Run Details

State

Completed

Started At

October 14, 2026 at 05:17 PM

Completed At

October 14, 2026 at 05:19 PM

Duration

2 minutes

Headline

Tough Markets Ahead? How Pork Producers Are Preparing for 2027 | State of the Pork Industry Report

Data Preview

{
  "title": "Tough Markets Ahead? How Pork Producers Are Preparing for 2027 | State of the Pork Industry Report",
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  "source": "youtube",
  "channel": {
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/@FarmJournal",
    "title": "Farm Journal",
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  "insights": {
    "risks": [
      "Tough economic times in 2027",
      "High input costs (feed, fertilizer)",
      "Disease challenges (PRRS, influenza, circovirus)",
      "Political impacts on the industry",
      "Mortality rates (sow, pre-wean)",
      "Dirty trucks for live haul and potential disease transmission"
    ],
    "topics": [
      "Pork industry",
      "Market outlook",
      "Economic conditions",
      "Biosecurity",
      "Disease prevention",
      "Manure management",
      "Feed costs",
      "Genetics",
      "Technology in agriculture",
      "Labor management",
      "Animal welfare",
      "Sow productivity"
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    "summary": "This report provides an overview of the pork industry, reflecting on the third quarter of 2026 and looking ahead to Q4 and beyond 2027. Experts discuss key trends and challenges, including the importance of biosecurity, efficient manure utilization, managing input costs, and leveraging genetics for improved herd health and productivity. The sentiment is mixed, acknowledging tough economic times ahead but emphasizing proactive management and innovation to navigate the future.",
    "entities": [
      {
        "name": "Neogen",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Sponsor of the State of the Pork Industry Report, providing solutions for swine producers."
      },
      {
        "name": "Jennifer Shike",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Editor and Brand Leader for Farm Journal's Pork, host of the report."
      },
      {
        "name": "Cara Haden",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Expert discussing biosecurity, vaccinations, and anti-inflammatories in pig health."
      },
      {
        "name": "Adam Annegers",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Expert discussing biosecurity, feed management, and genetics in sow farms."
      },
      {
        "name": "Randy Kuker",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Expert discussing manure utilization, AI, feed costs, and biosecurity in transport."
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      {
        "name": "Bradley Eckberg",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Expert discussing economic outlook for 2027, input costs, and technology investments."
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      {
        "name": "Illinois",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Jennifer Shike's location."
      },
      {
        "name": "Minnesota",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Bradley Eckberg's location, mentions Vikings and Gophers football."
      },
      {
        "name": "Purdue",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "Mentioned in context of football."
      },
      {
        "name": "Iowa",
        "type": "region",
        "context": "Mentioned in context of football and Jennifer Shike's home county."
      },
      {
        "name": "biosecurity",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A hot topic in the industry, crucial for herd health and overall industry well-being."
      },
      {
        "name": "manure utilization",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A trend to explore for profitability, especially with high fertilizer prices."
      },
      {
        "name": "AI",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Artificial intelligence, a growing tool in the industry."
      },
      {
        "name": "feed costs",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A major challenge impacting profitability, requiring careful management of feeder settings and diet adjustments."
      },
      {
        "name": "genetics",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "Important for improving sow robustness, survivability, foot and leg structure, and reducing pre-wean mortality."
      },
      {
        "name": "circovirus",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A ubiquitous pathogen requiring basic vaccination."
      },
      {
        "name": "PRRS",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A disease that can be mitigated with vaccination and anti-inflammatories."
      },
      {
        "name": "influenza",
        "type": "concept",
        "context": "A disease that can be mitigated with vaccination and anti-inflammatories."
      },
      {
        "name": "Carthage Conference",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "An industry conference where Phil Hord discussed investments in biosecurity."
      },
      {
        "name": "Phil Hord",
        "type": "person",
        "context": "Discussed investing in filtration and biosecurity at the Carthage Conference."
      },
      {
        "name": "Leman Swine Conference",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "An industry conference focused on disease and biosecurity."
      },
      {
        "name": "US Ship",
        "type": "organization",
        "context": "An industry conference where live haul sanitation was a key topic."
      },
      {
        "name": "chlorhexidine",
        "type": "other",
        "context": "Disinfectant used on load chutes."
      },
      {
        "name": "Tyvek suits",
        "type": "other",
        "context": "Used in load chutes for biosecurity."
      },
      {
        "name": "bin readers",
        "type": "other",
        "context": "Technology for managing feed inventory."
