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National Hog Farmer June 2012

The June 15, 2012 edition of National Hog Farmer focuses on hiring and retaining a top quality workforce, the key to establishing a world-class pork production team. Other features include a new sow body condition caliper to help guide sow feeding in gestation, a closer look at the evolution of swine influenza viruses, and an eye-opening discussion about how consumers see food quality and food safety.

 

From My Perspective

  • Jun. 14, 2012
    Article

    Feeding the World

    That is the rhetorical — and practical — question hanging over meetings and conferences associated with agriculture these days. In the livestock sector, the long-term health and sustainability of our production systems will require sensible laws and guidelines to meet that goal. The key word being — sensible. Hardly a week goes by that the livestock and poultry industries aren’t beaten up over some generally proven management or processing practice. Commonly, the red flag-wavers are affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) or other anti-meat advocates. Two of their favorite targets include the use of low-level antibiotics in livestock diets and housing gestating sows in stalls....More

Human Resources

  • Jun. 14, 2012
    Article

    Engaging Your Employees 1

    Two operations may have the same number of sows, the same relative health status, comparable facilities and the same number of employees, yet their production outputs can be vastly different. The variance is often related to the people taking care of the pigs and their attention to detail. How are some managers able to retain a high-quality workforce and motivate them to continue to improve while other managers struggle to do so?...More
  • Jun. 14, 2012
    Article

    Diversity in the Workplace

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is projected to grow significantly over the next 10 years and into the future. With more than 50 million Latinos in the United States presently, the numbers are projected to represent more than 30% of the total population by 2050....More
  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    ‘Hiring Right’ is Key To Employee Retention

    Finding and keeping the right people is a very detailed process for Suzan Heimer and Fred Kuhr, director of sow production at Professional Swine Management....More
  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Keeping Employees Safe on the Job 1

      Besides hiring and retaining valuable farm staff, a big part of the responsibility of human resources departments is to ensure staff safety, says Joe Connor, DVM, Professional Swine Management (PSM), Carthage, IL. At PSM, there are ongoing, proactive steps to introduce safety measures and analyze accidents when they occur, he says. To avoid repeatable accidents, employees at PSM are provided with initial training and education, then up-to-date training on the most common slipups on sow farms....More

Environment

Sow Management

  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Sow Body Condition Caliper Guides Feeding

    Most of the 5.8 million sows in the United States are fed to a subjective body condition target. Yet the majority of barn workers, farm managers and service staff are not highly trained in estimating body composition. And, on some farms, the task of scoring body condition may fall to more than one individual, thus compounding the variation....More

Swine Health

  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Flu Virus Continues to Evolve in Swine

    Influenza is an important cause of respiratory disease in swine throughout the world. It was first recognized in the midwestern United States in 1918, when the virus moved from humans to swine during the pandemic known as the Spanish flu....More

Consumers

  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Food Supply Chain Communication Drives Positive Change 1

    That was the overwhelming message to those attending the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) North American Strategy Conference on Animal Agriculture held in Chicago recently. Participants included agricultural producers, food distributors and restaurant and grocery store supply chain managers from across North America. The conference goal was to identify ways to build consumer trust for food animal agriculture....More
  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Attitudes about Food Production are Eye-Opening

    During the recent North American Strategy Conference on Animal Agri¬culture held in Chicago, the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) assembled a diverse panel of consumers from the area. Panel members were unaware that they were speaking to an audience primarily made up of food producers and distributors....More

Tech Watch

  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Security Cameras Provide Added Protection

    In recent years, the number of break-ins at remote hog building sites has escalated. Sometimes animals disappear; other times, equipment, copper or steel are the target. Sadly, cruelty to animals, vandalism and destruction of property have been the motives behind unauthorized entry....More

Veterinarians on Call

  • Jun. 19, 2012
    Article

    Rotavirus Adds to Diarrhea Dilemma

    Rotavirus type C is currently being diagnosed in multiple diarrhea outbreaks of neonatal and postweaning pigs. Severity of the diarrhea can be moderate to high, but clinical signs typically consist of watery, loose yellow stools lasting for several days, with no response to common antibiotic therapies....More

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