Benchmark Magazine Article Archive

Raising livestock as part of a business can be challenging in volatile global markets. Many external and internal factors affect income and expenses. In this environment, how can you most effectively control your system through captured data and the key people who operate your enterprise? The best approach, I argue, is to track performance and profitability in as close to real time as possible, and to be able to forecast future performance and revenue.

At PigCHAMP, we have the honor to work with producers who raise pigs for a variety of different areas of the pork industry. One such producer is Gustavo de Sousa e Silva, a research scholar in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University (ISU). He has worked on several swine-related research projects using PigCHAMP software during his time at ISU and agreed to share some of the details with us.

Let’s start with the bottom-line for a change: consumer preferences, and hence consumer demand, drive meat prices. The evidence for this fact could not be starker than in pork cuts. With “meaties” craving heartier flavours, like those in bacon, the primal cut value of pork bellies reached US$1.85/lb in February 2017.

Introverts and extroverts. Analytical and creative. Leaders and followers. Easy-going and meticulous. GED and DVM. The composition of your staff often brings together people of various backgrounds, personalities, education levels and experiences. Knowing what unique qualities each employee can bring to your business helps you build an effective team and make the most of each person’s potential. If built successfully, the whole team is greater than the sum of the individual employees.

2016 Year End Summary, TOTAL FARMS = 419

We know that you take any and all investments made on your farm very seriously – and we think you should! Making decisions for your operation means taking factors like time, finances, staff and more into consideration.

Swine genetics companies not only strive to improve product performance for their customers but also to add value throughout the pork production chain. To accomplish these aims, we collect and connect multiple sources of data, including that on purebred and commercial crossbred production performance, reproduction, carcass and packer, genotypes and more. The goal is to improve performance and profitability for everyone that utilizes our products.

Our persuasion about change impacts many aspects of our lives. It affects our perception of risk and thus guides most business and personal decisions. Further, our persuasion about change affects our ability to persuade others, to impact the lives of our clients and our communities, and to affect the course of change,” said Dr. Dave Reeves, BS, MS, DVM, Associate Professor Emeritus.

One of the most overused terms right now on the Internet of things is “big data.” My definition of big data, condensed from multiple sources (and my own experience), is being overwhelmed by the great big amount of data available to you.The more common definition of big data is presented in a more practical way: big data is extremely large amounts of data from multiple sources that can be harnessed to make outcomes better for everyone.

Many American producers and veterinarians are still adjusting to the changes that the expanded Veterinary Feed Directives (VFDs) brought at the start of the year. To help ensure judicious use of antibiotics in food-producing animals, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) requires that medications used in animal feed are permitted only under the professional supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

Supplying top genetics for pork production at the lowest costs is at the core of Hypor’s business. To support efficient pork production, Hypor focuses on balanced breeding, which means producing pigs that thrive under all conditions. Balanced breeding contributes to an increase in total system profitability – meaning profitability in the entire value chain.

Western democracies were built on the belief that when individuals or businesses act in their own self-interests, the most efficient means of production are achieved. However, the question always is: “What exactly is our individual finterest?”Of course, the goal of virtually every business is profit. Not necessarily short-term profit but long-term, stable return on invested capital. That focus means suppliers and customers have to be chosen to support the long-term goals.