      }
    ],
    "sentiment": "mixed",
    "confidence": 0.9,
    "key_points": [
      {
        "point": "The pork industry is looking back at Q3 2026 and forward to Q4 and beyond 2027.",
        "timestamp": "00:47",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Biosecurity is a critical topic in the industry, acting as a 'tide that rises all boats' for overall improvement.",
        "timestamp": "05:10",
        "importance": "high"
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      {
        "point": "Basic vaccinations for diseases like circovirus, PRRS, and influenza are non-negotiable for pig health.",
        "timestamp": "15:04",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Utilizing anti-inflammatories alongside antibiotics is crucial for sick pigs to reduce fever and inflammation, helping them recover and consume feed/water.",
        "timestamp": "15:34",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "2027 is projected to be a tough economic year for pork producers in the US, requiring focus on input costs and efficiency.",
        "timestamp": "06:41",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Better utilization and alternative methods for manure are being explored due to high fertilizer prices and market uncertainty.",
        "timestamp": "05:48",
        "importance": "medium"
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      {
        "point": "AI and other technologies are growing and will be valuable tools, but they do not replace hands-on care and attention to pigs.",
        "timestamp": "06:21",
        "importance": "medium"
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      {
        "point": "Maintaining proper feeder settings to prevent feed waste and adjusting corn levels in diets with cheaper ingredients are key strategies for managing feed costs.",
        "timestamp": "09:33",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Top-tier producers are investing in filtration and biosecurity measures, as well as technology for better visibility to lower mortality rates.",
        "timestamp": "13:09",
        "importance": "medium"
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      {
        "point": "Strict biosecurity protocols for live haul, including cleaning driveways, using disinfectants on load chutes, and ensuring clean trucks, are essential to prevent disease transmission.",
        "timestamp": "19:10",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "Genetics play a significant role in improving sow robustness, survivability, foot and leg structure, and reducing pre-wean mortality.",
        "timestamp": "29:24",
        "importance": "high"
      },
      {
        "point": "The industry is shifting focus from solely growth characteristics to more robust and survivable animals in genetic selection.",
        "timestamp": "29:46",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "Utilizing bin readers to monitor feed levels and prevent out-of-feed events is a technology providing quick payback for producers.",
        "timestamp": "41:47",
        "importance": "medium"
      },
      {
        "point": "Providing a comfortable and welcoming environment in barns, including amenities like conditioner and clean towels in showers, can help retain and engage staff.",
        "timestamp": "43:44",
        "importance": "low"
      },
      {
        "point": "Giving positive feedback and showing appreciation to barn staff, while reinforcing biosecurity, is crucial for maintaining morale and performance during challenging times.",
        "timestamp": "49:20",
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    "trade_ideas": [],
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        "value": "1% to 1.5%",
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        "value": "3% to 3.5%",
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  "video_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S21Ev7R1Z8",
  "transcript": "Welcome to the State of the Pork Industry Report brought to you by Neogen. Neogen has worked alongside swine producers to protect herd health and improve performance for more than 20 years. Through partnerships, continuous innovation, and a commitment to the future of pork production, Neogen delivers solutions designed to help producers navigate today's challenges and opportunities. To learn more, visit neogen.com or contact your Neogen representative. Hi, I'm Jennifer Shike and serve as the editor and brand leader for Farm Journal's Pork. I have the privilege of spending my days covering pork industry issues and news, as well as telling stories of the people in our industry and exploring topics to help the industry grow. Today we're going to take a look back at the third quarter of 2026 and take a look forward to Q4 through the lens of our experts, Dr. Cara Haden, Adam Annegers, Randy Keeker, and Brad Eckberg. Welcome everyone. Hello, hello. Good afternoon. Hey. Well, it's a gorgeous day today here in Illinois. How's the weather where you're at? It's beautiful. Beautiful. Nice. Yeah, beautiful and finally dry. I know. Isn't that a blessing? Well, I know we've had so many things go on since we last talked. I love this opportunity just to personally check in and see how everybody's been doing. Randy, what's new with you? Not much new for us this summer. Uh, we just been selling calves, fixing fence and trying to get the hay in the barn and get ready for wintertime. So, pretty quiet around our homestead. Sometimes quiet's good though, right? Absolutely. Awesome. How about you, Adam? I don't think your life is too quiet right now. Nope. Nope. Got two under the age of two, so little baby girl's doing good. Um, she started going to daycare this week, so it's been a been a big event at our house, but uh, and then um, chasing the two-year-old around and I had 10 training dogs in this summer, so we were we were busy. I'd say, yeah. How fun. I'd love to ask questions, but I'm going to stay on task because your training dogs always interest me so much. So, maybe another time. Uh, Brad, how about you? What's going on in your part of the country? Well, uh, got the kids off to school, thank goodness. So, they're not here bothering us, uh, while we're trying to work here. Uh, so got them off. Got a couple seniors and I got one daughter that uh, took up uh, trap shooting. So, she's seems to be really good and hasn't shot anybody yet. So, that's good. Um, so she's she's doing well. She loves that. Uh, I like to do a lot of fires, especially during the winter. We've got indoor fireplace. So, been chopping a lot of firewood, uh, in my free time and obviously it's football season. So, uh, for Minnesota fan, it's going pretty well, right? Vikings 