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© 2025 Feedstuffs in Focus
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Feedstuffs in Focus is a weekly look at the hot issues in the livestock, poultry, grain and feed industries. Join us as we talk with industry influencers, experts and leaders about trends and more. Feedstuffs in Focus is produced by the team at Feedstuffs.
310 Episodes
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Some ideas feel too simple to matter—until the data proves they move the needle on survival. We sit down with Dr. Jordan Gebhardt from Kansas State University to unpack how feed form, small management choices, and genetics combine to cut nursery removals and mortality. From creep feed strategy to the surprising power of very large pellets, we explore why pigs eat more when feed doubles as a social stimulus and how that early intake protects against the post-weaning dip. We break down practic...
Think water is the simplest input on a swine farm? We open the waterlines and find a living system that can quietly limit growth, blunt medications, and raise mortality if it goes unmanaged. With Dr. Gabi Doughan from Iowa State University, we connect barn-floor realities to lab-backed strategies that turn “clean enough” water into a performance advantage. We walk through a practical roadmap for testing what truly matters at the source and the drinker: pH and hardness that drive mineral scal...
Want to see how tiny viruses could reshape dairy nutrition? We sit down with Dr. Hugo Monteiro of the University of California-Davis to explore the unseen forces inside the rumen and how they tie directly to feed efficiency, milk production, and methane reduction. His work connects residual feed intake (RFI), microbial ecology, and host genetics into a framework that makes efficiency measurable and actionable. We start by clarifying why RFI outperforms traditional metrics: it isolates true b...
Weather rarely cooperates, cows never take a day off, and forage quality used to hinge on a calendar. We sit down with Phil Bollman, National Sales and Marketing Director at Forage Genetics International, to unpack how lower‑lignin alfalfa flips the script on the old quality‑versus‑tonnage compromise and gives dairy producers real control over digestibility, timing, and ROI. Phil draws on decades as a dairy nutritionist to explain why alfalfa remains the backbone of high‑performing rations: ...
A skilled, year-round workforce, volatile trade winds, and a surprising turn in nutrition policy: that’s the terrain U.S. dairy is navigating right now. We sit down with Gregg Doud, CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation and former U.S. ag negotiator, to map the levers that actually move the needle—from immigration reform that reflects 365‑day operations to trade strategies that depend on credible, USTR-sealed agreements. Doud breaks down why H‑2A misses the mark for dairy, how House ...
One sneeze at the barn door can ripple through an entire system. We sit down with Dr. Emily McDowell of Pipestone Veterinary Services to dig into one of the most fixable pathway in swine respiratory disease: human influenza spilling over into pigs. Rather than chasing every virus already circulating in herds, we focus on the front door—how people, air, and tools move—and show why simple, consistent controls can slash introductions and keep productivity steady. We break down the practical mov...
The age-old compromise between quality and yield in alfalfa production has frustrated dairy farmers for generations. Harvest too early and you sacrifice yield; harvest too late, and quality suffers, requiring expensive supplements for high-producing dairy cows. This dilemma has pushed farmers toward increasingly frequent cutting schedules just to maintain quality – until now. Dave Witte and Parker Heise from Forage Genetics International reveal how the revolutionary HarvXtra Alfalfa trait is...
Trust lies at the heart of agricultural innovation's greatest challenge. While technology has transformed countless industries, many promising agricultural technologies hit a wall at the farm gate. Why? Because farmers and ranchers need more than just promises – they need evidence, support, and validation from trusted sources. Land O'Lakes has launched an ambitious solution to this persistent problem. Their new coalition, AgRogue Growth Partners brings together Radical Growth, six major reta...
Agriculture needs new voices and perspectives, but how do you attract talented individuals who've never considered careers in the field? Ryan Locke, National President of MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences), offers a compelling answer in this eye-opening conversation from this week's Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Nebraska. Locke reveals how MANRRS bridges the critical gap between agricultural opportunities and underrepresented groups, going beyon...
Facing the stark reality that roughly one-third of all pigs in commercial production never make it to market, the swine industry has mobilized an unprecedented collaborative effort to tackle mortality head-on. The Improving Pig Survivability Project represents a groundbreaking partnership between academic institutions and commercial producers, funded by the National Pork Board and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. This comprehensive initiative has already yielded tangible res...
