Global exports have become an important part of the U.S. pork industry’s growth in recent decades, and the emergence of African Swine Fever – particularly in China – has had profound impacts on the flow of pork products around the world. Recent research funded by the National Pork Board looks at the ways the industry can and should diversify its global marketing strategy to adjust and adapt to those changes, and to ensure growth into the future.

Earlier this week as part of a Feedstuffs 365 live panel discussion, we talked with four experts from the pork industry, including a producer, the National Pork Board’s director of global marketing strategy, one of the industry’s top agricultural economists, and one of the researchers who developed the report.

Joining us to discuss the report and related topics are Rupert Claxton of Gira; Missouri pork producer David Newman; Dr. Dermot Hayes of Iowa State University and Dr. Clay Eastwood of the National Pork Board.  

This episode of Feedstuffs In Focus is sponsored by Topigs Norsvin, the second largest swine genetics company in the world. Topigs Norsvin’s unique breeding program is designed to accelerate genetic progress at the customer level by creating innovative products and solutions that benefit the entire pork production chain. To get more information, visit TopigsNorsvin.us.

Over the past two decades, U.S. animal protein exports grew from $7.4 billion to $20.7 billion, driven by a combination of strong marketing by the industry and a series of trade negotiations between governments. Today, global trade accounts for 10%-30% of U.S. animal protein production, depending on industry segment.

But with the Trump Administration’s harder line on trade changing the tone of U.S. policy, where do things stand today, and what upside potential is there yet to grow U.S. protein exports even further?

In this episode we talk with agricultural economist Brian Earnest of CoBank about his recent report examining the importance of maintaining strong relationship with existing trade partners like Mexico, Canada and Japan, while also growing trade with China and other key markets overseas. We’ll also discuss the Biden Administration’s approach to trade policy and the importance of confirming the chief ag negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

You can read Brian's full report HERE.

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 their website UnitedANH.com.

The dairy market has shifted more toward an emphasis on components in recent years, giving farmers an important incentive to think about the production of those components rather than on the overall volume of milk produced. What can dairy farmers do in terms of management and production to optimize for those components?

In this episode we talk with Hannah Tucker, a Ruminant Technical Services Manager Novus International working with livestock producers in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Tucker grew up in Michigan’s scenic dairy country. She received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at Michigan State University and then pursued her Master’s in Dairy Science at Virginia Tech under Dr. Mike Akers and her PhD in Animal Science under Dr. Kristy Daniels. Upon graduation, she worked as a ruminant nutritionist for Sioux Nation Ag, trouble shooting for dairy and beef customers. In July of this year, she started her career at NOVUS.

This episode is sponsored by Novus International, Inc. — a leader in dairy, poultry and swine nutrition solutions driven by science. Novus’ products and services look at the whole animal, focusing on productivity and well-being, in order to feed the world affordable and wholesome food.

For more information, visit Novus’s website at www.novusint.com

The term “regenerative agriculture” has become more commonly discussed in recent years, but like many new terms – and like many oft-repeated buzzwords in agriculture and food marketing – it may not be well understood by most people, or even well-defined in general. What does regenerative agriculture mean, and what role does regenerative farming play in the future of the meat industry?

In this episode we talk with Robby Sansom, the co-founder of Force of Nature, a regeneratively-sourced meat company, and from Curt Covington, senior director of AgAmerica Lending. Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead talked with Sansom and Covington during a recent Feedstuffs 365 livestream to explore what is being done by producers of all sizes to keep meat on consumers’ plates, as well as what the structure of the future meat industry might look like.

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 their website UnitedANH.com.

Achieving something known as net zero – in other words, balancing the amount of greenhouse gas produced by an activity and the amount removed from the atmosphere – is a key focus of leaders in the global livestock industry and among food manufacturers and retailers. What will it take to achieve net zero, and how will the effort affect food production and consumption around the globe?

Pathways to Dairy Net Zero, a ground-breaking new climate initiative, has launched with some 40 leading organizations, including 11 of the 20 largest dairy companies in the world, declaring their support for the effort. Collectively, these supporters represent approximately 30% of total milk production worldwide.

The new climate initiative demonstrates the global dairy sector’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions while continuing to produce nutritious foods for six billion people and provide for the livelihoods of one billion people.

In a recent edition of Feedstuffs 365, our Sarah Muirhead sat down Donald Moore of the Global Dairy Platform to find out more about achieving net zero. Moore also provided an update on the recent U.N. Food Systems Summit.