4-0 and Gophers are 4-1 and soon to be uh, 6-1 after we beat Purdue this week and Iowa here in two weeks. So, looking forward to that. Not happening. Good luck with that. Roll the boat. Excellent time to enter in Cara. What about you? Yeah. Oh, I so yeah, kids going to school. My youngest is in preschool. So, that is a big change for our family. I've got four kids and so having my baby in school is super different, um, and also super fun. He's loving it. Um, but we've been keeping busy with volleyball and flag football season right now. So, that's been taking up all of my free time. Awesome. Well, such fun times. But also very go-go-go times, not a lot of breaks. So, I wish you the best of luck. Um, and yeah, for us too, I guess we do have two who went off to college this fall and seems like they're doing well, but the reality of how far away my daughter is is really settled in. And so that's that's been an adjustment for mom. Um, my youngest is pretty busy with cross country. So, her season is getting ready to wrap up really soon, but it's been fun chasing her around literally trying to to see as much of her as we can on the course. So, it's been a fun fun season, but gosh, I can't believe we're already, you know, getting through here into October and so many things in our industry are going on. We've had a lot of crazy some weather stuff, you know, politically, um, we're not even going to go there today, but there's a lot going on politically that impacts our industry in a very big way. Um, and it's Porktober, so it's the celebrating pork this month and so many things. But, you know, I just want to kick off today's conversation just as we look forward and and think about 2027 and beyond, what do you guys think are some of the trends that are on the horizon that producers should be thinking about based on some of the conversations that you've been in lately or maybe even some of the conferences and events that you've been attending? And I don't care who wants to go first, but what what comes to mind, guys? What's the things that we should be thinking about? I mean, I'll jump in first with the one with this because I feel like this is the whole industry is talking about biosecurity right now. Um, I have not been at a meeting and maybe it's because I'm at veterinary focused meetings, but my guess is everybody's talking about biosecurity. It truly is the tide that rises all boats. The better everybody does at biosecurity, the better we are as an industry. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I'll I'll speak to a little bit. I mean, you mentioned not getting into the weeds with the the political stuff, but uh, some some of the things that we're kind of looking at and and talking about would be, you know, better utilization and alternatives of of how we utilize the manure. Um, so I think I've talked before in the past about uh, different technologies that are out there and as we're talking to to new contract producers or or existing contract producers and how they can, you know, add profitability to their their business operations. Uh, we're kind of exploring those technologies and and talking about that with uh, fertilizer prices, where they are and the uncertainty that that we're looking at in the next couple years. So, uh, that's and then, you know, the other one would be AI and where that's going, you know, we're we're always interested in to see if there's anything new out there. Uh, I don't think there's been a lot of new to things that have come about in the last year to two years since we've been discussing it, but uh, I'm sure there's stuff in the background that I'm not aware of. I'll go next. It looks like, you know, 2027 may be a tough, you know, economic year, right? For the bottom line with pork producers here in the US. So, obviously looking at uh, what your input costs are, trying to keep those down, diet changes. Um, you know, I know we think about this every single day, right? But, uh, this industry seems to have a every three years or so, it seems like we have got good years and bad years and uh, kind of up and down. So, here we go again, right? So, looking at your input costs, your expenses and making sure that you're able to make it through this next uh, however long uh, down downside of economic times and stuff, but uh, basically, uh, you know, and as we look a little bit, you know, more beyond 2027, right? With uh, who knows what what is going to happen with the uh, you know, the um, the uh, purse resistant pig and and other uh, technology items out there as well, but I'm sure we'll talk about some of those here today. Yeah, and and AI continues to grow, um, and it's definitely going to be a great tool that'll be utilized for many years, but they really just does not replace in the barn taking care of the pigs, controlling what we can control. You know, producers cannot control the markets and and fertilizer cost and grain cost, but, you know, we can set a room up ready and have it ready. We we can take care of the pigs. So, just always go back to control what we can control and and do those basics right every day. Yeah, I spent some time in some barns lately too and I've been, you know, just asking producers some questions about, there's just a lot of things that are kind of on, you know, on the docket to be discussed or big ideas that are out there and it's just it it I walked away thinking about how important it is just that daily care, that observation and how no matter what technology we have or what gadgets or gadgets we have, nothing replaces just somebody who cares and is really, you know, doing everything they can to make that pig's life the best it can be. And uh, we're fortunate in our industry, we have a lot of people, um, that make their living doing that. So, we're we're blessed by that. But, you know, you bring up some good points, guys, as we head into this final stretch of the year. You know, things are looking rough. I I haven't had very many conversations where they're like, hey, great, great news is ahead. We've got this surprise coming. It's like, okay, brace yourself, but we're going to get through it, you know, and some economists are saying, you know, six to nine months, but then we'll maybe see some relief. I've heard worse numbers than that, but I'm going to go with six to nine. But, you know, that brings up the challenges with feed cost predictability. I'm curious, Randy, how is this impacting what you guys are doing in the barns right now? Is there anything you're changing up, um, in anticipation? Yeah, we're we're not all doom and gloom yet. Um, yeah, you know, feed costs and cost corn has gone up. Um, but one thing, you know, we always want to pay attention to our feeder settings. Uh, make sure we're