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.  

We are joined by Dr. Cesar Corzo of the University of Minnesota to talk about our old enemy, PRRS.  In his role as the Allen D Leman Chair, Swine Health and Productivity, Dr. Corzo routinely interacts with industry stakeholders to keep his pulse on industry challenges and opportunities.  Cesar leads the MSHMP project which monitors both prevalence and incidence of PRRS in the United States sow herd.  We chat about how this data can be used to objectively determine if this PRRS season is "different" as well as how we can look at the data to see how our PRRS management decisions are impacting PRRS outcomes.  Dr. Corzo shares his insights on the latest PRRS mutant to threaten our industry, the 144 Lineage 1C PRRS strain.  We talk about the recombination events that lead to the creation of these new mutant viruses and how discouraging it can be for the industry that so many sows remain infected with wild type PRRS viruses.  We share a glimmer of hope for a more successful future in discussing the technology behind the PRRS resistant pig and wrap up by educating the audience on how they can get involved in the MSHMP project going forward.

With a gentle nudge from our friends in the Twitter world... we bring to you one of the world's leading E. coli management authorities, Dr. Elise Toohill.  Dr. Elise shares her experiences with E. coli diagnosis, prevention, control, treatment and sanitation.  We review this emerging disease threat and highlight practical solutions for producers and veterinarians alike to consider when optimizing their E. coli management program.  Even if E. coli isn't causing challenges in your farm today, I'd recommend you listen to Elise's advice as you may soon be facing this evolving pathogen challenge.

Dr. Megan Bloemer joins us to share her personal journey into the world of swine production and veterinary medicine.  Dr. Megan didn't grow up on a pig farm and until college really didn't know a lot about the swine industry.  Her journey is similar to many of our professions best and brightest, she was an exceptional student who got exposed to our industry through a willing mentor (The great Dr. Laura Greiner!) and through her exposure found the passion for pigs that collectively unites our industry.  Dr. Megan explains how students can find mentors through internship programs at both the undergraduate and veterinary school stages.  She talks in detail about the variety of different experiences she sought out to gain perspective on the industry and her tips for students on how to network, even if you're naturally introverted.  We learn about Dr. Megan's year in production, what it taught her and how it makes her a better veterinarian today because of the skills she learned working hand in hand with our on farm employee teams.  Whether you're a student interested in swine medicine or a grizzled industry veteran, please give this episode a listen to understand the journey of "The Modern Swine Vet Experience".  

Dr. Will Fombelle with Carthage Veterinary Service, LTD stops by the podcast studio to chat with us about a recent case he dealt with involving a combination of nutrition and health opportunities.  Dr. Will shares his case study about a nursery facility with increased mortality, as he started digging into the case he quickly realized this was a "Zebra" and not a "Horse".  Engaging with nutrition experts, Will was able to submit a variety of diagnostic samples to help him diagnose both infectious disease agents as well as nutritional disease challenges.  Will chats about the importance of having a well rounded education and how we as swine veterinarians can work as "extension agents" for other technical experts who aren't as fortunate to be able to visit pig farms as regularly as the veterinarian.  We end with some well deserved shout outs to mentors who have helped shaped our respective professional careers.

With another USDA weaned pig price report in hand, we visit with Steve Toohill to get his thoughts on the current weaned pig market.  Steve comments on buyers willingness to accept PRRS positive pig sources and we chat about how the attractive summer market hog prices are driving continued demand for weaned pigs of any health status.  Steve shares his thoughts on how demand looks to evolve heading into February, giving both buyers and sellers insight into future weeks price projections.

Dr. Aaron Lower joins us to share his passion for improving the quality of information available to pig producers to support quality decision making.  Aaron shares his experiences in the Executive Veterinary Program at the University of Illinois and how he learned about data management.  We talk about how to merge different software systems in a "common data model" and use systems such as Power BI to create customized reports and dashboards specific to each producer.  Data collection and entry is key, Aaron shares how he sees progressive producers using mobile entry platforms to enter sow data via QR codes to eliminate problems with data accuracy.  We also discuss sensor technologies and the transition from "Hardware purchases" to more subscription based approaches to new technology introduction into the farm.  Aaron is passionate about making sure his producers are on the cutting edge of data collection and management so they can make most efficient use of the available information to make better decisions and ultimately improve throughput in their operations.

Another week and another USDA update on weaned pig prices.  We visit with Steve Toohill, Business Development Manager for the Carthage System as he shares his insight for how the weaned pig market has evolved over the last week.  Weaned pigs remain scarce and as is always the case with scarce resources, the sale price is indicative of how few weaned pigs there are available.  Join us for this timely discussion on how weaned pig prices may impact your farm's financial performance in the coming weeks.

We get to interview two excellent guests, Ted Ufkes and Dr. Beau Peterson as they share their thoughts on how to both attract and retain talent through the culture of your business.  Ted & Beau give us insight into the "Farm First" culture they collectively strive to create in the Carthage System while talking us through how you can make accountability a key part of your business culture.  We dive into discussions about how to set up metrics to create both accountability and ownership and how important our Farm Managers are to the success of any pork production operation.  In addition to the office and farm culture, we talk about how culture extends into community engagement and what that means to employee engagement and ultimately, employee retention.  With "The Great Resignation" providing labor challenges throughout every industry and business environment, I think you'll find this a must listen for any business leaders looking to create a positive culture that creates engaged employees.

On this edition of Swine Doc Pod with Carthage, we explore 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 explains the weekly USDA pricing process as well as his tips for how to navigate the market.  Steve gives us his insight into how to maximize either your wean pig sale or purchase in addition to his thoughts on the current market.  This episode if the first in a recurring program on weaned pig prices, we hope you'll join us not only for this edition, but in our routine updates to come!

In this episode, we interview Dr. Dyneah Classen, Director of Health for the Carthage System.  Dyneah and I chat about misconceptions of animal agriculture and how those of us actively engaged in the farming profession can help those not lucky enough to be able to visit farms better understand our practices and way of life.  While Dyneah and I both grew up actively visiting pig farms (Dyneah's pigs were right outside her front door!), we discuss how difficult it is to get our own children physically onto a farm to educate them about our profession and industry while sharing some light and fun stories about our experiences with kids on farm.  Dyneah shares her tips for engaging online, particularly what types of posts she finds are most interesting to our non-ag friends and family as well as how to handle the occasional online troll trying to create mischief.  

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Bill Hollis on the topic of “barn speak”. “Barn speak” is a situation when you have experienced farm team members who have done a process before and assume that this time the situation and goals are the same. Gilt acclimation, MCREBEL and Feedback are great examples of barn speak – just because you’ve done MCREBEL before at a different farm doesn’t mean the MCREBEL SOP will be the same at this farm. Different production systems will have different protocols, even different farms within the same production system will have different protocols – we have to respect the SOP of each farm and make sure we work to comply with it. Dr. Hollis will talk us through the dangers of “barn speak” as well as some tips for how to avoid falling into the trap of assuming we’re talking about the same thing, but in reality the SOP the worker has in mind is different than the SOP the veterinarian or production leader would like them to execute.