BIVI 3FLEX Makes an Impression at WPX

Cindy Zimmerman

Managing swine respiratory diseases is economically important for the pork industry, which is why the relatively new Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica 3FLEX vaccine is being well received by producers.

During a BIVI press conference at World Pork Expo, experts discussed the latest findings in managing swine respiratory diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCV2) and mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. hyo).

“These diseases have drastic economic impacts on the swine industry; the PRRS virus alone is estimated to cost the U.S. Swine industry $664 million annually,” said Dr. John Waddell, Professional Services Veterinarian for BIVI, who suggests using a five-step process to help manage respiratory diseases. That is: 1) Identify desired goals; 2) Determine current status of farm; 3) Understand current constraints; 4) Develop solution options; and 5) Implement and monitor preferred solutions.

Listen to or download an interview with Dr. Waddell here: Dr. John Waddell

Darin Madson, Assistant Professor of Pathology with the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, presented the latest research findings on PCV2 in-utero infection and the role of vaccination, noting that in-utero PCV2 infection is more common than clinical reproductive disease.

“Research indicates that dam vaccination decreases reproductive disease, in-utero infection and secretion of virus through milk and colostrum. Also, research shows dam vaccination improves herd reproductive parameters, piglet weaning weights and has an effect on nursery/growth-finish mortality,” said Dr. Madson.

Listen to or download an interview with Dr. Madson here: Dr. Darin Madson

BIVI Swine Technical Manager Greg Cline discussed how 3FLEX, the first USDA approved three- way combination package, mixed and administered as a single shot for pigs three weeks of age and older, is helping producers manage these respiratory diseases. “There are many benefits to using 3FLEX. Using a combination vaccine saves time and money by reducing labor costs associated with handling and treating pigs multiple times, reduces the number of injection sites and reduces animal stress,” Dr. Cline said. BIVI has had great response from producers since the product was introduced just about a year ago.

Listen to or download interview with Greg Cline here: Dr. Greg Cline

Find out more about 3FLEX online at flexcombo.com.

2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, World Pork Expo

10 Reasons To Attend AgCareers Roundtable

Jamie Johansen

The 2012 AgCareers.com North American Ag & Food HR Roundtable is coming up and early bird registration ends next week. The conference will be held in Springdale, Arkansas, August 7-9 on Tyson Food’s Campus.

Great networking and educational opportunities are just two reasons why human resource professionals, business leaders, university/college career services staff and association representatives within the agribusiness industry should put this on their calendar.

Top 10 Reasons You Should Attend AgCareers HR Roundtable:

1. The AgCareers.com Ag & Food HR Roundtable is in its tenth year and offers the most unique and rewarding peer networking experience available in the agriculture and food industries. Click here to see the companies that participated last year.

2. This year’s Roundtable conference has been submitted to the HR Certification Institute for recertification credit hours. Last year’s Roundtable was awarded 8.75 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification.

3. Relevant content around topics requested specifically by a committee of industry HR leaders. To see a list of the companies represented on the Organizing Committee, click here.

4. Industry and key college/university professionals can interact with each other in one location during networking times. Not only are connections on this level necessary for successful internship recruitment and developing a pipeline of talent for the future, but it is a cost effective way to accomplish college recruiting initiatives by having the ability to interact with multiple organizations all at once. See who is already registered for this year’s Roundtable.

5. Brainstorming sessions allow for idea sharing and industry benchmarking. New viewpoints can provide fresh ideas on best practices and policies that can be applied to your business. Read More

AgCareers, Education, Food

Iowa Governor Visits Pork Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

There is probably no governor in any state who is a greater advocate for agriculture than Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa.

The governor visited World Pork Expo on Thursday afternoon and had some pork for lunch before addressing some remarks to producers at the NPPC Investors luncheon. “We know how important agriculture and the pork industry are to our state,” he said. “It’s an exciting time to be governor of the leading pork producing state.”

Branstad said Iowa is working very hard to increase trade opportunities. “We have a goal to increase exports by 20% over the next five years,” he said, noting that he just returned from spending a week in China.

After lunch, Branstad took a couple of questions from the media, mostly centered on the efforts of animal activists to get rid of gestation stalls, comparing it to the recent misinformation campaign about lean finely textured beef and saying that the “last thing that we should do is follow the example of the Europeans.”

Listen to or download Branstad’s lunch comments here: Iowa Governor Terry Branstad

Listen to or download Branstad’s press comments here: Iowa Governor Terry Branstad
2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Audio, World Pork Expo

Precison Ag Puts Medicine on the Hurt Place

Chuck Zimmerman

John McKeeWe like new technology and we like our gadgets. We’re called AgNerds. And AgNerds are pretty open to precision agriculture. John McKee is one of us. John is a farmer of corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. He was a civil engineer prior to farming so precision ag has come natural to him. He was also one of the speakers on the Conservation in Action Tour.

He says the bottom line is “control.” He micro-manages every piece of his farm. He thinks it’s a good business plan. As he puts it, “We’re just able to put the medicine on the hurt place.” And that makes for a good conservation practice. He says that if the dirt and crop don’t need an input like nitrogen then “we certainly don’t want to put it there.” For one thing, it’s expensive. By being able to pull back with variable rate application it saves him on his pocketbook and the environment which is a win-win for everyone. He says equipment is getting better and cheaper but it needs to continue to get better and cheaper.

