Sustainability is a concept that has become increasingly important to large companies and national governments. However, most people don’t realize that sustainable practices can help you conserve resources and reduce waste at home as well. As we enter Spring, there are many activities that fit into sustainable living that would not only be environmentally beneficial…
Category: Articles

Risk Management
A profitable pork enterprise is the goal of every pork producer. There are many considerations when thinking of profitability in the pork production sector. One of the most critical is that of Risk Management. The main idea behind risk management is the desire to transfer the risk that a producer has in their hog inventory…

CVO Comments: The Economics of a Pig
What does disease cost? It ultimately depends on what disease (or diseases) your pig farm is challenged with – but disease has a cost and it can be measured in dollars and cents. Dr. Adam Schelkopf described it another way when he talked about the “Health Tax”. Every pig farmer pays this “tax”. Some pay…

Cost of PRRS
Time and time again as veterinarians we are asked what our highest priority need is in swine health today. The answer is simple and unfortunately has not changed for decades now. PRRS, or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus, continues to be the most detrimental and costly disease that swine producers face in the United…

Internship Highlights
Each summer, PIPESTONE provides the opportunity for college students from all over the nation to gain real-world experience within the swine industry. This year, PIPESTONE welcomed 14 interns from 12 different colleges to work within 7 departments. These departments included production, information technology, nutrition, research, public relations, marketing and veterinary services. Throughout the summer, interns…

Join the Family Farm with Eyes Wide Open
Family businesses are often complex and making the decision to join the family farm is no different. Most young adults are exited to come back to the farm to do the work they love. The following is a list of questions the next generation should consider answering about their family business, themselves and their family…

Why Rye?
Capturing Farm to Fork Benefits through Feed Hybrid rye has been gaining traction as an alternative feed stuff in the upper Midwest. Compared to conventional rye, the hybrid varieties have shown to be better yielding, less susceptible to ergot (a grain fungus) and more drought tolerant. From the agronomic standpoint, hybrid rye can reduce the…

Manure Management
The Do’s and Dont’s the Do’s Manure Application Manure is the constant byproduct of every producer operation. Continuing to be constantly aware of your manure disposal and application procedures can help to avoid last minute emergencies from popping up and leading to costly, short-term solutions. Developing a couple of steady habits can ensure the smooth…

Biosecurity
Why is it important in wean-to-market barns? Biosecurity. It is a big bold word but has it revolutionized the swine industry over decades? We go to extraordinary lengths to enhance sow farm biosecurity, which has historically been rewarded well. This begs the question: why do we not have near the standards for biosecurity in wean-to-market…

5 Steps to Ensure Proper Handling and Transport of Pigs to Market
Proper handling and transporting of pigs to market is the final step in raising pigs. Following these basic but necessary steps helps to ensure the farmer can capitalize on the significant dollars they have invested in and worked hard to produce. 1. Proper Choring Throughout the pig’s life, properly walk the pens while choring to…
Pig Care Management: Early, Middle & Late
Early Pig Care Management As hog producers, we strive to provide a safe and healthy environment to raise our animals. It is crucial to take the following steps to start your pigs to ensure you’re providing a strong foundation for the rest of the group. Before placing pigs, barn sanitation, feed, water, and environment…

FarmTeam Value
Today’s modern pig farmers have to balance and put focus on countless areas of impact in order to maximize success. In the newly weaned and growing pigs, herd health, feeding strategies, marketing, and risk management are just the beginning to a long list of important details. One additional area of focus that cannot be forgotten…

Feed Management: How to Manage Your Feeders
In the midst of record feed prices paced by $7-8/bu corn, in-barn feeder management should be a top priority for all producers. Spending over $100/pig in feed cost is already painful enough and shouldn’t be exacerbated by improper feeders or feeder settings. I tend to break feeder management into 3 buckets: Selecting the…

