Feedstuffs in Focus

A single stretch of water can set the tone for global prices, rural incomes, and the cost of everyday goods. We dive into the Mississippi River Ship Channel with Ken Erickson of Polaris Analytics and Consulting and Sean Duffy of the Big River Coalition to unpack new, verifiable numbers that quantify its outsized role in U.S. trade. The study pegs $226.5 billion in annual value moving through a corridor that links Midwest barges to ocean-going vessels, stitching together grain exports, fertilizer supply, refined products, coal, cement, aggregates, and more into a single, high-throughput system.

We explore how reliability turns into real money: why every foot of lost draft can raise ocean freight rates about 2%, how brief closures ripple into weaker basis for farmers, and where those costs land first in local communities—lost output, fewer labor hours, and thinner tax receipts. The conversation traces supply chains from Baton Rouge past New Orleans to the Gulf, highlighting five deepwater ports that together handle nearly 500 million tons a year. We also address policy head-on, showing how hard data—sourced from vessel agents, customs districts, and industry partners—strengthens the case for sustained dredging and smarter infrastructure funding.

If this story of data, infrastructure, and competitiveness speaks to you, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help others find it.

Most farms chase averages and miss the levers that actually move sow productivity. We pull back the curtain on what truly drives reproduction and lifetime output: preparing gilts with purpose, managing health and stress to guard genetic potential, and leaning on objective, repeatable data instead of gut feel. With Dr. Chad Yoder of Elanco Animal Health, we connect the dots between environment, selection intensity, and the everyday choices that decide whether a sow flourishes or falls behind.

We start by challenging one-size-fits-all SOPs. Housing systems, health status, and pen design aren’t background details—they’re the context that shapes outcomes. From stall-based to ESF group housing, the plan must fit the barn. Then we dive into body condition as a precision tool: why over-fat sows struggle to farrow and milk, why thin sows miss rebreed targets, and how calipers and emerging camera tech turn subjective scoring into actionable numbers. Consistent checkpoints through gestation and lactation let you course-correct before performance slips.

Stress control is the quiet superpower. Each biological milestone—entry, training, breeding, farrowing, lactation—adds load and inflammation that erode potential. Smart handling, fewer movements, cleaner spaces, and well-timed nutrition or feed-grade interventions help sows stay on track. We pair that with data discipline: routine diagnostics to define health status, distribution analysis to spot weak subgroups, and year-over-year benchmarking to keep pace with genetic gains. Finally, we spotlight gilt development and selection—boar exposure, structure scoring, vulva size, body condition—and the advantage of raising more gilts than you need so you can select only the best.

If you’re ready to shift from averages to precision—feeding where the sow is and where she needs to be, selecting for longevity, and reading data that actually guides action—this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review with the one metric you’ll start tracking differently this week.

Protein took the main stage in the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and we dig into why eggs rose to the top. With Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, we explore the real-food case for eggs: complete protein, nutrient density, affordability, and a versatility that works for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything between. We also clear the air on cholesterol with current science and discuss how consumer understanding has shifted from fear to trust.

The conversation turns to new brain health research, including studies indicating a relationship between eating two eggs a day and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. We talk about nutrients like choline and lutein, why this matters as populations age, and how simple, daily habits can support cognitive health. If you’re focused on satiety or navigating GLP1 medications, eggs offer a compact calorie-to-protein ratio that makes sticking to a higher-protein pattern easier and more satisfying.

From the industry side, we shares why the guidelines validate years of research support from egg farmers. We also look ahead to IPPE highlights, consumer education around all-day egg eating, and the role of U.S. egg products in promising export markets.

Enjoy the episode, share it with a friend who still thinks eggs are only for breakfast, and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

Planning a smart, efficient International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) 2026 starts long before you hit the show floor. We break down the must-see sessions, the most valuable networking spots, and the tools that will help you navigate 665,000 square feet of exhibits and nearly 1,400 companies without missing the moments that matter.

We talk with Victoria Broehm of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) to find out more about a free AFIA Feed Production Education Program delivering fast, useful updates on FDA’s new ingredient review and consultation processes, GRAS reforms, EPA’s approach to formaldehyde, and OSHA’s heat injury and illness prevention rules. Add in practical mycotoxin management and you’ve got a crisp briefing to align your team on compliance, quality, and operational risk. From there, the AFIA nutrition program reframes “old” ingredients with new data on animal health, feed efficiency, and sustainability, plus micro and macro ingredient trends that inform modern ration design and clear consumer communication.

Pet food leaders will find an all-day conference that digs into AI for recipe design and kibble production, along with the rise of black soldier fly larvae as a credible protein option. Expect regulatory perspective from FDA and fresh insights from students shaping the future of pet nutrition. On the Tech Talks stage, AFIA and iFeeder share new research on vitamin and amino acid supply chains, showing how disruptions can ripple across species and how to plan resilient procurement. The Animal Agriculture Sustainability Summit connects the dots between ingredient innovation, feed efficiency, and measurable progress across poultry, meat, and feed.