Listen to my interview with John here: Interview with John McKee

2012 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by AGROTAIN
Ag Groups, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming, Precision Agriculture, Technology

NPPC President at World Pork Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

Nearly 20,000 pork producers and industry experts from about 38 countries are at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines this week, including National Pork Producers Council president R.C. Hunt of North Carolina.

I had a chance to chat with R.C. this morning after he gave an update to the media about trade issues. R.C. is excited about expo this year and the great weather we’ve had so far and he is hopeful that exports for the industry will do as well as they did last year, but he is concerned about actions of food retailers toward forcing producers to make significant production changes.

Listen to or download my interview with R.C. here: NPPC president R.C. Hunt
2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Audio, Pork, World Pork Expo

Survey on Sow Housing Released at WPX

Cindy Zimmerman

Results of a survey issued opening day at the World Pork Expo show that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. sow herd spends some time in individual housing, known as gestation stalls. The findings confirm concerns by the National Pork Producers Council about food retailers who have bowed to demands of animal activists and announced they will use only pork from operations that are gestation-stall free.

The survey, conducted by University of Missouri extension economist Ron Plain, found that currently only 17.3 percent of sows spend a portion of gestation in open pens. Plain surveyed pork operations with 1,000 or more sows. He received responses from 70 operations, which combined own about 3.6 million of the nation’s 5.7 million sows.

The Plain survey found that 20.2 percent of sows on operations of 1,000-9,999 sows, 18.9 percent on operations of 10,000-99,999 and 16.4 percent on operations of more than 100,000 are in open pens for some portion of gestation. When asked about plans to put more sows in open pens, the largest operations indicated that 23.8 percent of their sows would be in them in two years, operations of 10,000-99,999 sows would have 21.3 of their pigs in such pens and operations of 1,000-9,999 would have 20.7 percent.

Listen to an interview with Ron Plain about the survey here: MU economist Ron Plain

Listen to audio from opening press conference about the survey: WPX news conference

Thanks to Meghan Grebner and Ken Anderson of Brownfield Ag News for providing news conference audio and photos.


2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Animal Activists, Audio, Pork, World Pork Expo

Services for Mark Pearson

Cindy Zimmerman

Family, friends, farmers and fellow Iowans are saying goodbye this week to beloved “Market to Market” host Mark Pearson, who died suddenly last Sunday.


Mark’s visitation will be held at the Hy-Vee Conference Center in West Des Moines today from 4 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Plymouth Congregational Church on Friday, June 8 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Heifer International P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-8058.

Read the full obituary on Mark from the Des Moines Register here.

Farming, Media

BASF Media Summit Concludes on High Note

Cindy Zimmerman

What better way to conclude the world-class BASF Ag Media Summit in Chicago than with a trip to the top of tallest building in the Western hemisphere to look out over the city.

Pictured here are Kristen Adams and Pat Morrow, part of the crack communications team with BASF Ag that put the event together, and Paul Rea, BASF Vice President U.S. Crop Protection, at the top of Willis (formerly Sears) Tower on the Skydeck overlooking the city at night. The tower Skydeck, if you have never been there as I had not, has a series of plexiglass boxes built out over the edge of the building so you feel like you are walking right out into the air at 1,353 feet! It was a great source of entertainment, especially since they had a photographer to take pictures while you were in the box looking down on you as if you were floating over the city. Fun, but not for those who suffer from high anxiety!

I had to leave early this morning to drive from Chicago to Des Moines for World Pork Expo and I have to say that the EconoLodge in Des Moines is no Trump Tower! But, since I can walk to the fairgrounds from here, I can’t complain. It just doesn’t take too long to get spoiled in The Donald’s place!

Since I will be wrapped up in pork for the next day or so, the rest of the great stuff we learned in one short day at the BASF summit will have to wait until later, but since we started the event with a preview from Paul Rea, here is a wrap-up interview with him at the end of the day, just before we headed up to the observation deck.

Listen to my interview with Paul here. BASF's Paul Rea

I did update the photo album, so be sure to check it out here – Photos from BASF Ag Media Summit

Audio, BASF

Farm Broadcasting in the Pork Checkoff Tent

Cindy Zimmerman

Stop by the National Pork Board tent during World Pork Expo and you will be seeing some of the nation’s top farm broadcasters doing markets, interviews and commentary on the stage.

Meghan Grebner of Brownfield Ag News is pictured here interviewing NPB CEO Chris Novak during the noon show segment at the tent. She and colleague Ken Anderson will also be doing the noon show tomorrow. Other famous farm broadcasters like Pam “Fabulous Farm Babe” Jahnke will be stopping by during the day to update producers on the markets.


2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Boehringer Ingelheim, World Pork Expo

World Pork Expo Sponsored by BIVI

Cindy Zimmerman

Arrived in time for lunch today on the first day of the 2012 World Pork Expo after driving in from Chicago this morning and everything is already in full swing.

Our coverage this year is being sponsored exclusively by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., (BIVI) so the first thing I did when I got on the fairgrounds was head over to the tent where I found Trudy Luther of BIVI with Leigh Ann Cleaver and Jill Mahoney of BCS Communications all brightly branded in pork pink for the show. This is one of Jill’s first events with BCS but she is no stranger to WPX. If you look back to previous years, you will see lots of photos of Jill in her previous life with Novus International. She just recently moved from St. Louis to Kansas City to join our good friends at BCS and we are very happy to be working with her again. She is working with a fantastic team there!

So – getting a later start than normal here this year but we’ll get up to speed here soon. Got the photo album started with a couple of shots but many more will be coming!

2012 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Boehringer Ingelheim, World Pork Expo