Producer Retirement Program announced

Most swine industry analysts agree that, in order for the pork industry to get back on track, a five to ten percent reduction in the U.S. breeding herd needs to take place. In an attempt to speed that process, a group of pork producers has launched what they call a Producer Retirement Program. Pork producer Chuck Wirtz of Whittemore, Iowa is chairing the effort.

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Field efficacy comparisons of PCV vaccines

On Thursday, Fort Dodge Animal Health held a media briefing to discuss the results of new research on controlling circovirus in swine herds. In a follow-up phone interview, Dr. Joe Connor, DVM and president of Carthage Veterinary Service in Carthage, Illinois, outlined his findings on the field efficacy comparisons of commercial PCV vaccines.

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Pork industry legend

One of my personal highlights from World Pork Expo was an opportunity to visit with renowned University of Missouri ag economist Glenn Grimes. Amazingly, Glenn has been working with the pork industry for nearly 60 years. What better person to talk about the current economic woes facing the industry and what needs to happen for the situation to improve.

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NCGA president visits World Pork Expo

As we walked through the World Pork Expo trade show on Thursday, we ran into Bob Dickey of Laurel, Nebraska, preident of the National Corn Growers Association. We asked Bob how he responds to pork producer concerns with the high cost of feed inputs.

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Big first day at World Pork Expo

You couldn’t have asked for a much better day for the opening of the World Pork Expo.

Wednesday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Des Moines, with temps in the 70’s, a light breeze and lots blue sky. And there were lots of pork producers on hand, walking up and down the trade show aisles, listening to speakers and observing the swine shows.

There are plenty of activities to keep radio reporters busy at World Pork Expo. In addition to the many news conferences put on by various industry organizations, we also like to visit with producers from around the U.S., as well as some of the commercial exhibitors.

The economic challenges facing pork producers is the number one topic here at World Pork Expo. That’s unfortunate, because there are also so many positive things happening in the industry. The “We Care” initiative is certainly one of those positives, as the industry strives to do a better job of telling its story. If you need a “pick-me-up”, listen to some of the comments from the “We Care” news conference that are posted here on the World Pork Expo page. It certainly gives you hope for the future.

We’ll be back at the show today. One of the things I hope to do today is visit with long-time University of Missouri ag economist Glenn Grimes. Glenn is a legend in the pork industry–he’s been doing what he’s doing for 58 years! And the industry still looks to him for information and guidance.

Did I mention there is lots of great food at World Pork Expo? We enjoyed some great barbecued pork at the Fort Dodge Animal Health tent Wednesday. Wednesday night, we dined at one of our favorite Des Moines restaurants, the Iowa Machine Shed. I decided to help out the beef industry as well with a great hot beef sandwich.

Thursday looks to be another big day at the show. Hope to see you at World Pork Expo.

“We Care” and California animal rights fervor

Steve Weaver is a pork producer from Elk Grove, California and is the current president of the National Pork Board. We talked to Weaver about the industry’s “We Care” initiative and also asked him about the animal rights fervor taking place in California.

AUDIO: Interview with Steve Weaver 6 min

Pork industry intensifying efforts on “We Care” initiative

The “We Care” program was developed by NPPC and the National Pork Board to help demonstrate that pork producers are committed to caring for their animals, producing safe food and protecting the environment. The effort received a big boost Wednesday from lender AgStar Financial Services–a $50,000 dollar donation to help develop and maintain a web site dedicated to the initiative.

“We Care” also received a big endorsement from Tyson Foods, one of the nation’s major pork processors. Tyson join JBS Swift, Hormel and other packers in support of the effort.

In addition, the National Pork Board has passed a resolution urging all U.S. pork producers to become certified in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program by June 30, 2010.

Here are some excerpts from the news conference on the “We Care” initiative.

AUDIO: Excerpts from “We Care” news conference (28 min)

Iowa producer serves as president-elect of NPPC

Sam Carney of Adair, Iowa is the president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council. We visited with Sam about the economic challenges facing the hog industry in 2009.

AUDIO: Listen to report (6 min)

Pork industry’s economic stress is ‘unprecedented’

NPPC officials gave us a report on the economic health of the pork industry on Wednesday. As you might expect, it was a pretty gloomy session. NPPC president Don Butler says the economic stress facing the industry is “unprecedented”. Here is an excerpt of Butler’s news conference comments.

AUDIO: Listen to report (8 min)

Protecting pigs from PCV2

Porcine circovirus-associated disease is a challenging and costly health issue for the U.S. swine industry. Infection can cause significant reduction in pig performance and growth rate, and increased mortality. We discussed this subject with Dr. Darrell Neuberger, swine technical manager with Fort Dodge Animal Health.

AUDIDO: Listen to report

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