not wasting feed. Um, make sure we're keeping them tight and but not too tight. And so, we we look at those and evaluate those on a on a weekly basis. Another thing we might look into would be, you know, adjusting our levels of corn in our diets and maybe swapping them out with some cheaper ingredients. Uh, I don't get too uh, too big into the ingredient purchasing, uh, but we do have in our mills, we do feed some alternative ingredients, ingredients. And we can adjust those levels based off of uh, what corn price is. So, we'll look at those things and then, uh, one thing that I like to, it's kind of low hanging fruit, but, you know, you you set your diets up and then you kind of just set them and forget them. And, you know, maybe your diets, your your nursery diets, your nursery stage one is, you know, usually one of your most expensive diets. And if you're used to getting a, you know, 11-pound pig and all of a sudden you've got a sow farm that's giving you a 13, 14-pound pig, uh, there's an opportunity there to maybe adjust your your budgets and and feed less of that expensive ration and try to start them out. If you've got a high health pig that doesn't have, you know, some enteric issues, you could you can do some adjusting there to get you some cost savings. So, uh, those are all things we try to look at, you know, on a month by month basis to see if we need to make some adjustments. Yeah, good. Adam, how are you guys stretching dollars in the sow barn? Is there anything you guys can do to to kind of cut some costs a little bit going into this season? Yeah, and a lot of what we're working on is, you know, supply inventory on the shelf in the barn. I mean, absolutely, we we need to provide everything that we need our employees to do out there, but not having excess amounts of product sitting on the shelf and it it it's surprising how quick supplies will will increase the cost over time just sitting there. And, you know, for the gilts, um, not not having feed waste waste out there like Randy said, getting those feeder adjustments right. Body condition our our sows, make sure we're weighing our feed boxes, especially, you know, new corn will be coming in here before too long. So, getting those feed boxes weighed to make sure we're feeding accurate amounts, not overfeeding, not underfeeding, you know, giving them right what they need. So, just being efficient with our resources is a big message that we're sharing right now. Yeah, for sure. You know, Brad, I know you often, um, kind of take a look at the industry almost from, you know, I I kind of think in my head as segments, but, you know, you talk a lot about what the top-tier producers are doing and, you know, maybe where some of their strengths are. And I'm curious, what are some of the the things that they do differently today in order to prepare for some of these challenging cycles in our market, I guess? Yeah, great question. And when I think of like top-tier producers, right, that doesn't necessarily mean size-wise, right? There's there's a lot of great producers of all various sizes and stuff. And as I look at some of those producers, just thinking of a couple different examples, right? You know, first of all, from an overall standpoint, you want to keep your your debt-to-sow ratio down, right? Making sure that your capital and equities there if you need it, right? Um, I know definitely with over the last few years, we last couple years, we've had some good economic times, but uh, previously that, it was pretty bad, right? So, we had to kind of build back up that equity. But now that we've had a couple good years, you kind of see some of those uh, a couple things out there in the industry like, um, I know you wrote about it and and interviewed uh, Phil Hord, but, you know, he talked at the Carthage Conference here last month about, you know, how they're investing money into sow farms, right? They're a top-tier producer, I would consider. And, you know, they're investing some of their capital into into technology, right? Where they need to get better visibility, uh, to lower mortality out there, uh, in the barn. So, they're they're using some of their dollars for for from a technology standpoint, uh, knowing that, hey, we just need a better communication, better visibility out there, right? So, that, you know, um, as you're getting into tough economic times, the more pigs you have, right, the more money you have. So, you know, things from, you know, barn improvement, capital improvements and obviously, uh, you know, with construction costs being really expensive, you know, building new barns is is has been pretty much uh, non-existent over the last few years. So, obviously there's been some on the, um, on the, uh, older barns kind of, you know, refabbing them and adding in some sensors and technology and stuff there. But, basically, just, you know, wrapping it all together, right? So, trying to, you know, keep the pigs healthy, have better visibility and also having a, uh, you know, a viable, nice living conditions for the pigs. Yeah. Cara, of course, I'm going to let you weigh in too, but I I'm sure that in your mind, there are some non-negotiables that you just can't trim in the budget even when when money's tight and markets are tough. So, what are some of those things when it comes to pig health from your perspective? Yeah, I mean, we always have these conversations, right? Where you're talking with producers and you've got sick pigs or something's going on and you're trying to decide like, what do we spend money on? What are things that we can skip? Um, there's kind of two things I think we should talk about today that are like non-negotiables. So, one is like your basic vaccinations. So, circovirus is a ubiquitous pathogen. We should never quit vaccinating for circovirus. Um, PRRS, there's a lot of good work that's done that shows that that reduces the clinical impact of disease. And so, um, that's probably not something we want to skip to save money either, especially going into the wintertime. Um, so I would just say like any of those kind of basic vaccines, not things that we want to skip. Another thing that uh, comes up a lot, right, when pigs get sick is, okay, we want to run an anti- um, antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory. And a lot of times it feels like, uh, when we're trying to make cost decisions, we maybe pull out that anti-inflammatory. I would just encourage producers, um, that PRRS, influenza, a lot of the diseases we deal with, they cause high fevers, they cause inflammation. Um, and so we need to be thinking if we want to get these animals back on feed and water, um, we need to we need to also be kind of fighting those things. We need to get that fever reduced. We