Three Foundations of Proper Pig Care: The animal, environment and equipment
Daily observations are not just a Pork Quality Assurance catch phrase, they are a foundational principal of proper pig care. Pig well-being and welfare starts with a daily evaluation of the animal, the environment, and the equipment. The Animal There are the obvious items we should be checking every day. Does the pig have food…

CVO Comments: Animal Welfare- How Does Your Farm Stack Up?
At the recent Pipestone Summit, we had an interesting exchange on pig farm biosecurity and the contrast between biosecurity measures employed at the sow farm and those effectively implemented in the wean to finish (W-F) farms. The takeaway for most was the striking gap found between sow farms and growing pig sites, with the breeding…

PIPESTONE Sustainability: Carbon Footprint
“Climate change” and “climate crisis” are topics that have gained the attention of policymakers and businesses across the globe. The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report released in 2021 noted, “Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emission, limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C will be beyond reach.” As…

PIPESTONE Sustainability: Safety
⇒ In support of our Core Values of integrity, caring, commitment, growth and teamwork, employee safety is our top priority. Along with the great responsibility we have of caring for our animals, we understand that there are inherent risks to people safety within the swine production industry. Supporting staff personally visit; various support groups personally…

PIPESTONE Antibiotic Use Standards (PORK)
We recognize the growing global concern over Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), its impact for human medicine, veterinary medicine, public and animal health, as well as society and the shared concern of antibiotic use’s influence on AMR. PIPESTONE’s commitment to Responsible Antibiotic Use and reduced AMR serves as the framework for our Pipestone Antibiotic Use Standards (PORK).…
Two Reports to Boost Your Confidence in Decision-Making
How can you use data to drive your decision-making process? Big Stone Marketing, in collaboration with other PIPESTONE business units, would like to share two reports to help you get there: Precision Marketing & Marketing Report. Precision Marketing The precision marketing reports allow producers to more specifically control the impact of day to day…

Chief Veterinary Comments- Data Driven Decisions
We live in the so-called “Information Age”. Data is being collected all around us. Today, the power of computing and digital technology have made collecting, analyzing and transferring data easier than ever. As a result, we have more information than ever at our fingertips. Good information for making business decisions can be invaluable; however, it…

Performance Impact of an Older Weaned Pig
The process of using data to make strategic production decisions is not new for PIPESTONE. It’s a process that usually starts with a concept, sometimes born of intuition, but more often born of necessity. It also requires a collaborative effort by PIPESTONE business units to bring the concept full circle. In 2016, Pipestone Applied Research…

Communicating Your Story to Consumers
Today, consumers are asking more questions than ever about where their food comes from and how animals are cared for. As a farmer and agriculturalist, it is our responsibility to share our story. To earn trust, communicating shared values is 3-5x more important than just sharing information. Consumers want to find shared values, such as…

Balancing Act: Biological Performance & Feed Cost
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…

A New Health Paradigm: How to Reduce the Health Tax
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…

Mexico: PIPESTONE's Experience in Mexico
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…

China: Top 10 Learnings from Boots on the Ground Experience
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…

Q&A with Mexico's Production Director, Ezequiel Guardado Valdez
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…

Q&A with China's Production Director, Duan Lian Mao
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…

Chief Veterinary Officer Comments- Spring 2022
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,…

Driving Force: Four Tips for Turning Swine Industry Passion Into a Career
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…

8 Winter Ventilation Concepts
There are many items to remember as winter ventilation is upon us of how we want barns to operate. Here are a few to think of as you are braving the cold. 1. Set Points This is what you are telling the barn to maintain temperature at. Typically, barns will be 1-2 degrees…

Risk Management
Having a risk management plan is critical for all hog producers, especially today with the extreme volatility of our hog and pork markets and with the increased risk of African Swine Fever making it into the United States. Hog producers really should protect their revenue and profit opportunities when they arise. Through Big Stone Marketing,…

Global Supply Chain Traffic Jam: Feed
There has been a lot of chatter regarding the global supply chain as of late. Whether it’s referencing store shelves being empty, truck driver shortages or national ports being clogged, there has been an increased awareness of disruptions. If we are truly going to solve the issues, we need to understand how we got in…

