The 2013 NAMA Boot Camp kicked off last week in Kansas City with the popular producer panel. The coveted voice of Max Armstrong, Penton/Farm Progress, moderated the panelist of Missouri and Kansas farmers. Communicating with producers effectively is a key element when it comes to staying profitable in this industry. Jarrod Bowser, Kansas; Brad Bray, Missouri and Calvin Pearson, Kansas, …
Risk Factors for Salmonella in Swine Production
Food safety is one of the major factors driving consumer food demand which makes salmonella a food safety priority for the pork industry. Dr. Marcos Rostagno with USDA-ARS at Purdue University told producers at the Boehringer Ingelheim North Carolina Health Seminar that awareness of the on-farm risk factors for salmonella contamination is the first line of defense. “Particularly paying attention …
Minimize Exposure and Maximize Immunity
A systematic whole herd approach to controlling all types of swine respiratory diseases hinges on the two-pronged effort of minimizing exposure and maximizing immunity. Dr. Eduardo Fano, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica‘s technical manager for the Americas, explained the approach during the North Carolina Health Seminar for producers on Friday. “You can do it through the whole production/infection chain,” said Dr. Fano. …
PEDv Update for Swine Producers
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus became a brand new problem for the U.S. swine industry to deal with this past spring, and Dr. Darin Madson with Iowa State University gave an update on the situation to producers at the Boehringer-Ingelheim North Carolina Health Seminar on Friday. “Basically what we determined is that this virus, previously not known to be here, …
New Guy With BIVI
Meet Del Birkhofer, the brand new executive director of the swine business for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc (BIVI). Del has 26 years of experience in the animal health industry, working with Merck and Merial, and he is happy to make this move to BIVI at this point in his career. “I was looking at my future and BI is one …
BASF DPM is a Gator
Dr. Brianne Reeves with BASF Crop Protection has a DPM from the University of Florida – that would be a plant doctor, not a foot doctor. We interviewed the lovely and talented Dr. Reeves a couple of times this year but I never knew she was a fellow Gator until last week when she talked to the Southern Media Symposium …
GROWMARK Report on China Demand
Is demand from China really driving commodity prices? That was the question that GROWMARK economic and market research manager Kel Kelly set out to answer in a recent research report. “Overall the report concludes that China does not have the dominant impact on commodity prices that everyone thinks they do,” said Kelly in an AgWired interview. “The primary reason for …
2013 W.D. Farr Scholarships Awarded
During the 2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference, two recipients were awarded the W.D. Farr Scholarship from the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF). THe $12,000 award recognizes superior achievement in academics and leadership and will allow the students to further their study in fields that benefit the cattle and beef industry. Benjamin Turner is from Rapid City, South Dakota. He is a …
Total Rewards Programs That Will Woo Employees
During the recent Ag & Food HR Roundtable held in Urbandale, Iowa at the DuPont Pioneer headquarters, several sessions were held on total rewards programs. As the ag industry gets more competitive, employers are discovering that the same old, same old rewards programs are not working. During Engaging Multiple Generations in the Workplace Through Rewards Programs, presenters Tim Glowa and …
AgCareers.com Takes Over Ag Warriors Program
AgCareers.com is taking over the Ag Warriors program, launched in February of 2012 to assist veterans looking for jobs in the ag industry. The employment program was originally developed by the International Agri-Center. “In an effort to better serve returning veterans and their career needs, we have partnered with AgCareers.com to continue to grow the Ag Warriors program,” said Jerry …