need to get those pigs feeling better. If I think about trying to go through, I've had influenza in my life. I've had strep throat. Um, the anti-inflammatory is the thing that gave me comfort to kind of keep moving on. And so, um, I would just say like as we're looking at those and weighing those options, especially with a viral pathogen, um, like PRRS or influenza, we should not skip on anti-inflammatories. Well, I mean, health has been such a a big topic on my plate lately too because it's the season of a lot of meetings, right? And so, I've attended some really good meetings. I I love this time of the year because I I was able to go to the Carthage Conference and that was very good. Um, I was able to go to the Leman Swine Conference. It's excellent. Cara, I know you were at US Ship. I don't know if anybody else was, but I'm curious, from your perspective, Cara, what were some of those big topics that you heard? Just give us like, what are the the things that we need to know that took place at US Ship or Leman conferences here from your perspective? Yeah, so Leman Conference and US Ship, obviously, super focused on disease, super focused on biosecurity. Um, so I spoke on biosecurity at both Leman and US Ship. And so, I sat in on those sessions and there's some really great money being spent in our industry right now, um, that's really trying to help us understand like, what are the pieces that matter? Can we get economic benefit from putting some of these biosecurity pieces into place? Um, Joel Nieren from our team presented some, um, data and some stuff that was supported by Beringer Engelheim, um, and Shick. And, um, it in the work that we've done on grow finish sites, if you can improve your biosecurity, there's absolutely a payout there. Um, and so that was a ton of the discussion around US Ship. Um, kind of one of the biosecurity related things talked about a lot at US Ship was, um, live haul or market haul sanitation. And so, that kind of came up as some of the low-hanging fruit in our industry. A lot of the other industries in the world would do a lot more sanitation of trucks after they've been to a slaughter plant or a, um, some sort of packing facility. Uh, in the United States, that's not something we do right now and we really don't have the infrastructure for that. And so, I thought there was a lot of really productive discussion around that. Um, there was a resolution that was passed at US Ship, um, that we would, I believe it's called updating and expanding livestock truck wash infrastructure. So, that was really good. I would love to see a resolution put forward in US Ship about that. Um, if we're going to try to eliminate some of these diseases, I think that's some of the lowest hanging fruit is live haul sanitation. Yeah, that was definitely, um, a topic that stood out to me from it. I I learned a lot from those presentations. And I'm curious, Randy, you know, when you think about transport biosecurity and the challenges that, you know, you have in the different phases of production that you work with, you know, what do you think are some of the ways that you guys are trying to continue improving from a practical standpoint? What does that look like on the farm? Yeah, I mean, for me, it uh, from disease transmission, especially when the, you know, having enough time between when the last group of pigs go out and the next group of pigs come in, uh, some of the things we like to do, and it takes time, money, and equipment. Uh, we like to, you know, move the gravel around and maybe put some lime down, especially this time of year when we know PRRS kind of starts to ramp up. Um, the dirtiest trucks you're going to see are going to be those market trucks. So, uh, when you get that group, that last group of pigs out and before you get the wean pigs in, if you can get that driveway cleaned up by maybe raking the gravel around and then if you have some lime that you can put down, especially in the high traffic areas where that driver's going to step out of that truck and and walk into his trailer. Um, in the past, we've taken wean pig mats and putting those down next to, you know, you you keep them in the barn, you keep them washed, you disinfect them and then when that driver shows up for those groups of pigs, you set a mat down there so they can, you know, have some place clean to put their booties on before they step in the trailer. Um, and making sure that the guys have, you know, strict communication that they know that they're not supposed to go in the trailer and the drivers aren't supposed to come off the trailer. I can't I can't count how many times that I had a a driver follow every protocol that was supposed to be followed and then I go to get the last cut of pigs and I walk in and I see the driver standing in my barn. Like, you did everything perfect to this point and now you're standing in my barn and you're going to walk back into your trailer. Now, I know I I understand they're going to they're going to go wash that trailer, but it's still it's there's there's still areas that need to get buttoned up and having that communication. So, I have to do the uncomfortable thing and I have to call that company and let them know that your truck driver broke, essentially broke your biosecurity. And so, it makes it unpopular, but at the same point in time, it's the right thing to do to make sure that you can get the right training and and make sure that we're doing the right thing to protect the sow farm and protect my finishing barns as well. Yeah. What about you, Adam? I so also in the chain and uh, lots of challenges that you're facing and pretty big pretty big things you're trying to protect there on the farm. What are some of the the ways that you guys are trying to improve transport biosecurity? Um, you know, we're uh, using chlorhexidine on our load chutes, you know, up to the truck and then before loading begins, we are, um, having a pump sprayer with disinfectant inside the chute. So, when the back door opens on the truck, first thing we need to do is look and make sure that truck's clean. And I I was just at a farm this morning weaning with them and, uh, went went through that with the people that'll be doing it when I'm not there. And, uh, it's like look for a clean truck. If the truck is dirty, send them away. Do not load that truck. Get them get them away. But once we open the door and the truck is clean, we spray with some disinfectant in there. And and then we're we're where we're able and have the ability to have stage loading, um, you know, one person, one or two people stay in that load chute. Um, they don't go past the door into the hallway. Pigs are brought to them, doors closed. They then load the pigs on the truck. And and