Supply Chain Crisis: Products
The 2021 supply chain issues are well known. Various news publications speak to the challenge of logistics via air, ocean, road and rail, as well as the lack of labor and materials. From an animal health perspective, the availability of raw ingredients that make up many of the products we use, or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients…

Our Experience with Fighting African Swine Fever Transmission Through Feed
African Swine Fever (ASF) is an inevitable topic as we talk about the global swine industry, especially after August 2018 when ASF was reported for the first time in China, the world’s largest pig producer and consumer. As a highly fatal disease with no effective treatment or commercial vaccine, ASF resulted in a nearly 40%…

PIPESTONE Risk Assessment on African Swine Fever Reaching the United States
African swine fever (ASF) was diagnosed on Hispaniola in the Caribbean this summer, the Dominican Republic in July 2021, and in Haiti in September 2021. This is the first time since the 1980s that the virus has been found in the Western Hemisphere. It has never been diagnosed in the United States. There is a…

Driving Force: Three 'Non-Negotiables' for Vaccinating Young Pigs
When it comes to raising and investing in show pigs, our goal is to keep them healthy and productive in preparation for the show ring. The first few weeks of a piglet’s life are critical for setting them up with a strong foundation to help them develop immunity and protect them throughout their show career.…

U.S. Pork Exports Continue to Surge, Overcoming COVID and Other Challenges
Despite COVID-19 and what seemed like a dozen other challenges, the United States pork industry in 2020 exported a record amount of pork, and it’s poised to set a new record this year. In fact, through August 2021, America’s pork producers already had shipped to foreign destinations $5.8 billion worth of product compared with about…

Gifts for Good
One of the core values we live by at PIPESTONE is Caring. Caring means caring for our team members, animals and communities. Our charitable efforts aim to make a difference in the lives of our local and global community members. Domestically, we donate to: Children’s Home Society Atlas The Banquet in Sioux Falls…

I Wouldn't Bet the Farm on it.
I’m an optimistic person by nature, but I’ve had to become more of a realist. This is truer than ever when preparing our business, and our clients, for the potential of a foreign animal disease entrance into the U.S. In recent months, I’ve pivoted from talking about IF an African Swine Fever (ASF) introduction will…

Feeding the Sow for Healthier Piglets
Do you think you can impact the health of your piglets in the nursery by what the sow is eating at the sow farm? We had the very same question, and set out to conduct a research trial to test the idea. If we could improve the health and performance of the pigs in the…

Behind the Label
Grocery shopping is a balancing act of buying the “best” for your family while also staying within your budget. With the large variety of food labels out there, it can be hard to know what you’re buying. When it comes to understanding food labels there are a couple points to remember. All…

Design Matters: Farm Layout Plays an Important Role in Pig Health
What are the greatest factors that influence pig health? Most will say the health of the sow farm, pig density and area disease pressure. While these are all true, a common item gets overlooked: the overall design of the operation. This topic can even be broken down into the macro and micro features of the…

Reduce Antibiotic Usage and Improve Full Value Pigs at Market
The goal for most swine producers is to make money raising hogs. With current ingredient prices, we have been getting many questions about how to reduce feed cost, which is a great question. However, many producers focus on feed cost per ton and immediately focus on the nursery diets. The most expensive feed cost per…

Problem?... Solution! The Importance of Responsible Antibiotic Use
I am old enough now to have seen a significant arc of attitude regarding antibiotic use. Our attitude. Public attitude. Government attitude. At one time, antibiotic use would have been a very quick decision for me or my clients. Problem?… Solution! But the landscape is different today, and for several valid reasons. If we are…

PRRSV 144: A Rapid Response to a National Crisis
In partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., Pipestone Research has provided a rapid response to bring science-based answers to managing the emergence of PRRSV 144 L1C. Based on field observations from practitioners and producers, stating that, “This is the worst strain of PRRSV ever,” “Vaccines don’t work anymore,” and “Biosecurity protocols are ineffective,”…

