Swine Doc Pod with Carthage

Dr. Kim VanderWaal, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Dennis Makau , Post-Doctoral Associate also at the University of Minnesota join us to talk about the knowledge gaps existing for swine producers and veterinarians regarding PRRS genomic classification, cross protection and immune stimulation.  Dr. VanderWaal's research focuses on the dynamics of pathogen spread through animal populations with focus on quantifying the drivers of host and pathogen heterogeneity for disease transmission.  Dr. Makau expertise is similarly in epidemiology, focusing on statistical and phylodynamic modeling as well as machine learning techniques to understand the epidemiology of PRRSv.  For years veterinarians and producers alike have been baffled by our inability to explain PRRSv cross protection across isolates.  We sequence new PRRSv isolates and compare them to other isolates in our collective databases.  We use these comparisons to help make informed projections on new PRRSv outbreaks as well as assessments as to whether a new PRRSv isolate has entered a herd.  Practicing swine veterinarians throughout the world are often frustrated by our inability to make good assessments with this data.  We have situations where the virus is 99% the same as other isolates yet the clinical response is wildly different. We also have situations where the isolates are wildly different, yet the clinical signs and performance impacts suggest that a high level of cross protection exists.  Dr. Kim and Dr. Dennis's current research focus is in using immunologic assays to assess the level of cross protection various PRRSv isolates can provide, then using computer models and machine learning to highlight the commonly held portions of genomes from "unique" isolates that appear to cross protect more or less than their peers.  The goal of their research is to better understand which portions of the PRRSv genome are most important in stimulating immunity and to eventually provide a tool to producers to help project cross protection across PRRSv sequence comparisons.

We are blessed to have Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) in the podcast studio today!  We talk about industry hot topics, the NPPC updated branding efforts and how NPPC helps support producer efforts to both expand and maintain market access.  From labor challenges to exports to Prop 12, we cover a lot of ground in addition to learning a little more about Bryan's background and journey to his new role as CEO of NPPC. 

Dr. Marie Culhane is Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine who specializes in Influenza and emergency disease preparedness and management.  The poultry industry has battled outbreaks of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in recent years and as the old saying goes, "Your friends challenges are your cheapest learning opportunities".  We go in depth with Dr. Culhane on Influenza - what makes this a "shared disease" between humans, birds and pigs, what are the common control strategies employed across species and how can vaccine platforms help manage Influenza disease.  We specifically focus on HPAI outbreaks and their analogies with reportable diseases in the swine industry.  Poultry producers have had major HPAI outbreaks in 2015 and again now in 2022 - how have their biosecurity programs and diagnostic tools evolved over that period?  How do they effectively implement control zones and permit requirements prior to movement?  Ultimately, what have they done to improve the timeline from diagnosis to depopulation from 7 days to 36 hours from 2015 to 2022?  Marie shares lessons learned about smallholder poultry operation management that correlates to similar smallholder swine operations as well as perspective about wild bird management akin to our challenges with feral swine management.  

In this edition of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we continue our regular series on weaned pig prices.  We welcome Steve Toohill to the podcast - as the Business Development Manager for the Carthage System, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the topic.  Steve updates us on the weekly USDA pricing report and explains what we're seeing in weaned pig price trends as well as how this compares to normal historical trends.  Steve gives us his insight into how current weaned pig prices compared to early May weaned pigs from previous years, sharing his thoughts on how on-going industry health challenges and particularly the PRRS 144 Lineage 1c virus continues to impact the weaned pig market.

In this edition of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we continue our regular series on weaned pig prices.  We welcome Steve Toohill to the podcast - as the Business Development Manager for the Carthage System, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the topic.  Steve updates us on the weekly USDA pricing report and explains why we're seeing such a large range of prices.  Steve gives us his insight into how current weaned pig prices compare to April weaned pigs from previous years, sharing his thoughts on why demand for weaned pigs remains high relative to historical seasonal trends.  

