Year: 2017

Celebrate the holiday season with an Open House! During the holiday season, it’s nice to open your home to share what you have been blessed with.  But planning a holiday get-together and put stress levels through the roof.  Here’s your easy plan to guarantee a great night with friends and family. Below is a guide…

I recently had the opportunity to host a group of food bloggers at a farm that I am the veterinarian for in South Dakota.  Prior to this event, I didn’t have a good understanding of what food blogging entailed aside from a couple quick visits to The Pioneer Woman’s blog!  But let me tell you……

Two Pipestone employees had the opportunity to see firsthand the impact that even a small contribution can make to children and families in the developing world.  Dr. Jay Bobb, veterinarian, and Jenna Hauglid, Pipestone Grow Finish, Nutrition Account Manager, traveled to Ethiopia in October 2017 to tour schools and other programs that benefited from a…

Heat stress has negative effects on sow production and reproduction performance. Heat stress has multiple impacts on animal metabolism and physiology. These include: increased body core temperature, homeorhetic adaptations that increase blood flow to the skin to dissipate radiant heat, increased respiration rates to remove the excess heat, and reduced feed intake as a strategy…

Pipestone has continued to study the effects of lactation length and have completed two large scale trials through our research facilities. The first trial was designed to understand lactation lengths impact on sow weight and growing pig performance.  We looked at five treatment groups from 21 days to 30 days wean age in 2-day increments.The…

Recent stories in some well-read media publications make it very difficult for consumers to weed out the difference between the truth about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) versus assumptions. Media suggests that the livestock industry is not properly managing the antibiotic issue.  Assumptions like this have led to action, such as the recent San Francisco law requiring…

All across the Midwest, we are starting to experience the changing of the seasons.  Weather is changing, kids are heading back to school, and combines are being prepared for the impending harvest.  For many swine producers, unfortunately, it is also a time of year which conjures up thoughts of PRRS virus.  Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive…

Written by Kevin Schulz Kevin Schultz is a Senior Content Specialist with National Hog Farmer magazine Dr. Scott Dee of Pipestone Veterinary Services shares what we’ve learned about air filtration over the years and how it’s making a difference in the industry. PRRS has been a game changer in the swine industry, and filtration of hog barns…

Starting as a teenager, Ryan Weinkauf has taken a step by step approach to raising pigs and building his farming operation. Ryan grew up as the third generation on his family’s farm just outside of Pipestone, Minnesota. “Dad started raising pigs in the 1970s and 1980s in an old barn, then modernized the barn and…

By: Brian Stevens, President of Big Stone Marketing Here it is the middle of August and we have some pretty significant changes underway in the Pork Industry and I thought I should talk about it in this month’s newsletter.  The topic is the additional packing capacity our industry is adding.  We have two remodeled pork…

You have the diagnostics in hand. The results tie your stomach in knots, the sample is PRRS virus  PCR positive. If you are lucky, you have not experienced this before but if you are like the other 99% of the people in the swine industry, you have had this feeling. But what now? Do you…

Some of the most common pests within a hog operation include your common house fly and fruit fly. These pests are not only a risk for transferring diseases but are also a nuisance to the animals and people that work or reside in these barns. Once these pests are established within your operation it can…

When I was first being introduced to the swine industry six years ago, I barely scratched the surface on seeing how fast-paced the industry drove its own improvement. Growing up on a purebred beef cattle farm, the idea of upgrading production practices was pretty foreign aside from some attempts at lower-stress handling facilities. Our idea…

Have you ever unloaded a group of pigs that are heat stressed following transportation? How do you manage transportation during months of high heat and humidity to prevent or minimize heat stress and transport losses? Here are a few tips to help your pigs weather summer heat and humidity.  It all comes down to managing…

Often we are so overwhelmed with information being shared – through main stream news, social media, and conversations with friends or co-workers.  It can be challenging to decipher what is true versus a myth.  As a veterinarian and mother of two young children, I recognize the importance of getting the facts about the food we…