The Evolution of PART
The Pipestone Antibiotic Resistance Tracker (PART) celebrates its fifth birthday this month. Like most things, a lot has changed in that time and we wanted to share a bit about the background, learning and forward vision of this important tool. In the summer of 2016, we welcomed a national fast-food chain to PIPESTONE to showcase…

Competitive Strategy on Farm
In 1980, Michael Porter, distinguished professor at Harvard Business School, wrote that competitive strategy is “how a firm can actually create and sustain a competitive advantage in its industry.” In his book Competitive Strategy, he outlines that the two basic types of competitive advantage are cost leadership and differentiation. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a…

Old Assets: Retain, Replace or Remodel?
Facilities play a large role in the health of your pigs and profitability of your pig business. As assets age, it’s important to evaluate your best facility strategy moving forward: retain, replace or remodel. Below are some considerations to take into account when making your decision. If your answer was “no” for…

Unintended Consequences of Well-Intentioned Employers
While this is not an exhaustive list for employers, it is a sampling of the most common mis-steps well-intentioned employers make as they work through their day-to-day responsibilities of running a business and employing a team. 1. Unrealistic Expectations Employers often set their expectations of employees high to encourage workplace efficiency…

Using KPI's to Understand the Impact of Production Decisions
Money. The driving factor at the end of the day to make sure bills are paid and food is on the table. Everything comes at a cost, especially change within your family farm operation. Suggested changes are often quickly dismissed because capital outlay is high. Utilizing Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) in your operation can help…

Enhance Nutrition Performance In Three Steps
We all know that nutrition is a key component to successful pig performance. So, what takes nutrition from good to better to best? A combination of formulation, ingredient procurement, and nutrition partnerships will set your farm up for a successful nutrition program. 1. Formulation to perform Formulation is an art form and takes an innate…

Summer Diet Formulation Hacks
It is that time of year again; the sun is shining, the days are longer, and the snow has melted away. Before we know it, the summer heat will also be here too but unfortunately, when it comes to raising pigs, the summer warmth means added heat stress and reduced growth performance when pigs are…

Stop the Spread.
PRRS, the 4-letter abbreviation that should make any hog producer shutter. The extensive disease pressure this year has likely caused this feeling more than once. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is a viral disease resulting in complications with reproduction and respiratory disease in pigs of any age. Since last fall, there has been an…

Don't Forget to Practice Biosecurity During Pig Show Season
In the summer, many of us look forward to county fairs, state fairs and many other livestock exhibitions. For many of us, this is a time to get off the farm and meet neighbors, friends and family. It is important to remember that the livestock we leave at home are actually the ones that pay…

Responsible Imports
As the epidemic of African Swine Fever (ASF) spreads throughout China, it raises animal welfare and economic issues for the swine industry in China and the United States. Classified as a foreign animal disease, ASF in the United States would immediately stop the export of pork products, costing the United States economy $16.5…

Production Efficiencies
This year we have implemented several production efficiencies to focus our efforts on sustainable farming. Three production efficiencies to remain sustainable on farm include water usage, energy consumption, and reducing waste. As an outcome of COVID-19, we re-evaluated many of our production Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and determined ways to reduce cost at the sow…

Methane Digester
When evaluating the carbon footprints at the sow farms managed by Pipestone Management, we found that manure accounts for roughly 30% of emissions. So, if your goal is to reduce your overall carbon footprint, how do you do that with manure? One method to gain traction in the industry is methane digesters. Recently completing a…

PORK Responsible Antibiotic Use Standard
PIPESTONE provides veterinary services to pig farmers all over the world. We recognize the growing global concern over Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and its impact on human and animal health. We share society’s concern of the potential impact of antibiotic use on AMR. With the health and production tools available today, we can raise pigs with…