Dr. John Deen, professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine joins us to discuss the topic of sow mortality.  Dr. Deen is a veterinary epidemiologist and economist who shares his 30+ years of experience with swine producers throughout the world.  Having grown up on his families farm in southern Ontario, John brings a practical understanding of sow production and how sow mortality impacts the hog farm.  We discuss the physical challenges of handling increased sow mortality as well as the economic consequences for producers when the sow exits the herd.  John takes us through the economic impact of sow mortality by first defining the full value sow.  Full value sows are culled at optimal parity, at weaning, in good condition and with a gilt properly acclimated ready to take it's place in the breed group.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of sows don't leave the herd as full value sows, John takes us through the lost income of this situation when we have a premature culling event or death.  We touch on the root causes of sow mortality including pelvic organ prolapses (POP), lameness and unexpected death.  Dr. Deen gives us an introduction into the field of survivability of reproducing females in evolutionary biology, sharing how species balance survival of the female with the production of progeny and focusing on how widely this balance varies from one female to another.  Without a doubt, maximizing both sow survival and optimal piglet production are at odds with each other and this fact lies at the root of our current challenges with escalating sow mortality.  

In this episode of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we're joined by Ted Ufkes, CEO of the Professional Swine Management and Steve Toohill, Business Development Manager of Professional Swine Management.  Ted and Steve share their experiences helping producers invest in sow shares in Carthage System farms.  Sow shares have been a tremendous growth vehicle for pig farmers over the past 25 years. Approximately 40% of owners within the Carthage System own shares in multiple farms. Many have doubled or tripled their ownership since their initial investments. Some strategically do this to manage pig health risks and other related production challenges. Others simply do this as a growth tactic. Buying shares in new sow units as the home farm organically grows has been a successful plan implemented by many families.  This allows family members to remain on the farm and increases productivity and profitability through economies of scale.

Ted and Steve discuss how they've worked with families to help build for the next generation. Carthage is routinely asked to help provide input during family succession planning and Ted and Steve talk about how there is no bigger joy than to have a front row seat watching a family transition occur. They've watched children return to the farm and parents handing down the keys to their sons or daughters, quite a gratifying experience!  Other reasons producers invest in sow shares include diversification of their options, utilization of manure nutrients on crop ground, securing a consistent flow of pigs and growing equity while capitalizing on tax advantages.  Whether your an experience veteran of the pig industry or new to the business and considering all your business investment opportunities, I think you'll find this episode to be enlightening and educational on the topic of sow share ownership.

We're joined by Brian Martin from Martin Family Farms to talk about the implementation and execution of Proposition 12 compliant production practices within their system.  Brian and team have converted a 10,000 sow breed to wean facility to Prop 12 compliance and Brian takes us through his experiences successfully executing this transition.  The Martin Family Farms team has successfully completed the financial evaluation to understand evolving revenue streams and cost structure under Prop 12 production.  They've made common sense facility improvements to facilitate compliance with sow housing requirements.  They've been breeding and farrowing sows under this model for months and Brian is gracious enough to share with us his lessons learned through the process.  Dr. Aaron Lower has supported the Martin Family Farms team journey toward Prop 12 compliance and shares his thoughts about the animal welfare impact of Prop 12 compliance.  Brian and Aaron jointly share details about the investment it takes to move to Prop 12 compliance as well as the actual impacts to sow performance they've observed since the transition.  We can't thank Brian and the Martin Family Farms team enough for their willingness to share their story!  Whether you're considering a Prop 12 remodel for your farm or not, the Martin Family Farms transition serves as a road map for any commodity producer considering new opportunities for unique revenue streams in any area of your operation.  

In this edition of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we continue our regular series on weaned pig prices.  We welcome Steve Toohill to the podcast - as the Business Development Manager for the Carthage System, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the topic.  Steve updates us on the weekly USDA pricing report and explains why we're seeing such a large range of prices.  Steve gives us his insight into the decreased volume of weaned pigs sold last week along with some perspective on why we're not seeing smaller groups being sold the last two weeks.

In this edition of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we get an update from the world of weaned pig pricing.  We welcome Steve Toohill to the podcast - as the Business Development Manager for the Carthage System, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the topic.  Steve updates us on the weekly USDA pricing report and explains why we're seeing such a large range of prices.  Steve gives us his insight into the increased volume of weaned pigs sold last week along with some perspective on how long those extra pigs may be available.