then once that truck leaves, the reverse method, um, where we're Tyvek suits in the load chute and power washing, disinfecting, you know, right away. Um, that's one thing that we're really really working on, um, as a group. And then there's some technology out there with some live camera auditing. Um, so, um, we we don't don't have anything today, but I think we're leaning that direction to give it a try and see what we can come up with. So, um, you know, those would be the two big things is just chute biosecurity is extremely important. Those trucks go through the wash, they go through the baker, they could be the cleanest truck in the world, but they've got to get from that baker to your barn. And we just don't know what we're picking up on the road. So, just a lot of awareness around trucking right now. Yeah, for sure. You know, Brad, I'm curious from your perspective, where do you see some of the best returns on biosecurity investment in talking to, you know, the variety of farms that you work with. Um, is it coming from physical structural improvements or is it internal barn workflow changes or transport biosecurity? Feed, there's so many things, you know, what what do you think is some of the best return on your investment? I start thinking about starting on sow farms a little bit and, uh, we're 20 years ago, Randy and I were working in a sow farm together and did we have a Danish entry bench? No. You know, we showered in, right? Did we take all of our products, you know, that we got from the UPS truck driver and bring them right into the barn and maybe start using the same day? Yeah, we did. You know, did we haul the deads out and step outside and then walk back in? Yeah, we probably did that too, right? Um, a lot of that has changed and I think that's that's that's really good, right? I mean, we have those Danish entry systems. There's a lot more filtrations in there. Um, you know, and I think, you know, from a filtration standpoint, you know, it's relatively, I don't want to say it's new, but it's newer, right? So, I think, uh, some companies are looking at, uh, you know, like the MERV ratings for those filters and saying, well, I had a little bit of a lower MERV rating, maybe I need a little bit of a higher one, right? Maybe there were some concerns before around, you know, is enough airflow going to get through? Um, but, um, I think so some some of the conversation there around the filters and obviously then if I have a filtered barn, is my barn really sealed up, right? Do I really have all those cracks, you know, cleaned up, uh, if you will. But I think a lot has been a lot has been, uh, done on the sow farms, which, you know, rightly so. Um, you know, as Randy and and Adam have already talked about, right? There's there's still the compliance, you know, the human factor that goes into it. So, you know, there's some some companies out there putting, you know, cameras in there just to make sure, right, from a biosecurity standpoint that people are doing what they should be doing. You know, when you get to the grow finish side, yep, there's definitely some Danish entry systems that are going in. You know, there's always been some showers in grow finish barns. You know, you got to use the shower, not for storage, but actually use it, right? Um, but I think from a grow finish standpoint, you know, there's obviously following the health pyramid. There's, you know, uh, if you're a service person, going to the right sites at the right time, wearing all the proper equipment like Randy was talking about and whatnot. But I think another thing that that's that's really, I think a great investment that, uh, some companies are doing is they're they're having a a biosecurity, you know, team or a person or two, right? That that their core focus is around biosecurity. You know, there's there's some systems that have, you know, core people that are focused around like sow mortality. Right? I think it's I think that's great because if you're in a barn, I spend a lot of time in barns too, right? You're and as a service person or a caretaker, you're focused on taking care of the pigs. That's the the primary thing. And then it's like, oh yeah, whoops, I didn't notice that the truck driver was in the hallway, right? I'm just bringing pigs out and I'll deal with it later. We never deal with it. So, I think having some biosecurity, uh, focus and specific team members will pay off in in the next ROI. Yeah. You know, I've been also thinking about it's the season for manure pumping. Not everywhere though, right? Like where my my home county in Washington, Iowa, just they've been so they've had so much rain and I've been back home quite a bit lately for different things and just, yeah, they need time to dry out. So, they're maybe not hauling any manure right now, but maybe in some parts they are. Randy, I know this is something that's heavy on your mind right now. What are some of the things that you might advise or just recommendations, things to think about for producers right now? Um, well, I I kind of think of, you know, Adam's world and where he lives. I mean, when he's schedules manure pumpers, he wants to know where they've been and and those a lot of those units need to be washed and disinfected. Um, in our area, the big thing for us is to make sure on on the wean finish side is that, um, you know, knowing the the health status of the barn that you're that you're pumping. And if you have a caretakers, which we do that take care of multiple sites, uh, if you have some spillage and you have some manure that ends up in the driveway, that the vehicles aren't driving through it. There there's a path for them to drive around it. Um, and that they don't walk through it. Um, and and then whoever is doing the manure pumping, make sure you communicate to them, uh, that if you do have some spillage, you know, it's their responsibility to make sure they get that covered up. Um, and and not leave a pile there for, um, you know, just a puddle or a pile for for feed trucks or other trucks to drive through because you got feed trucks coming in and they drive through that. At our mills, all of our feed trucks do have, uh, what they do disinfect and wash their tires, but, you know, if you do have a lot of, you know, manure in the field or in the in the driveway, that can splash all over the underside of the trailer and you're probably not going to get all that out. So, uh, there's a lot of things to consider when it comes to manure pumping time when you move from site to site and then while you're actually doing the process there, making sure that you're paying as close attention as possible. I was just at a site last week where the guy was telling me his hired man was playing on his phone