Essentials of Business Succession Planning
Through good times and bad in agriculture, farmers generally cherish the idea of passing their family farm on to the next generation. The farm community’s practice is to celebrate and even commemorate the moment the family farm reaches the century mark. However, according to the PWC 2016 US Family Business Survey, only slightly over half…

Creating a Sustainable Pig... All Starts in the Field
The pork industry is a buzz with carbon reduction goals and even carbon neutrality. Two questions often asked are what is a carbon neutral pig and what can farmers do? A carbon neutral pig has net zero carbon dioxide emission equivalents (CO2e) into the atmosphere during its lifetime. CO2e is a term used to express…

Cost of Feed Production
There are three drivers influencing cost of production today; facilities, weaned pigs and feed, with feed cost accounting for over 60% of the total cost of production. In the last 90 days, we have seen feed cost per pig increase >$20/pig. Now more than ever, producers should be focused on improving feed efficiency as a…

Animal Welfare
Training | Tools | Tracking PIPESTONE and the families we work with are committed to producing safe food, protecting our environment, and providing the best care for our animals. Whether I am working with an individual family farmer or the team at PIPESTONE, when it comes to animal welfare we talk about incorporating the three…

Innovation in Production
The tech service team works to challenge current production protocols, evaluate new ideas and technology, and provide real data to make decisions. Utilizing actual sow farms, we can conduct large scale field research trials in actual production conditions. This helps to gain valuable information to implement in sow farms managed by Pipestone Management. New products…

7 Ways to Build Working Capital
During periods of high commodity prices and profitability, farm business owners should be diligent to financially prepare for the next period of low prices. The following are strategies that could help you build working capital to be ready for the next cycle of low prices. Improve operational efficiency Aggressively managing operational efficiency is the most…

Innovation in Nutrition
Innovation in nutrition comes in many forms at PIPESTONE. From new technology, to better feed management, to improving the feed quality across our 40+ feed mills that feed sows managed by Pipestone Management, we are continually investigating ways to bring value. What does the body condition of an “ideal” sow look like in your mind?…

When Cheap Diets Fail
Everyone likes a deal! Who doesn’t? If there is an opportunity to buy something at a “good” price most people jump at the opportunity. But sometimes the deal isn’t as good as what we thought and is not figured out until after the fact.The same thing can happen with nutrition or formulation. One of the…

History and Advancement of Innovation
In 1942, Drs. E.A. Scheweim and P.A. Pinkert founded the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic. Since then, the company has continued to innovate while serving our mission of Helping Farmers Today Create the Farms of Tomorrow. In 1988, the Pipestone Management was founded and in 1990 Hiawatha Gilts, LTD was built and became the first Pipestone Management…

Pivot to Meet Ever-Changing Pig Care
This year marks 30 years that the sow farm Hiawatha Gilts was constructed in Pipestone county, Minnesota birthing what would become the Pipestone Management and change modern swine production. Most intriguing is what Hiawatha represents as we think about innovation and the progression of health management. Hiawatha started as a multi farmer-owned farrow to finish…

Take Advantage when Profit Opportunities Become a Reality
The year 2020 has been anything but normal. I think we can all agree that the hog and pork markets are as volatile as ever! In recent years, this industry has undergone PEDV, African Swine Fever, and now Covid-19. All of the market ups and downs isn’t for the faint of heart. Big Stone Marketing…

Antibiotic Resita-WHAT?
We all share a concern for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and its impact on human medicine, veterinary medicine, and global society. As veterinarians, our first instinct is to correct the problem! As scientists, we want data to help craft the plan. As a mother (and as a human being in general), I (and others) want to…

Do you work with a Veterinarian and do you follow their guidelines for antimicrobial use?
The bare minimum to meet this requirement is to have a Vet physically on site one time per year and to have written scripts for all prescription products on site. If this is the only interaction you are having with a Veterinarian, consider getting value for your operation with more veterinarian interaction. Questions to ask…