We also map the lighter, high-value touchpoints: a show-floor happy hour with a country vibe, courtyard meetups, and the return of the hot wing challenge. First-timer or veteran, bring a buddy, download the app, plan your routes, and bookmark lunch spots near your sessions to keep your energy up and your calendar tight. Subscribe, share this guide with your team, and leave a review telling us which session or technology you’re most excited to explore. For more information, visit ippexpo.org.

Milk yield, fertility, and resilience don’t start in the parlor—they start at the intestinal barrier. We sit down with Dr. Elliot Neto, Dairy Technical Service Manager at Kemin North America, to unpack why gut integrity is the hidden driver of modern dairy performance and how a leaky barrier quietly siphons energy, components, and profit. From calves with permeable, naive guts to fresh cows facing intake swings and heat stress, we connect the physiology to practical decisions that make or break the lactation curve.

We walk through the core stressors that challenge the intestine: inconsistent colostrum delivery, abrupt weaning, pathogenic pressure from E. coli and Salmonella, transition-related drops in dry matter intake, and rising heat stress that redirects blood away from the gut. Dr. Neto explains the cascade when tight junctions fail—LPS translocation, systemic inflammation, and glucose diverted from milk to the immune response—translating into lost kilograms of milk per day, poorer feed efficiency, and higher disease risk. The message is clear: protect the barrier and you protect the balance sheet.

Then we get tactical. We dig into strain-specific probiotics—especially characterized Bacillus subtilis—that deliver three proven modes of action: pathogen inhibition via antimicrobial metabolites, inflammation reduction through signaling control, and quorum quenching to block pathogen communication and biofilms. For calves, that means fewer scours and steadier intake; for transition cows, stronger barriers, better DMI, improved liver function, and higher peak milk. We also discuss Kemin’s research frontier: genomic strain mapping, metabolite profiling, biomarkers like circulating LPS and tight junction proteins, and functional nutrition with targeted amino acids and postbiotics.

If you’re ready to stop chasing gut problems and start building resilience, this conversation gives you the roadmap and the why behind it. Subscribe, share this episode with your nutritionist or herd manager, and leave a review telling us the one gut-health change you’ll implement this season.

A billion-dollar-plus disease problem demands more than wishful thinking, so we went straight to the genetics that keep pigs alive and growing when pathogens hit. With Dr. Jenelle Dunkelberger of Topigs Norsvin, we unpack the science and the on-farm relevance of breeding for disease resilience—how it’s measured, predicted, and proven in real barns. The conversation starts with new analysis on PRRS costs and moves quickly into what genomic selection can do for finding and scaling animals that sustain growth and cut losses under challenge.

We trace the story from customer reports of hardier terminal lines to controlled, side-by-side trials that tracked mortality, growth, clinical scores, and treatments from wean to market. The results confirmed a resilience edge but also revealed a crucial insight: large differences among sires within the same line. That variation is the engine of progress. By estimating breeding values for resilience and validating them in challenge trials, the team saw predicted high-resilience progeny suffer about half the mortalities of the low-resilience group—a result that turns genomic predictions into tangible, barn-level outcomes.

We also dig into heritability. Under standard conditions, mortality looks barely heritable. Under real challenge, heritability rises into the low-to-moderate range, accelerating genetic gain and giving producers a tool that compounds with each generation. With a reference population built since 2017 and continuously updated with current isolates and genetics, the roadmap points to resilience-forward offerings targeted for 2026. Most importantly, we clarify resilience versus resistance: not blocking every infection, but breeding pigs that cope, recover, and keep converting feed when the environment gets tough.

If you care about pig livability, throughput, and the true cost of disease, this conversation translates complex genetics into practical decisions for sourcing and selection. Tune in, subscribe for more data-driven livestock insights, and leave a review to tell us what resilience questions you want answered next.

Some ideas feel too simple to matter—until the data proves they move the needle on survival. We sit down with Dr. Jordan Gebhardt from Kansas State University to unpack how feed form, small management choices, and genetics combine to cut nursery removals and mortality. From creep feed strategy to the surprising power of very large pellets, we explore why pigs eat more when feed doubles as a social stimulus and how that early intake protects against the post-weaning dip.

We break down practical tools producers can apply right away: when and how to use mat feeding to accelerate feed discovery, what gruel feeding frequency actually changes, and how to prioritize labor for the moments that count. Jordan shares fresh research showing no advantage for four-times-daily gruel feeding over twice daily, freeing up time for better pen-walks and faster fallback identification. We also cover a head-turning genetic angle: divergently selected Duroc sire lines respond differently to weaning stress, with early-maturing lines eating sooner and losing less weight, while later-maturing lines make their gains in finishing. It’s a clear reminder to align genetic choices with system goals and health pressure.