and he ran over, I don't know how many gallons of manure onto the ground. So, uh, those are all things we got to be looking out for. Yeah, there's a lot of things to think about right now and, um, no wonder sometimes we're just kind of all full-minded. I it's been interesting being at some of these conferences too. I mean, there's just one of the topics that continues to be brought up is just the role of genetics when it comes to making improvements, um, in lots of different ways in the herd. And so, Cara, start us off a little bit. What are some of the things maybe that you've heard lately when it comes to the role of genetics in improving swine health, which can, you know, as we say, there's so many challenges out there. Can genetics help solve some of our problems? Yeah, I'm a big believer that genetics can help solve some of our problems. And so, I've been really pleased. I get the opportunity to hear from a number of different genetic companies. And it feels like in the past, right, it's been, um, all growth characteristics. And so, they're talking about their indexes and how they're doing selecting. And it has been growth and average daily gain. And that has been the major focus. I feel like there's been a huge shift in the thinking from genetic companies and kind of what they're selecting for. And so, we're hearing a lot more words like robustness characteristics and survivability and, um, foot and leg structure, um, even things about kind of sow behavior in the farrowing crate, kind of using genetics to try to reduce pre-wean mortality. Um, and so, I've been very pleased to see that we've kind of moved away from this heavy focus on growth, average daily gain, and we've moved into kind of more of a robustness and overall picture is is what we're trying to get out of our animals. And I think that's going to help us, um, from a disease standpoint and from a mortality standpoint. Yeah. I was just going to ask you, Adam, when it comes to like thinking about sow retention, um, being such a big important driver for what you do, how do you see genetics aiding, um, in that area of structural durability and lifetime productivity, um, you know, balancing out or how's that changing for you? You know, that that's an ever-changing, uh, target in there. And so many factors go into that. And, uh, you know, as as total borns increase, live borns increase, the number of suckling pigs on the sow, we have to have a sow that can number one, maintain herself while raising that litter of pigs, um, and then turn around and do it all over again. And it really all starts back with selecting the right gilts to enter the herd. Um, and then previous to that, it's the the genetic companies have to be selecting the right sows at the nucleus level as well. So, it it's a big complicated wheel and a lot to it, but when we're selecting gilts, you know, is this female going to be here in five parities? Does she have the leg structure, the the body condition? Is she the package that'll be here in in five parities? And if that answer is no, you know, we can't enter those into the herd. We just have to be disciplined on only retaining the best females for the futures of the farms. So, and I agree with Cara, uh, a ton on that. There has been a lot more, um, mothering ability with robustness in there. Um, more geared into the sows, uh, versus just making a vector for the finished pig. Um, so there there's been a lot of focus. It's really going to be fun here over the next few years to see really what our true genetic potential can be. You know, there's total borns over 18 out there right now. So, holy cow. I can remember double digits was like a celebration, you know. That's because we're old. Thank you. Thank you, Randy. Um, but but that's the reality of it is, you know, we are pushing an 18 total born out there. So, um, genetics is a huge, huge part of that. Yeah. And I mean, is the market setting us up to be choosier about that and to be able to put more thought into who, you know, what we're bringing back? I believe so. I'm just the dumb sow guy, but I would say yes, I believe that. Yeah, and I think something that's been driven by housing, right? Like we so many people are moving to pen gestation, prop 12. It's a different sow that you need for that type of housing than stalls. And I think that's really pushed that. Yeah. Well, Randy, let's go think about market hog perspective. How has that definition of what the ideal full value pig is? How has that changed over the past few years in response to just to some of the changes in our market? Yeah, it's kind of a loaded question. So, for us, we deal with multiple packers and I I got a couple examples that I thought of, uh, for that question is, you know, two years ago, we worked with a a packer here in Illinois where they were our they were our belly bust packer where you could send belly bust there and, you know, you had you had a little bit of leeway where you could kind of squeeze them through. Uh, they've had a change of management there and now you can't you can't even try to get one through and and you get penalized pretty heavily if you do. So, that that particular plant is, you know, they sort it out and it's a significant loss of value if not zero value on that pig. So, that pendulum's completely swung the other way. Uh, another characteristic that's, you know, you got to be prepared to be nimble on is, you know, that that lightweight. You know, what is that packer consider a a light no value pig or partial value pig? Some of them will be around that 200 pounds. Some will be at that 220 range. Uh, so you, you know, getting those getting somebody with a good eye that can evaluate those is important. Um, and, you know, independent producers that we deal with as well. It's it's we get feedback from those guys, why was this pig sorted out or why did you send that pig? Uh, and that goes back to your original part of your question is genetics is is, you know, do we have genetics that are giving us more, uh, more belly bust than what we would like to see and is it's a long process to get that changed. Um, but I would say that's the number one thing we deal with from these, um, from the packers is trying to get the full value pigs. We've gone, we have one system that would probably be around 1% calls, 1 to 1.5% and we got another system that's 3 to 3.5% and a lot of that is because we got about 2% in belly busts. So, you know, it's about speed and throughput at a lot of these packing plants and and they don't want to slow down for any of these blemish pigs. So, uh, you got to you got to do your best to keep them separated and until those numbers impact their bottom line, I think, uh, you know, it's it's just going to be something that we're going