Check out our NEW Swine Shirts! “STOP Swine-ing and Get to Work” and “Get Piggy with it“

Food Safety Modernization Act: Highlights for pig producers and feed manufacturers It may only be June but many feed mills are currently gearing up for the September 18th deadline to be compliant with the newly installed Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA. This new federal regulation was actually put into law in January of 2011 but…

On May 23rd, 2017 all farm employees met for the semiannual meeting for the afternoon at four different locations to cover: production highlights, gilt productivity and animal welfare and biosecurity review. One of the highlights of the meeting Pipestone Management presents one individual with the Dave Neuberger II Award. This award is presented annually in…

We are proud to welcome Dr. Monte Fuhrman to the Pipestone Veterinary Services team! Dr. Fuhrman is a native of Warner, SD and graduate of South Dakota State University and Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Since graduation, he has spent his career providing swine veterinary service and consultation across the mid-west, including South…

Pipestone Veterinary Services is excited to announce the addition of Bethany Swine Health Services.  The acquisition made in April of 2017 will bring Pipestone Veterinary Services to five clinic locations with 34 veterinarians on staff. Pipestone’s veterinarian Dr. Adam Schelkopf’s family has successfully operated the Bethany Animal Hospital for more than 40 years.  Dr.’s Mike…

The FDA inspector will likely tell you the specific VFD that they randomly selected which prompted a visit to your farm – be prepared with details on that VFD / group of pigs such as: How long did you medicate the pigs? Does this match up with the duration listed by your veterinarian on the…

By: Sylvia Wolters After winter, we’re all itching to get outdoors, so why not get to know your neighbors with a spring BBQ!  We’ve made a party for 10 or 100 easy.  There are two key things that will make your event a success! Plan your work … work your plan.  When plan A fails,…

Since 1942, Pipestone Veterinary Services (PVS) has provided quality care to animals large and small. As we celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2017, we’d like to highlight some of the rich history of the practice that has called home to the Pipestone community for so many years. The Pipestone Vet Clinic was founded in 1942…

Scours can be a difficult and chronic issue within a farrowing barn. Not only does it affect the health and growth of the pig, but it also can be detrimental to people who work in the farms daily. For this article, I will not be talking about treatments for scours, but rather potential areas of…

By: Dr. Carissa Odland Emma, my 4-year-old daughter, recently had what I suspected was an ear infection – then she started having drainage out of the ear, which has been typical for her.  Ear infections are typically caused by viruses so I did not think it was necessary to take her to the doctor.  We…

Award season is upon us, recently South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa held their Pork Congress events.  Many were nominated by their neighbors and peers for their dedication, innovation and efficiency at their farm and with the pork industry. Throughout all three states, we have some customers and employees we would like to spotlight. Marti Knobloch-…

(CLIVE, Iowa) — A veterinarian for a Minnesota-based pork production company has been named a 2016 Master Pork Partner by the Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. IPPA recognized Dr. Bryan Myers of Independence in Buchanan County at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines last night. He received…

Spencer Wayne, PhD, DVM – Pipestone Veterinary Services 1.      Don’t Cut the Wrong Corners When things get tight, a logical first step is to start trimming costs, but be careful when doing this.  Things were put in place for a reason.  Make sure that the reason is still attended to.  Here are some examples regarding…

PIPESTONE teamed up with local grocery stores this holiday season on a project called “Give a Helping Ham” with one goal in mind: Help Fight Hunger.  One out of every five kids in America struggle with hunger.   “There are an astounding number of families in our community that are food insecure.  Give a Helping Ham…

PART Antibiotic Use & Antibiotic Resistance (amongst animal welfare and gestation stalls) is one of the top concerns that consumers have today with how their food is raised.  This concern has become evident with the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) recently going into effect, which discontinued the sub-therapeutic (growth promotion) use of medically important antibiotics and…