Preparing for Periods of Low Prices
For most pork producers, 2020 has not been a year of profitability. Without government program payments and a short-term spike in cut-out prices in May, the red ink has been steadily flowing. During these unfavorable economic times, your business uses the working capital you’ve created in the good times. Working capital measures whether you have…

800 Thousand Servings of Pork Donated During MEAT the Need Campaign
As Covid-19 brought financial stress and uncertainty to many households, Pipestone launched into action for our farmers and communities. Pipestone’s MEAT the Need campaign ran May through September and brought pork contributions to food pantry agencies in the Midwest. The combined inputs of Pipestone and contributing partners resulted in raising $372,000 which our team turned…

Are You a Responsible User of Antibiotics?
As an industry, we have set guidelines for ourselves through the PQA program on what responsible antibiotic use looks like. If your interaction with those principals has been limited to passing the PQA quiz, today is a good day to think about how your antibiotic use fits into a responsible model. Do you work with…

Manure Pumping and Agitation Guidelines
As the harvest season approaches, fall field work and manure application will follow closely thereafter. During the manure removal process, our primary objective is to elevate the ventilation in your barns and keep you and your livestock safe and comfortable. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate and reach out to a Pipestone Management…

Summer Mastitis Prevention and Treatment
Mastitis can be a real pain in the udder, especially during the summer months. When the weather turns hot and humid it gives the mastitis causing pathogens the needed environment to grow. Hot and humid weather also adds stress to the cow which leads to a decreased immune function. You put a better growing environment…

The Heat is On!
It’s that time of year again. Temperatures are rising and the air is heavy enough you can cut it with a knife. Although this weather is for growing crops, it means different things for your cattle operation. Whether in beef or dairy, producers need to understand heat stress and ways to help mitigate its effects.…

Summer Grazing
While the summer workload changes for the average cow/calf operation, there is still opportunity to make significant health and performance decisions that will make a difference to the bottom line. Most importantly, take the time to monitor both the health of the cattle and pasture, as well as performance of growing calves. Fly Control While…

Business Strategies for Periods of Low Prices
In commodity production, high prices are the result of more demand than supply. In the past 20 years, the pork industry has been fortunate to increase demand through exports. More demand than supply results in high prices and creates profitability that attracts financial capital. As capital rushes to the higher rates of return, pork producers…

Washington Pavilion Opens "Grow it!"
PIPESTONE is excited to announce their sponsorship of the new agriculture-themed exhibits on the new “Grow It!” floor at the Washington Pavilion Kirby Science Center in Sioux Falls, SD. “Grow It!” features 3,000 square feet of new agriculture-themed exhibits as part of the center’s third floor dedicated to the state of South Dakota. “Grow It!”…

A proven safe and effective disinfecting alternative
Ag Forte Pro has been proven to improve sanitation and bio-security of pig barns and livestock transport trucks, while being safe and easy to use. It eliminates irritation to nose, eyes and skin, as well as reduces wash time and water use. COVID-19 has brought biosecurity and disinfecting to the top of everyone’s minds; a…

Meet our Furry Friends: Lucky and Libby
Jo and Steve Weets are proud pet parents of Lucky and Libby. Lucky (right) is a 9-year-old male Dachshund and Libby (left) is an 8-year-old female Yorkie-Pom. How long have you had your dogs? We have had Lucky since May 15, 2013. He was brought into the Sheriff by a land surveyor who had found…

The weather is warming up, bugs are out! Prevent heartworm.
With all of the craziness that 2020 has brought to your life, let me take a minute to remind you of the routine pet care that we cannot let lapse. The routine care I am talking about is the annual heartworm test and prevention! The weather is warming up and bugs are out! Soon, we…

Fourth of July Fears and Safety
Independence Day brings may fun things – BBQ’s, swimming, get-togethers, and fireworks. Who doesn’t like huge balls of fire that light up the sky with fun colors and shapes and make loud noises! Unfortunately, a lot of animals don’t think that is as fun as most people do. But why? There are 4 main…