to have to manage for them. Yeah. You know, with our conversation too about AI and all the opportunities that it provides, Brad, I'm curious, how how is AI and maybe it just the increase of of data that we have at our fingertips. How's that impacting genetic selection and ultimately making improvements down the road? Or what do you think some of those opportunities might be? Uh, good question. And, um, I might piggyback a little bit on what Cara said, but I think back like what 40 years ago, right? Where feed conversion, average daily gain, right? Average daily gain if like what, 1.5 maybe, right? Was a good average daily gain. Uh, feed conversion like a 3.50, right? Would be a good feed conversion. Now where are we at, right? You're a 2.6, 2.65 roughly, right? Feed conversion. You know, having a 2.0 average daily gain is average nowadays, right? I mean, so, you know, kind of what what Dr. Cara was saying that genetics has absolutely helped with with our efficiency, right? The downside is, right, mortality continues to go up. So, you know, again, just piggybacking a little bit on what she said, right? I mean, so as from a a genetic standpoint, right? We've seen some of the uh, tools out there from an AI where some of the genetic companies are are looking at the the feet, leg structure of those animals, but also looking and being able to analyze that data, uh, because, you know, from a genetic nucleus standpoint, right? Genetic companies, right? They want to continue to strive to produce the biggest, uh, most productive, uh, longevity animal that they can they can have and having as much data points as you can and having the tool and AI is very helpful with that to be able to analyze that and do different kind of scenarios, right? Depending on season seasonality, different genetic lines, right? Whatnot, but be able to say, this is the right mom, this is the right dad to produce as many pigs and offspring and and so forth. But the point is like, we've gotten better and better and better when it comes to feed efficiency and average daily gain and and, uh, definitely excited that we're kind of putting a little bit more focus on survivability. Yeah. I'll be really great. Can't wait to see it. Hopefully I'll get to see a copy of it. All right, Randy, what about you? Um, just kind of probably regurgitate a lot of what they've said. Um, the one one difference is is I think it's an opportunity for to get the growers more engaged is, you know, let them know where they're standing, uh, as far as benchmarking and and where they're at. Uh, provide them with some in-group in-process, uh, results. What are your results? Remind them of what the goals were when you started that group. And, uh, we personally, we've got some really good groups on feed right now. Um, we've had some really good performance and we got some groups that are about ready to start. So, you know, continue to give them good positive feedback and let them know they're doing a fantastic job while at the same time reminding them in order to maintain that performance, we need to keep disease out. So, reinforce the biosecurity. Uh, but, you know, give them a pat on the back, but actually show them the number as well numbers as well. Sometimes we as field advisors or service managers and directors, we we take for granted that we know the numbers because we look at them every week. Uh, but we need to get out there and get that those numbers in front of them and, you know, either look for opportunities or or praise them for the job that they are doing. Yeah. Excellent advice from you all as always. I appreciate it. On a less serious note, I I'd like to wrap up with just this. I I've often done stories over the years like, show me your cute Halloween costumes of your little kids dressing up in a farm-related costume. So, I'm curious, let's take this to the adult level. Any good ideas based on your unique vantage point of the swine industry, what creative ideas do you have for a pig-themed Halloween costume? Can't be a pig, but got any ideas? Does it have to be PG? PG-13 maybe. I will be a very large pumpkin this year. Can't wait. Can't wait. I need the photo of that. And I'm going to have my two little ones in their own pumpkin. So, that's going to be fun. There you go. The three little pigs and the big bad wolf is always a good one if you've got enough uh, enough people you can get them together, but I I'm not super creative when it comes to those types of costumes. I like that idea. That's a good one. I've been trying to convince my husband if I go as a swine vet and he goes as PRRS virus, then I can just spray him with disinfection all night and that would be fun, but he doesn't think that that sounds fun. I think that's fabulous. I was hoping you were going to go somewhere there. I love it. Now he's going to have this outside pressure to to either play along. So, I mean, I could convince the kids. We could have salmonella, PED. We could have the whole works. I love it. You could dress him up in a pig costume and have you could have the husband dressed up in a pig costume and the and the wife like pulling him by the snare. I was going to say, I can protect him from the viruses all night. That that's just some good ideas. Well, great. On that note, I knew I shouldn't have let grab you last. No, that's great. I mean, it's it's fun. We I think you bring up a really good point too. Um, Adam, is that we need to have fun. It is fun to raise pigs. It's not always fun at times, but how do we focus on the good things and I've, you know, like I said, I love going into barns, but I've been around some really great people who truly love what they do every day and it's so encouraging and inspiring me to to just spend time with them. And to listen to them talk about their passion of being out in the barn and what they get to do every day and, uh, how great if we could all just approach every day like that and just find the joy in it. So, thank you guys so much. I love getting to hear your perspectives and I appreciate and I think we're pretty privileged to get to hear some of those ideas that are maybe in your head that you haven't actually done yet. So, thanks for sharing those with everybody. I think that's shows how much you care just about making the industry better. And I want to thank all of you guys for joining us for the State of the Pork Industry Report that's hosted by Farm Journal's Pork and brought to you by Neogen. Um, thank you for listening and joining us. We couldn't do it without you. And as always, we'd love to hear more from you guys about what topics you'd like to see us discuss. So, stay connected with us at porkbusiness.com and we'll see you next time. ",
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