Brumm Speaks Out: Will 2013 be a good year?
Winter has been late in arriving in Minnesota. How late – yesterday I saw a producer installing plastic drainage tile lines at the Iowa-Minnesota border.
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Brumm Speaks Out: More swine buildings coming
The spot market for weaned pigs has been at $60/pig for the past 2 weeks, a price pig sellers haven’t seen since last February and early March.
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Upgrade farm security
Every farm, large and small, should consider strategies aimed at reducing farmstead vulnerability to property crime. Here are some ways to improve farm security.
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Composting helps swine farm improve biosecurity
Composting animal mortalities eliminated potential sources of disease outbreaks from Iowa State University swine farms: rendering and fuel trucks.
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Commentary: New regulations threaten ag
True to form for a federal government overreaching in its attempt to control more and more aspects of our lives, it is busy setting more regulations. This time, the Department of Labor has proposed a new barrage of regulations that involve youth under the age of 18.
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Save on winter heating costs
With energy costs rising rapidly, time spent identifying where you can increase barn heating efficiency can pay off in reduced energy costs this winter.
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Brumm Speaks Out: Winter ventilation mistakes
I spent much of this week with clients reviewing winter ventilation details and evaluating temperature logs from recorders placed in barns earlier this month. In every instance, I found mistakes in controller settings that cost producers a lot of money.
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Barn maintenance, feeder repairs help feed efficiency
Achieving better feed efficiency can be a challenging objective and may require a review of the full scope of your operation, beginning with the basics of barn management and feeding practices. The time period between groups of pigs offers a prime opportunity for you or your barn employees for cleaning and making needed repairs.
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Scientist discusses grain dust explosions
In the aftermath of an Oct. 29 grain elevator explosion in Atchison, Kan. that claimed six lives and injured two others, Kansas State University grain scientist, Leland McKinney said that while grain and other kinds of dust can be dangerous, steps can be taken to reduce risk.
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ASABE updates manure storage safety standard
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has revised its standard on manure storage safety, including ventilation and entry protocols.
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Pork producers need constant evaluation of biosecurity protocols
One area that pork producers need to evaluate when looking at biosecurity protocols at their facility is to look at the indirect routes of contamination. Indirect routes of contamination are methods of transmitting disease mechanically through people, vehicles, facilities and non-human vectors such as, needles and supplies.
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- Oil falls as Fed minutes send U.S. equities down
- Ag markets diverged widely Wednesday afternoon
- Cold Storage: Frozen pork supplies up from March
- Tyson sends disaster-assistance truck to Oklahoma
- University workshops address workforce management issues
- Mexico says U.S. not respecting WTO ruling on meat labeling
