McDonald's Corporation issued a press release this week indicating it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to outline a plan to phase out the use of sow gestation stalls....More
Two Iowa legislators have reintroduced legislation aimed at stopping undercover activities of animal activists around livestock producers’ farms.
The measure introduced by Sen. Joe Seng (D-IA) and Sen. Tim Kapucian (R-IA), a former president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA), is known as the Ag Protection Act (House File 589), according to Cody McKinley, public policy director for the IPPA....More
Research conducted at stations across the United States has documented a 29% reduction in the consumption of heating fuel in reduced nocturnal temperature (RNT) nursery rooms without any negative effects on pig performance. Average savings is about $1.71/pig leaving the nursery...More
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed on-farm child labor regulations have been getting a lot of attention in agricultural circles lately. Under the proposed rules, youth under the age of 16 would be prohibited from performing work, which the Labor Secretary defines as “hazardous,” on farms that are not owned by the child’s parents...More
Livestock organizations are working together to submit comments pertaining to the proposed new rule referred to as the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) 308 rule...More
The White House has threatened to veto House Republican legislation aimed at preventing the Environmental Protection Agency from tightening farm dust regulations, arguing that the bill in unnecessary and could be used to weaken public health standards...More
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) along with the American Sheep Industry Association and the National Turkey Federation has jointly submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed on-farm child labor regulations...More
Lantz Enterprises’ farm manager Doug Siebenahler will never forget the PRRS outbreak of 2007. Two strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) struck with a vengeance...More
Every farm is only 250 days away from PRRS-free production,” states Joel Nerem, DVM, director of health, Pipestone (MN) Vet-erinary Clinic and Pipestone System....More
There has been a groundswell of interest in filtering swine barns to block swine diseases, most notably for keeping out porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), but also for preventing the introduction of swine influenza virus and Mycoplasma pneumonia...More
The first all-inclusive animal and modern agriculture exhibit in America will be unveiled at the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show on Jan. 6-14, as part of an effort to provide the non-farming public with a look at real-life production practices...More
As recently as five years ago, many in the U.S. pork industry felt the prospects of achieving 30 pigs/mated female/year (P/MF/Y) was a dream. Today, the 30-P/MF/Y goal can be and is being achieved on some select farms...More
Pork producers should be watchful this fall for pit foaming problems when working around deep-pit manure systems to make safety their number one priority...More
A serious injury of a person recently in a manure-pumping incident in central Iowa has prompted the University of Minnesota to remind pork producers, commercial pumpers and others to watch for a layer of foam on the surface when pumping barn manure pits...More
A rash of hog thefts in recent weeks has garnered a good deal of media attention in the heart of the hog belt. Two southern Minnesota producers lost 750 market-ready hogs – 150 from one site, nearly 600 from another...More
An Iowa State University (ISU) agricultural engineer and his staff have devised new technology that monitors weather patterns and odor emissions, overseen by a control system that engages only when needed, and pacifies the environmental concerns of rural citizens residing near hog operations...More
When it comes to selling manure, pork producers need to know their product and understand what their crop-producing customers are looking for. Good negotiating skills can come in handy, too, according to a panel of manure brokers who fielded questions at the recent North American Manure Expo...More
Manure management experts are telling producers to keep an eye on manure pit levels because they may fill up faster when distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are fed...More
Electrostatic particle ionization (EPI) is the buzzword for an environmental technology. This technology works by emitting negative ions into the air. The ions go to work capturing and holding particles onto interior surfaces...More
As feed costs continue to climb, pork producers are redoubling efforts to maximize pig growth and efficiency. In some cases, that means updating or reconfiguring grow-finish facilities to match breed-to-wean pig flows, while older, ill-matched facilities are being razed and replaced...More
Foaming manure pits continue to perplex producers and researchers. As manure pit levels continue to fill this time of year, foam levels may reach the slats and reduce the air exchange in the building...More