Avian influenza has hit Hickman's Family Farm in Arizona, wiping out 6 million egg-laying hens and forcing hundreds of layoffs. But as Glenn Hickman and veterinarian Dr. Kay Russo reveal, this devastating loss might have been preventable. The current H5N1 virus has evolved in an unprecedented way, jumping from birds to dairy cattle and even back to poultry operations. This complex transmission pattern has created a perfect storm for egg producers, with 28 million of last year's 39 million la...
Feed milling dynamics might not sound like the most thrilling topic at first glance, but as Shawn Bradshaw of Adisseo reveals, it's at the heart of animal agriculture's future. What truly defines success in feed manufacturing? Bradshaw takes us beyond the obvious metrics of quality and consistency to explore the multifaceted nature of operational excellence. Safety rightfully claims the top spot, encompassing both product safety and employee wellbeing, followed by regulatory compliance...
Could something as seemingly simple as air quality management cut your PRRS outbreak risk in half? The latest research suggests exactly that – and it's changing how producers think about biosecurity investments. A groundbreaking study from the University of Minnesota has revealed that properly implemented air filtration systems reduce PRRS outbreak risks by 51-58% compared to non-filtered farms. This comprehensive research analyzed data from the Morrison Swine Health Monitoring Project, repr...
Every summer, pig farmers face a frustrating reality: heat stress causes carcass weights to drop by 8-10 pounds precisely when market prices peak. But what if you could capture those lost pounds and the profits they represent? Dr. David Rosero of Iowa State University and Dr. Bart Borg of Passel Farms reveal game-changing strategies to combat the summer weight dip through strategic soybean meal utilization. Their research demonstrates that understanding the minimum effective levels of soybea...
The agricultural landscape is evolving rapidly, and artificial intelligence (AI) stands at the forefront of this transformation. Jacqui Fatka, farm supply and biofuels economist with CoBank, takes us on a comprehensive journey through AI's emerging role in agricultural retail and farm supply cooperatives. Far from threatening the traditional relationships between farmers and their trusted advisors, AI offers powerful tools to strengthen these connections. As Fatka explains, "That relationshi...
A Super Bowl commercial extolling "a world without cows" became the final straw for Alltech, spurring them to commission a documentary that would tell the real story of global animal agriculture. What emerged after three and a half years of investigation across 40 locations worldwide is a compelling narrative that's changing minds—even among non-agricultural audiences. "World Without Cows" takes viewers on a global journey examining the multifaceted role of cattle in our food systems, econom...
Phibro Animal Health made a landmark move in the animal health industry with its recent acquisition of the medicated feed additive product portfolio and certain water-soluble products from Zoetis, Inc. This pivotal expansion marks a significant advancement in fulfilling the company's mission of optimizing global animal health for a more sustainable world. During our conversation at the World Pork Expo with Scott Fry, Director of Swine Business, and Larry Miller, Chief Operating Officer, we e...
A collaboration between the Angus Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund and Global Methane Fund has sparked passionate debate throughout the cattle industry. At its heart lies a $4.85 million research grant focused on exploring genetic differences in methane production among cattle—but as we discover, this project represents far more than environmental concerns. Matt Perrier of Dalebanks Angus, whose family has ranched the same Kansas land since 1867, offers a producer's perspective on why thi...
PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) stands as the most economically devastating disease in US swine production since the eradication of classic swine fever. What makes this viral pathogen so destructive? Dr. Nic Lauterbach, Technical Services Veterinarian with Pharmgate Animal Health, brings seven years of front-line experience battling PRRS to this essential conversation. The days of PRRS being merely a seasonal concern have vanished. Modern producers now face this challeng...
Taste is taking center stage as the National Pork Board unveils a bold new strategy to transform how consumers—especially younger generations—think about pork. Sarah Showalter and Neal Hull reveal how deep consumer insights are reshaping the future of pork marketing in America. At the heart of this transformation is a surprising disconnect: millennials and Gen Z consumers who claim they "don't eat pork" while enthusiastically consuming bacon, ribs, pepperoni, and sausage. This revelation has...
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