Economics

Production Growth Ahead; Competition Heats Up - Rabobank’s 2018 Pork/Animal Protein Outlook Mr. Sterling Liddell and Ms. Christine McCracken, Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research, share data and summarize the economics of the protein markets. Mr. Liddell and Ms. McCracken also share detailed information on consumer trends plus highlight some of the risks producers must keep in their eyesight when managing their operations [video].

Video Monitoring and Web-Based Learning Mr. Earl Dodson, K·Coe Isom, covers several technologies to help address animal welfare and worker safety in farm operations. Video monitoring and web-based learning are important to help improve the education of staff and to help farms be compliant with their customers' need to see what is happening on farm [video].

SwineCast 1007 Show Notes:

• Just as we're interested in our customers' perspective, our suppliers like to hear our likes and dislikes. At the United Soybean Board’s February meeting, a panel of animal nutritionists explained to soybean farmers what they’re looking for in their animals’ diets. With both the poultry and swine industries represented, we thought you'd find it of value. Panel members included Randy Mitchell, vice president, technical services at Perdue Farms, for the poultry industry perspective and Dr. Dean Boyd, technical director for The Hanor Company, for the swine industry perspective. Gordon Denny, USB’s soybean meal market analyst, moderated the panel.

Prices and Profitability: Economic Outlook Dr. Steve Meyer, Kerns and Associates, provides a refresh on the current economics for the pork business. Dr. Meyer reminds the audience of the risks of foreign animal disease, trade policy and politics uncertainly, and prices if all the processing plants get full in 2019 [video].

Utilizing Livestock Manure in a Cover Crop Program [video].

USDA Dietary Guidelines: Why aren't they telling us to eat like pigs? Dr. Eric Berg, North Dakota State University, talks about the USDA human dietary guidelines, and how they are created. Dr. Berg provides background on the state of American diets today and the current impacts to health. Dr. Berg also shares the results of a study that used swine as a model for humans, feeding them what humans would eat, replacing the sugar in a modern, average American diet with cooked ground beef: Would this change alter body composition and risk factors for obesity-related metabolic disorders [video]?

The Chesapeake Bay Producer Perspective Ms. Jennifer Debnam, Maryland Pork Producers Association, highlights more about agriculture in the state of Maryland. Ms. Debnam shares the experiences of phosphorus risk assessment and management in Maryland, highlighting how the relationships between farmers, legislature, Federal government, and environmental groups adversely impacted agriculture. Ms. Debnam closes with observations on how farmers need to be diligent in their relationships with environmental researchers and groups, and understand how environmental science evolves [video].