your greatest biosecurity risks.
The strategy for pig production is pretty simple, says Clayton Johnson, DVM. But we have to call out our challenges. How do producers manage execution and sustainability in a world of distractions?
The 44th annual World Ag Expo 2011 will take place Feb. 8 to 10 at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif., with 1,600 exhibitors on 2.6 million sq. ft. of show grounds.