Feedstuffs in Focus

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 practic...

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-...

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 ti...

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 supp...

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.
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Immune health is one of those topics everyone agrees matters, yet it’s easy to oversimplify until a flock starts slipping in ways you can’t explain. We’re joined by William Stanley, senior key account veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim, to get practical about what “strong immunity” really means for layer flock health and day to day decision making on farms.

We start with what Stanley calls t...

Uncertainty in agriculture is hitting differently right now, not because we have never dealt with risk, but because so many forces are moving at the same time. Commodity price volatility, stubborn input costs, geopolitical shocks, tighter regulation, and fast-changing farm technology are stacking up and making it harder to know what to do next. So we sit down with Emily Sword, Vice President at Inspire, to get practical about how f...

A ceasefire can change the mood overnight, but it cannot instantly move ships, lower insurance, or restore trust in a trade lane that suddenly feels risky. We sit down with Chris Vlachopoulos, fertilizer specialist and senior editor at ICIS, to unpack what the U.S. and Iran two-week ceasefire really means for the fertilizer market and for anyone watching input costs ahead of planting season. 

We dig into the disconnect ...

In a poultry barn, disease does not wait for the next walk-through. We sit down with Dr. Guoming Li of the University of Georgia to talk about a practical question every grower and integrator faces: how do you catch health problems early enough to protect animal welfare, reduce losses, and safeguard food safety when time and labor are limited?

We explore precision poultry farming tools that turn everyday signals into early w...

A lot of farm problems look like “people problems” until you zoom in and see what’s really happening: unclear expectations, mismatched communication styles, and feedback that never gets said out loud. We sit down with Dr. Brent Sexton of Suidae Health and Production to talk about communication on farm and why it stays challenging even when we’re always on our phones, computers, and email. From quick instruct...

BRD doesn’t always announce itself with a dramatic crash in gain. Sometimes it shows up months later where nobody expects it: on the rail, as lower marbling and a worse carcass grade. That’s the unsettling thread we pull on with Dr. Melissa Cantor of Pennsylvania State University, as we unpack what early-life respiratory disease means for beef on dairy, beef, and crossbred calves. 

We start where lifetime he...

The proper nutrients can make a big difference but what happens when they aren't available or are priced out of the diet formulation?  We sit down with IFEEDER’s Lara Moody and Dr. Yuan-Tia Hung to unpack new species-level reports that reveal how disruptions in feed-grade vitamins and amino acids ripple through broilers, layers, turkeys, and swine operations. The conversation connects precise on-farm impacts—like a...

Akralos Animal Nutrition, a new North American animal feed and nutrition company, officially launched Feb. 1. Formed through a joint venture between global agriculture leaders ADM and Alltech, Akralos combines Alltech’s U.S.-based Hubbard Feeds and Canada-based Masterfeeds businesses with ADM’s U.S. feed operations.

Operating an extensive network of more than 40 feed mills across North America and supported by more than ...

Proof builds trust, and trust keeps the supply chain moving. We take you inside the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) to show how one science-based, third-party verification practices helps producers and packers demonstrate animal welfare and pre-harvest pork safety with clarity and credibility. With guests Brooke Kitting, CSIA task force co-chair and senior veterinarian at Seaboard Foods, and Stephanie Wetter, Director of Animal ...

A single stretch of water can set the tone for global prices, rural incomes, and the cost of everyday goods. We dive into the Mississippi River Ship Channel with Ken Erickson of Polaris Analytics and Consulting and Sean Duffy of the Big River Coalition to unpack new, verifiable numbers that quantify its outsized role in U.S. trade. The study pegs $226.5 billion in annual value moving through a corridor that links Midwest barges to ...

Most farms chase averages and miss the levers that actually move sow productivity. We pull back the curtain on what truly drives reproduction and lifetime output: preparing gilts with purpose, managing health and stress to guard genetic potential, and leaning on objective, repeatable data instead of gut feel. With Dr. Chad Yoder of Elanco Animal Health, we connect the dots between environment, selection intensity, and the everyday ...

Protein took the main stage in the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and we dig into why eggs rose to the top. With Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, we explore the real-food case for eggs: complete protein, nutrient density, affordability, and a versatility that works for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything between. We also clear the air on cholesterol with current science and discuss ho...

Planning a smart, efficient International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) 2026 starts long before you hit the show floor. We break down the must-see sessions, the most valuable networking spots, and the tools that will help you navigate 665,000 square feet of exhibits and nearly 1,400 companies without missing the moments that matter.

We talk with Victoria Broehm of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) to fi...

Milk yield, fertility, and resilience don’t start in the parlor—they start at the intestinal barrier. We sit down with Dr. Elliot Neto, Dairy Technical Service Manager at Kemin North America, to unpack why gut integrity is the hidden driver of modern dairy performance and how a leaky barrier quietly siphons energy, components, and profit. From calves with permeable, naive guts to fresh cows facing intake swings and heat...