Maintaining mental health in times of stress
COVID-19 and its impact can be overwhelming, adding stress to many individuals lives. In fact, 1 in 4 people will have some mental health concern due to the changes and stress the pandemic brings. The pandemic causes us to break our norm, while trying to identify a new norm. This has and may continue to…

The value of your pigs
How do I look at today’s pigs and tomorrow’s pigs? We’re in the middle of a slow moving train wreck and are faced with doing things we never conceived of doing. Some economics are worth weighing as we approach drastic actions. You only have so many spaces. If pigs must leave your production pipeline, then…

Where is the Needle point for Your operation?
About 70% of the cost associated with raising a market weight pig occurs in the wean-to-finish growth. Many of the producers have an idea where they stand in their current business model, but we encourage you to take a hard look at your operation to see ways to improve and how you can stay competitive…

Feed Mill and Ingredient Biosecurity
Feed mills serve as a central location for feed ingredients to create a complete ration. Ingredients and complete feed have the potential to carry and harbor detrimental bacteria and viruses (Dee et al., 2018 and Cochrane et al., 2018). These ingredients and complete feed not only have the potential to introduce pathogens themselves but also…
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Pipestone Veterinary Services Update
Pipestone Veterinary Services shares in the global concern surrounding COVID-19. We take our responsibility to provide animal care seriously. We also understand the necessity of our business continuity as a part of the food supply chains critical infrastructure designated through the Department of Homeland Security. Animal care cannot stop amid this virus concern and…

State Pork Congress Winners 2019
Every year, each state has their annual pork congress where they recognize the outstanding pork producers and their families. This year, Pipestone had many producers and shareholders that received an award. South Dakota 2019 Pork All American- Craig Andersen The South Dakota Pork Producers Council (SDPPC) elected Craig Andersen, a pork producer from Centerville, SD,…

Is the Water Quality the Best at Your Farm?
Dr. Spencer Wayne spends some time with Jesse McCoy, a water quality expert. The discussion is about ways to check water quality to determine what’s happening at your farm!

Ready... Set... GROW! Getting Weaned Pigs Off To a Good Start
It’s time to start a new group of pigs. If you want your best closeout, get your weaned pigs off to a good start. This begins long before the pigs arrive. Your journey starts with communication to your sow unit, confirming delivery times to ensure the barn is cleaned, disinfected and dried to create the…

Autogenous Vaccines: A Tool in the Toolbox
It’s that time of year filled with snow, ice, and… minimum ventilation inside your barn. The time of year when it is a constant battle between fresh, good air quality versus the heating bill. Poor air quality can also lead to increased bacterial disease pressure such as Streptococcus suis (Strep) and Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) in…

PIPESTONE Donates Over 1 Million Servings of Pork Through Give a Helping Ham Program
PIPESTONE Donates Over 1 Million Servings of Pork Through Give a Helping Ham Program Fourth Year of “Give a Helping Ham” a success During the holidays we look forward to connecting with family and friends and enjoying a delicious meal with the prized ham featured in the center of the table. However, many individuals in…

Antibiotic Resistance: Pipestone Investigates at the Farm Level
By: Ann Hess, editor at National Hog Farmer Ever since the Center for Disease Control released their 2013 report, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, stating that each year at least 2 million people get an antibiotic-resistant infection, and at least 23,000 people die, there has been a concerted effort to track antibiotic resistance.…

Nutritional Advancements for Pig Health
Advancements in swine nutrition have led to strong gains in pig health and productivity over the years, and research is continuing to identify ways to ensure that nutrition can boost performance from the nursery through the finishing barn. Pipestone is uniquely positioned to conduct research and share beneficial results with customers, said Jon De Jong,…

A Foundation for Success
A passion for supporting small- to medium-sized independent livestock producers and providing a path for future generations interested a group of northwest Iowa livestock producers to the Pipestone Management several years ago, and has built a foundation for their success. Kirk Hall lives in LeMars, Iowa, and is the manager of Pork 4 Profit,…