A new effort to better connect food and agriculture leaders with real-world field experience has kicked off in the Chicago area. Farm Foundation, an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture, recently started the 2023 planting season by sowing three acres of oats on its new farm in Libertyville, Illinois. The farm is the future site of the Innovation and Education Campus, which will host a range of Farm Foundation programs, including the newly introduced AG 101 Bootcamps.

Joining us in this episode to tell us more about the farm and the plans for the farm/innovation campus is Shari Rogge-Fidler, president and CEO of the Farm Foundation.  Shari has a long career in business and agriculture. She is a fifth-generation farm owner from Nebraska and hods a MBA from Harvard Business School. Her bachelor of science degree is in business administration from the University of Kansas with an emphasis on international finance. 

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

 

The global and US economies have been on a rollercoaster ride since COVID-19 entered the picture. As we monitor consumer trends, and what many believe is an impending recession, what should we be prepared when it comes to the resulting effects on the ag economy.

Today, we catch up with Don Close, Chief Research and Analytics Officer with Terrain, to get his take on what’s likely ahead for US agriculture. Don was a panelist on this topic during this week’s National Agri Marketing Association conference in St. Louis, Mo. 

Among other things we address the overall track of US economy and the defining line between a soft landing, a mild recession and a deep recession that everyone talks about. Interest rates and the labor situation in relation to the ag economy also are discussed.

This episode is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at www.UnitedANH.com

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

There is a new day on the National Day Calendar. April 21 is now National Rendering Day. It’s recognition the rendering industry sought as a way to educate the public on the efforts and accomplishments of renderers as well as a way to spread the word about the positive environmental impact of rendering. 

The date of April 21 was specifically chosen to fall on the day before Earth Day (April 22) in order to represent the sustainable nature of the rendering industry and its contributions to food waste reduction and environmental protection.

In this episode, we turn to Anna Wilkinson, Vice President of Communications, and Kent Swisher, President and CEO, of the North American Renderers Association (NARA), to find out more and to learn about the inaugural National Rendering Day and how it came to be.

“Rendering companies and their employees are longstanding members of their communities, improving the quality of life by volunteering and supporting local charities, providing jobs, and offering essential recycling services for farmers, restaurants and food service,” Swisher said. “Rendering upcycles by-products that would otherwise be wasted and is the purest example of the circular economy. The observance of National Rendering Day is a great way to educate the public on the efforts and strides of renderers and the positive environmental impacts of rendering.”

For more information on NARA and the rendering industry in general, follow NARA's podcast, "The Invisible Industry."

Video version
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaVVglav_bmR0Ks3jBrz-PA

NARA website: https://nara.org/media/nara-podcast-the-invisible-industry/

Audio
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4h5ntK5tW0AMPvZcrw7Fz6

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

Rural commercial cellular coverage is spotty, and Wi-Fi is not always effective in poultry and livestock barns or, for that matter, in remote locations on the farm and in the country. 

A lack service and reliability can be frustrating at best but it also can cost farmers and ranchers dollars in lost efficiency and an inability to easily access and track critical data. 

In this episode, we turn to Sean Horan, Vice President of Sales for GXC,  and Nick Moser, Vice President of JBI Distributors and Services, to learn more the operational, biosecurity, and safety advantages of deploying wireless communications utilizing private cellular networking. What is a private cellular network and a cellular mesh? How can they extend wireless coverage throughout an ag enterprise and what they might that mean for your operation or business. 

For more information, on this and other topics, including additional coverage from the AASV meeting, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

 

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration Guidance for Industry (GFI) No. 263 goes into effect in June 2023, transitioning 91 livestock antibiotics, previously available over the counter (OTC), to prescription status. Some manufacturers may transition before this timeframe.  Joining us to help get us ahead of the changes to come is Valley Vet Supply Technical Service Veterinarian, Dr. Lacey Fahrmeier. 

