By: Brian Stevens, President of Big Stone Marketing Here it is the middle of August and we have some pretty significant changes underway in the Pork Industry and I thought I should talk about it in this month’s newsletter. The topic is the additional packing capacity our industry is adding. We have two remodeled pork…
Category: Swine Marketing
Wean to Market PRRS Control Strategies
By Dr. Bryan Myers As I begin to write this article, it is 6:00 AM and it is 38 degrees outside and I can’t see my neighbor’s house because of the fog. Unfortunately, the first thing that comes to mind is this is a day that PRRS virus thrives in. According to initial research done…
Focus on Family Farms Leads to Partnerships and Business Opportunities
For thirty years, Doug Pollema has focused on providing products and services to support family farmers around his business in northwest Iowa. Doug is a native of Hull, Iowa, and after college he started working as an outside salesman and livestock production representative for Hull Feed & Produce, an independent feed dealer that sold Wayne…
July 2016 Hog Market
Last Friday USDA released their Quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report which I’ve included along with the Pre-report estimates and so you can see the differences in the far right hand column. You’ll notice that the actual USDA numbers came in quite a bit higher than the estimates across most of the categories. This report is…
Iron Needs in the Pig
Have you ever wondered why we give piglets iron? Who would give the piglet iron if we were not there to provide it? These are good questions and fortunately ones we have answers to so you can best weigh your options when it comes to iron. Iron is essential for the pig because it allows…
Market Review
By: Brian Stevens, President of Big Stone Marketing We have concluded our first quarter of 2015 and I have to say there wasn’t much to write home about as it relates to our pork markets. Experts predicted that we’d see pork supplies grow 1%, but the reality was our supplies soared and caught everyone off…
Make More Money Today
By: Dr. Spencer Wayne I have been practicing swine veterinary medicine at Pipestone Veterinary Services for ten years, and one of the most frequently asked questions from hog producers is this: “What I can do today to improve my barn and make more money?” And you can’t blame them for asking! Here, I’ve written about…
Preparing for Winter Transport
Heading into the winter months, livestock transportation can quickly become a nightmare. For your pigs, dropping temps can mean decreased immune systems and increased susceptibility to viruses. During the winter, transportation is one of many touch points where proper management practices can make a big difference when it comes time to market. In order…
Maximize Profitability: Tips from Big Stone Marketing
With the cash hog market run up, volatility in the futures market, and the unknown marketing hole created from PEDv, it definitely makes for interesting times. The key for hog producers to take advantage of the situation and to maximize profitability is to focus on margin over feed cost. Right now, with the current hog…
U.S. Well-Positioned for Export Growth
David Preisler, Executive Director, Minnesota Pork Producers Association Exports have driven demand for U.S. pork in recent months. “Foreign buyers look to the U.S. for a combination of food safety, food quality, and price,” says David Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association (MPPA). “Right now, we’re the best country in the world…