Month: April 2022

There are several ways to evaluate feed cost and feed performance in wean-to-market pigs. Each method can provide a very different answer for the producer on what is the “BEST” way to feed a pig. In a perfect world we find the ideal marriage between biological performance and feed cost. However, the equation isn’t so…

As swine producers, you all pay a health tax at the end of the year, whether you know it or not. This tax is paid on every pig and reflects the cost of less-than-perfect health in an operation. The health tax is often far larger than producers recognize and is consistently evident year after year…

PIPESTONE’s relationship with the Mexican swine industry is not new. Multiple interactions between our technical team and local players have occurred over the past few decades. However, it was not until 2015, when PIPESTONE had the opportunity to participate in a start-up project of 10,000 sows, that this relationship got more formally established. This successful…

The #1 key to preventing African Swine Fever virus (ASF) breaks is improving biosecurity. Be flexible. Use the sites and infrastructure around you to optimize health and production in ways you may not have attempted thus far. Use feed mitigants. Depopulating continuous flow sites with viral health challenges is key to recovering performance. Grow/Finish biosecurity…

Personal Background: I come from a very humble family that had to immigrate from Zacatecas to Jalisco in search of opportunities. I am the fourth of seven siblings. I have always been involved in agriculture. From my childhood I was forced to leave school and start working at age of 13 to help my parents…

20 years ago, PIPESTONE started consulting in China. Consultation then turned into management, and later, ownership. Today, PIPESTONE is a minority owner in Riverstone, the operations group in Shandong Province. PIPESTONE oversees day-to-day operation for Riverstone, and Dr. Luke Minion serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. In China, Riverstone is managing…

Pork is the most consumed meat in the world. As a result, pig farming is a global pursuit. While the USA exports a significant portion of the pork we raise (nearly 30%), most pork is consumed within the country where the pigs were raised. As PIPESTONE has grown and evolved over the last 25 years,…

Growing up, I was involved in the swine industry by showing pigs, helping vaccinate weaned pigs for local farms, and working for PIPESTONE in the wean-to-finish records department. As the time came close for me to think about college and my future career, I knew I wanted to work in the swine industry and help…