The intent of this guidance is to try to maintain those antibiotics that are important for human medicine use from being used incorrectly and having microbes develop resistance to those antibiotics. FDA didn't do it out of spite or to make things more inconvenient for people. In a lot of ways, some good could come out of this guidance, according to Fahrmeier.

Fahrmeier is a graduate of Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to her role on the Valley Vet Supply Technical Service veterinary team, she is a practicing veterinarian and owner at a Southern Montana veterinary clinic.

Frequently Asked Questions about GFA#263: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/unpublished-judicious-use-antimicrobials/gfi-263-frequently-asked-questions-farmers-and-ranchers

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

What might spring bring in terms of the export and shipping situations? What about Canadian Pacific Railway’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway? What's the latest on the Mississippi River situation? Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, joins today us with an update.

This episode is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they are working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting the website at UnitedANH.com

For more information, on this and other topics, including additional coverage from the AASV meeting, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.
 

America’s pig farmers have long had a commitment to do what’s right for people, pigs, and the planet. With that in mind, the National Pork Board – alongside the National Pork Producers Council – has established new industry-wide sustainability goals and metrics to drive the industry forward. These commitments are rooted in the We Care® Ethical Principles established more than 15 years ago and represent the industry’s collective commitment to food safety, animal well-being, our people, public health, the environment, and local communities.

In September 2022, the Advancing U.S. Pork Sustainability grant submitted by National Pork Board (NPB) and six collaborating organizations was awarded $20 million through USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities program. The grant program is designed to increase the sustainability of U.S. pork products by advancing climate-smart agriculture practices in Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri.

In this episode, we take a look at the efforts that are underway in the pig industry as it strives to be a leader in sustainability. Joining our own Ann Hess for that update is Ashley McDonald, assistant vice president of sustainability with the National Pork Board.

For more information, on this and other topics, including additional coverage from the AASV meeting, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

Before investing in new technology that can lead to earlier disease detection, producers rightly want to understand the return on investment. 

To dig more into that topic our own Ann Hess is joined today by Dr. Dale Polson and Dr. Carmen Alonso, both with Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Polson’s focus is that of Global Integrated Health Management. Dr. Alonso is senior technical manager. 

In this episode, we take a look at precision swine production in general as well as a new methodology that proves the ROI of early detection. Let’s start with a discussion of research findings presented during the AASV meeting in Denver. 

For more information, on this and other topics, including additional coverage from the AASV meeting, we invite you to visit our websites - www.Feedstuffs.com and www.NationalHogFarmer.com. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

For the hog industry, the fight with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) continues, but perhaps there are things that hog producers can do to get the upper hand on the disease. 

What can be done on the farm to start taking control of your own destiny? Feedstuffs Ann Hess caught up with Dr. Clayton Johnson of Carthage Veterinary Service Ltd. during the recent American Association of Swine Veterinarian annual meeting in Denver to get an update on PRRS and what he sees as the belt and buckle opportunity to minimize PRRS. They also dig into on-farm monitoring, the value of air filtration systems and other tools for minimizing disease risk. 

For more information, on this and other topics including additional coverage from this year's AASV annual meeting, we invite you to visit our website. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.

A gap exists today in production yields seen across the Southeast Asia region as compared to the global average. This industry challenge must be addressed to meet the region’s nutrition needs. Cargill is one company focused on the innovation, investment and infrastructure needed to modernize the industry and serve diverse customer needs. 

With its long heritage of more than 75 years in the APAC region, Cargill views this market as one of the most critical long-term growth opportunities and is committed to advancing productivity gains and sustainability. In the last four years alone, Cargill’s animal health & nutrition business has grown by double and even triple digits in key countries across the region. 

In this episode of Feedstuffs in Focus, we talk with Adriano Marcon, Cargill’s president and group leader for global animal nutrition, for an inside look at Cargill’s growth plans for the APAC region, and how these fit in with the company’s larger global strategy around animal health and nutrition. 

For more information, on this and other topics, we invite you to visit our website. While you are there be sure to check out our digital editions and our new Feedstuffs 365 platform.