Setting the agenda for better swine health

Setting the agenda for better swine health

Endemic disease already steals margins, but a foreign animal disease outbreak could rewrite the rules overnight. From the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, we sit down with Marisa Rotolo, Director of Swine Health for the National Pork Board, and pork producer Paul Ayers to explain why the industry is building a National Swine Health Strategy and why it starts with one simple idea: let producers define the real problems and the practical fixes. Our Ann Hess digs into what we keep hearing across the pork industry, from PRRS frustration to the ongoing impact of PEDv, and why “moving the needle” matters more than chasing quick wins. Marisa breaks down the strategy’s two core goals: prevent and prepare for foreign animal diseases while reducing the impact of endemic swine diseases that producers battle every day. Paul shares what the swine health advisory committee is doing to keep priorities grounded in what works on farms, with input from operations of different sizes and even the show pig segment. We also talk about what success actually looks like when goals are ambitious and long-term: sustained producer engagement, industry alignment, and progress you can measure. The conversation closes with the two-pronged plan to get there: targeted swine health research, plus education that turns findings into slat-level solutions, including a National Swine Health Strategy Research Summit to align the research community around shared priorities. If you care about swine biosecurity, disease prevention, and protecting the future of pork production, hit play, subscribe, share this with a producer or vet, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Agribusiness under pressure

Margin pressure in agriculture is not a headline, it is a daily operating constraint. When diesel swings, fertilizer tightens, and geopolitics disrupts supply chains, agribusiness leaders have to make decisions fast, often without the ability to simply raise prices and move on. Host Sarah Muirhead sits down with Jim Clark of Granite Creek Capital Partners to map the biggest challenges to growth in agribusiness in 2026 and the real-world choices operators face when input costs surge. They dig into what has driven inflation across the last several years, from the pandemic and shifting tariff policies to conflicts that ripple through energy markets. Jim explains why products tied to petrochemicals, including fertilizer and crop protectants, can become both expensive and hard to source, and how fuel and freight can turn into a second profit-and-loss statement all by themselves. We also talk about the “pass-through” problem: many agriculture businesses are price takers, so protecting margins often means tough trade-offs between pricing, volume, and asset utilization. The conversation breaks down which sectors appear to be getting hit harder, why row crops have struggled more than livestock in recent years, and where biofuels exposure can help soften the blow. We also explore practical innovation, including efficiency gains that make NPK products or crop protection work harder at lower rates, and how precision agriculture tools like drones can make post-emergence application more feasible and targeted. If you want a clearer view of agribusiness risk management, commodity market realities, and the technologies shaping farm profitability, this one is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

New World screwworm alert

A parasite the US eliminated decades ago is back on the radar, and the clock starts the moment someone notices a “not quite right” wound. We sit down with Dr. Patrick Webb, Assistant Chief Veterinarian with the National Pork Board, to unpack what a confirmed New World screwworm case in southern Texas signals for pork producers and the wider livestock industry, and why early reporting beats waiting for certainty every time. We walk through how a suspected case typically moves from farm observation to state notification, investigation, and lab confirmation, and what that process tells us about readiness right now. From there, we get practical about containment: unified command, the 20-km infested zone concept, and how disease control measures can affect movement, and day-to-day business continuity. Dr. Webb also points to proven tools, including the sterile fly approach, as part of a multi-layer response that can push the threat back again. The biggest takeaway is simple and actionable: monitor your animals closely, tighten biosecurity, and keep communication open with your herd veterinarian and state animal health officials no matter what state you operate in. Summer conditions raise risk, and movement of infested animals is a key pathway, so fast action protects your herd and your neighbors. For clear guidance on what to look for and how to report, we share the best place to start: screwworm.gov. If this conversation helps you think differently about surveillance, traceability, and outbreak preparedness, subscribe, share it with another producer, and leave us a review so more people find it when it matters.

Simplifying Meat Industry Reporting

An excessive number of questions can turn “reporting” into a full-time job. So what happens when an industry decides to cut the noise and keep only what actually drives improvement? Sarah Muirhead sits down with Kristi Block, lead for the Meat Institute’s reporting strategy, to unpack the newly updated Meat Institute Reporting framework and what it means for packers, processors, and the wider meat and poultry supply chain. We walk through how the framework started as a proactive way to gather credible, sector-wide data on priorities like animal welfare, food safety, worker safety, environmental performance, and sustainability. Block explains why the framework was refreshed for 2026 and how the updated approach reduces complexity by shrinking the survey from roughly 500 questions to about 50 while still meeting customer and stakeholder expectations for consistent, comparable data. A big theme is flexibility: reporting is voluntary, and companies can start where they are strongest, then expand as capacity grows. The conversation gets especially practical on sustainability reporting and ESG metrics, including greenhouse gas accounting, the GHG Protocol, and the pace of change around science-based targets. We also cover what participating companies get back, including establishment-level data that rolls up into a dashboard view across facilities, plus options for audit uploads and verification steps designed to support trust without creating extra chaos. Finally, they look ahead to the long game: tracking trends over time and aligning progress toward 2030 targets alongside initiatives like the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry and Egg. Subscribe, share this with someone managing supplier questionnaires, and leave a review if you want more clear, grounded conversations on the biggest issues in animal agriculture.

Right bug, right drug, right time

Antibiotics can save pigs and protect performance, but only when we stop treating “a problem” and start treating the right pathogen at the right moment. We sit down with Dr. Megan Hindman, swine technical consultant with Elanco Animal Health, to break down what smart antibiotic use actually looks like on farm and why so many disappointing outcomes trace back to one issue: mismatch. Wrong bug, wrong drug, wrong time. We walk through the real-world decision tree producers face, starting with diagnostics. Dr. Hindman explains how timely lab work and past herd history help narrow the cause, then how to choose a therapy that reaches the target tissue where disease is happening. From there we compare common swine antibiotic delivery options feed medication for planned challenges, water medication for fast barn-wide treatment when pigs are drinking well, and injectables when you need certainty that each animal receives a full dose. The conversation also zooms out to antimicrobial stewardship and long-term sustainability. Vaccination, biosecurity, ventilation, and feed management form the foundation, while antibiotics act as the sealant that closes gaps. The big takeaway is simple and demanding: prevention first, treatment second, paired with early detection by the people closest to the pigs every day. Subscribe for more practical swine health conversations, share this with your team, and leave a review if it helped. What’s the hardest part of getting treatments right on your farm?