This podcast was sponsored by Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production and their #ScienceHearted podcast, “Food Chain Chats. In the most recent episode, listen to Dr. Jack McReynolds, Director of Research and Development, and Dr. Christine Alvarado, Technical Services Director, tap into their extensive hands-on expertise as part of the Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production team and discuss some of the most pressing food safety topics.Listen and subscribe to “Food Chain Chats” wherever you dig-in to your favorite podcasts. 

EnTech Solutions has formed a joint venture with Northern Biogas LLC aimed at providing a sustainable energy future utilizing local agriculture, specifically dairy waste. Recently, EnTech added to its clean energy solutions portfolio an active biogas facility in the Middleton, Wis. Utilizing anaerobic digestion, the facility turns organic waste from local dairy farms into renewable energy. 

Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead toured the facility on her way to World Dairy Expo to learn more about the facility and the benefits it offers to local dairy producers as well as the regional ecosystem through the utilization of advanced filtration technology. In this episode, she talks with Jeff LaViolette, civil/environmental engineer with Northern Biogas.

This episode is sponsored by Novus International, Inc.—a leader in dairy, poultry and swine nutrition solutions driven by science. Novus' products and services look at the whole animal, focusing on productivity and well-being, in order to feed the world affordable and wholesome food.

For more information, visit Novus’s website at Novusint.com

Sustainability is such an oft-discussed topic of conversation in the food space that it’s become a buzzword. Who defines it? What does it mean? Aren’t farmers already doing a lot to improve soil, air and water quality?

In this episode we talk with Lauren Brey, managing director of the Farmers for Sustainable Food Coalition. We caught up with Lauren at the World Dairy Expo this week in Madison, Wisconsin, to answer some of those big questions about sustainability. She is one of the farmers leading the effort to better define and document the sustainability work happening on farms every day across the country, and to get in alignment with the food companies and supply chain partners who are more and more driving the discussion every day.

For all of our coverage of World Dairy Expo, log in to Feedstuffs365, our video streaming platform, for a series of interviews with farmers, dairy business leaders and technological experts. We covered everything from new livestock identification and monitoring technology to the outlook for dairy producer profitability over the next two years.

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 their website UnitedANH.com.

Between the budget battle, funding the infrastructure bill and an ambitious tax proposal, tens of billions of dollars in the agricultural economy hangs in the balance as legislators in Washington wrangle over signature pieces of President Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda.

In this episode we’ll hear from agriculture policy expert Emily Buckman of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a member of the banking community about her group's concerns with the House-passed version of the federal budget and a looming government shutdown. Then we'll hear from Paul  Merski of the Independent Community Bankers Association about one troubling provision of the infrastructure bill with regard to how the administration plans to pay for the new spending. And finally, Congressman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, explains why he's not in favor of the administration's tax proposal because of the effects it would have on rural America specifically.

This episode is sponsored by Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production and their #ScienceHearted podcast, “Food Chain Chats.” In a new episode, hear Dr. Tom Rehberger, Director of Innovation and Product Development at Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production, discuss optimal rumen function and the role that products like CERTILLUS™ can have on ultimate success. Subscribe and listen to “Food Chain Chats” wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Bacteria are all around us, and the role these microorganisms play in our environment – both on the farm and inside the animals themselves, is an increasingly important area of study in animal science.

Quorum sensing is bacteria’s unique biochemical communication system. It’s how bacteria interact and talk with each other. Understanding how that communication works and how we can use it in a variety of applications is a new frontier in animal health and wellbeing.

To explore how quorum sensing science works and what benefits it offers the dairy industry, Feedstuffs editor Sarah Muirhead talked with Dr. Jeff Brose, director of technical services with AHV International out of Fort Collins, Colorado, to find out more. 

Prior to joining AHV International, Brose served as a consultant as AHV prepared to enter the U.S. market. He previously held positions with Cargill and Monsanto after managing his own private veterinary practice.

Uterine prolapse is a serious issue of concern to swine producers. A 2018 Iowa State University study involving 400,000 commercials sows found that vaginal or uterine prolapse accounted for 15% of all sow mortalities during the study period, and earlier research found that all pelvic organ prolapses cost producers roughly $5,220 per 1,000 sows per year.

What hasn’t been as well understood until more recent research is the various factors influencing the incidence of uterine prolapse in the sow herd.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Jenelle Dunkelberger, a geneticist with Topigs Norsvin, about those factors and specifically about recent research into the role genetics play in the incidence of uterine prolapse.

This episode of Feedstuffs In Focus is sponsored by Topigs Norsvin, the second largest swine genetics company in the world. Topigs Norsvin’s unique breeding program is designed to accelerate genetic progress at the customer level by creating innovative products and solutions that benefit the entire pork production chain. To get more information, visit TopigsNorsvin.us. For any questions or additional information about the work Topigs Norsvin has done to implement selection against uterine prolapse, email [email protected].