The biggest unlock may start upstream. Roughly two-thirds of wean-to-finish survivability variation traces back to the sow farm—colostrum, health status, and gilt development set the stage long before the nursery. When teams pair a better weaned pig with consistent basics—clean water, fresh feed, dry floors, and engaged caretakers—mortality drops. If you want a playbook that’s proven, practical, and ready for tomorrow’s chores, this conversation delivers. If you learn something useful, follow the show, share it with your team, and leave a quick review so more producers can find it.

Think water is the simplest input on a swine farm? We open the waterlines and find a living system that can quietly limit growth, blunt medications, and raise mortality if it goes unmanaged. With Dr. Gabi Doughan from Iowa State University, we connect barn-floor realities to lab-backed strategies that turn “clean enough” water into a performance advantage.

We walk through a practical roadmap for testing what truly matters at the source and the drinker: pH and hardness that drive mineral scale, trace minerals that affect palatability and toxicity, and TDS, sulfates, and nitrates that can tip pigs into gut upsets. Just as important, we spotlight the biological side—coliforms, E. coli, and biofilms—that hides in hoses and nipples even when the well looks fine. Dr. Doughan explains how biofilms shelter microbes, carry resistance genes, and inactivate treatments, making water-administered medications unreliable if the system isn’t controlled.

From there, we get tactical. You’ll hear how to build a testing plan across the line, choose compatible chemistries for descaling and biofilm penetration, and set a continuous disinfection regimen that holds gains between periodic shocks. We discuss measurable outcomes producers are seeing—improved average daily gain, stronger feed efficiency, and meaningful drops in mortality—and why verifying dose at the end-of-line is essential when delivering medications through water. The result is a clear, repeatable framework that aligns animal health, antimicrobial stewardship, and operational efficiency.

If you care about better growth and fewer surprises, this conversation will help you turn water into a managed asset instead of a guess. Follow the show, share it with your team, and leave a review with one change you’ll make to your water program today.

Want to see how tiny viruses could reshape dairy nutrition? We sit down with Dr. Hugo Monteiro of the University of California-Davis to explore the unseen forces inside the rumen and how they tie directly to feed efficiency, milk production, and methane reduction. His work connects residual feed intake (RFI), microbial ecology, and host genetics into a framework that makes efficiency measurable and actionable.

We start by clarifying why RFI outperforms traditional metrics: it isolates true biological efficiency independent of milk yield and body condition. From there, we dive into the rumen as a dynamic battlefield where bacteriophages constantly prune and empower bacterial populations. That “phage pressure” appears stronger in efficient cows, selecting microbes that better harvest energy, recycle nitrogen, and produce bioactive molecules. Some of those molecules may stimulate growth hormone and other anabolic pathways, hinting at a physiological bridge between microbial signals and performance at the udder.

Dr. Monteiro explains how lower gut microbiomes act as a proxy for undigested substrates, providing a window into what the rumen missed. He also shares evidence that efficient cows absorb more key precursors even when rumen concentrations look similar, underscoring a genetics-by-microbiome interaction. On the practical side, we cover deep sequencing to profile microbial protein amino acids, rethinking RUP screening, and precision strategies for rumen-protected amino acids. We map near-term gains producers can use today and look ahead to phage-based tools and microbiome editing that could arrive within five to ten years, including prospects for targeting methanogens to cut emissions.

Dr. Monteiro was a speaker at the recent 2025 Kemin Intestinal Health. Visit kemin.com/symposium to learn more and to view Dr. Monteiro’s presentation and more in on-demand. 

Weather rarely cooperates, cows never take a day off, and forage quality used to hinge on a calendar. We sit down with Phil Bollman, National Sales and Marketing Director at Forage Genetics International, to unpack how lower‑lignin alfalfa flips the script on the old quality‑versus‑tonnage compromise and gives dairy producers real control over digestibility, timing, and ROI.

Phil draws on decades as a dairy nutritionist to explain why alfalfa remains the backbone of high‑performing rations: digestible fiber, protein, palatability, and natural buffering that pair cleanly with corn silage. Then we get specific about the HarvXtra trait—what happens when you dial down lignin in the plant, how NDF digestibility climbs without agronomic penalty, and why that shift lets you either keep your cutting schedule and harvest higher quality or push harvest seven to ten days to grab more tons at comparable quality. The payoff shows up in the bunk: more homegrown forage in the diet, better rumen health, and the option to drive milk or components while controlling feed cost.

We also zoom out to the field. Longer intervals can help stands store root reserves, improve persistence, and reduce stress from aggressive cutting cycles. Stacking the trait with herbicide tolerance supports cleaner establishment and consistent feed across cuttings. Phil shares a look at the breeding pipeline focused on yield, quality, and disease resistance, and the micro‑selected approaches shaping next‑generation varieties. The through‑line is flexibility: better forage alignment with your labor, weather windows, and herd goals, whether you’re chasing peak performance or maximizing margin per acre.

If you care about forage quality, ration economics, and resilient dairy production, this conversation delivers clear, practical takeaways you can use at the next harvest decision. For more information, visit www.HarvXtra.com