Articles

One of the most critical moments in a pig’s life is the transition from a liquid-based sow milk diet to a dry, cereal grain-based diet post-weaning.

Water is the most important nutrient for pigs and often the most overlooked when it comes to quality. Pipestone Research conducted a study to evaluate how water source impacts pig performance, comparing rural water and well water from the nursery phase through finishing.

For years, biosecurity efforts on sow farms have focused on what we can see and control—people, equipment, and airflow. However, research has pointed to a less obvious risk: feed as a potential pathway. Studies have shown that viruses like PRRSv can travel through feed, creating a hidden route into sow farms.

Over several decades, the U.S. swine industry has made progress in disease control through the transition from traditional farrow-to-finish farms to multi-site production. Along with segregated early weaning, many bacterial pathogens were eliminated from large parts of the industry.

As a pork producer, you likely spend hours analyzing your farm’s key performance indicators. You know exactly how every decimal point impacts your feed conversion ratio or farrowing rate.

Heat stress in growing pigs can begin at temperatures above 70°F, triggering a chain reaction of reduced feed intake, slower growth, poorer feed efficiency, and increased mortality. Because pigs have very few functional sweat glands, even small increases in temperature can have a big impact on their ability to stay cool.

If you ask most pig producers what makes an operation run well, you’ll hear things like genetics, feed, or barn design. And all of that matters. But talk to enough people, and one thing keeps rising to the top: communication. At the end of the day, pig production is a team sport.

Hauling pigs during warm weather requires extra attention to detail to protect animal welfare and maintain efficiency. From shifting temperatures to long hauls, success comes down to preparation, adaptability, and consistency in daily practices. Keeping these key considerations in mind can help producers and drivers navigate summer conditions with confidence.

Modern swine production demands more than simply moving pigs efficiently from one barn to the next. Health pressures, labor constraints, and tighter margins have raised the bar for how we manage our systems. One tool I’ve seen continue to prove its value, especially at scale, is pig flow.

Swine production systems inherently have variation or deviate from the average. Differences in mortality, growth rate, feed efficiency, and market outcomes exist even when pigs are managed under the same general protocols.

“Great innovation only happens when people aren’t afraid to do things differently” (George Carter).  It has been nearly 20 years since the first commercial sow farms were filtered with the goal of controlling PRRS virus. This was certainly different at the time. Farmers and veterinarians didn’t know if it would work.

Every pork producer eventually faces the same set of questions:Should I fix this barn? Tear it down? Build new? Rent someone else’s? And with today’s construction prices, none of those decisions come easy.