Pork industry economic outlook for 2021 – Dr. Steve Meyer

Posted on January 25, 2021 in Swine Performance

After initial disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, pork packing plants have recovered and are running at a 96% harvest capacity overall.  During a recent webinar, Dr. Steve Meyer, Partners for Production Agriculture, provided attendees with an update on the current state of the pork industry and an outlook for cost of production and profitability in 2021.

Vita Plus Swine Team Webinar – Pork market update with Dr. Steve Meyer

Posted on July 14, 2020 in Swine Performance

During a recent Vita Plus Swine Team Webinar, Dr. Steve Meyer, Kerns and Associates, provided attendees with an update on what pork producers can expect from the corn, soybean and hog markets for the rest of the year.

Vita Plus Swine Summit 2020 has gone virtual!

Posted on March 17, 2020 in Swine Performance

Vita Plus will be offering a virtual Swine Summit focused on the global pork market outlook on Thursday, March 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST.  We hope you can join us!

Navigating the Storm: Part two – Sow and pre-weaned pig management

Posted on November 8, 2018 in Swine Performance

By the Vita Plus swine team
The Vita Plus swine nutrition team understands the challenges you are facing, and we are dedicated to helping you be successful, regardless of market conditions.  The "Navigating the Storm" series is intended to help you identify some of the areas where the Vita Plus team can help you improve your operation’s profitability.  In part two, we will look at sow and pre-weaned pig management to improve profitability.

Navigating the Storm: Part one – Marketing strategies and closeout analysis

Posted on October 17, 2018 in Swine Performance

By the Vita Plus swine team
The Vita Plus swine nutrition team understands the challenges you are facing, and we are dedicated to helping you be successful, regardless of market conditions.  The "Navigating the Storm" series is intended to help you identify some of the areas where the Vita Plus team can help you improve your operation’s profitability.  In part one, we address management around the time of marketing and how we analyze closeout information to improve profitability. ​

Overview of the Canadian Pork Industry – Part two

Posted on July 18, 2017 in Swine Performance

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a three-part series comparing the Canadian pork industry to the U.S. pork industry.

By Garrett Rozeboom
In part one of this series, I compared the exports, imports, and hog census data of the U.S. and Canadian pork industries.  Regardless of the differences, both countries benefit from the other.  In this second part, I will discuss the differences and similarities in swine diet ingredients and formulation methodologies used in both countries.

Up to the Challenge: Vita Plus Swine Summit 2017 Recap

Posted on April 24, 2017 in Swine Performance

More than 150 hog producers, industry peers and Vita Plus employee owners attended Vita Plus Swine Summit 2017 on March 29 and 30 in Morton, Minnesota.  Click the links below for complete event coverage, including articles, videos and speaker presentations.

Overview of the Canadian Pork Industry – Part one

Posted on February 28, 2017 in Swine Performance

Editor’s note: This is the first article in a three-part series comparing the Canadian pork industry to the U.S. pork industry.

By Garrett Rozeboom
Pork production is a big sector of the Canadian agriculture industry and the Canadian pork industry has established itself as a major player in the global pork supply.  The Canadian pork industry is similar to the U.S. industry in many ways, but some differences also make it unique in the global markets. 

Improve bottom line results with internal benchmarking

Posted on October 29, 2016 in Swine Performance

By Nate Brown
If you work in the pork industry, you are well aware of the economic challenges it faces.  Some industry analysts have made comments on the current market conditions that bring back echoes of 1998.

Hidden Opportunities: Vita Plus Swine Summit 2016 Recap

Posted on April 12, 2016 in Swine Performance

About 200 pork producers, Vita Plus employee owners and industry peers met in Morton, Minnesota for Vita Plus Swine Summit 2016 on March 30 and 31.  In addition to networking with their peers, attendees learned about the latest trends in pork production, management and markets from industry experts. 

Managing market weights can have significant profit impacts

Posted on January 18, 2016 in Swine Performance

By Nate Brown
It wasn’t very long ago when it seemed pork producers couldn’t get pigs heavy enough because the base price was so good the marginal income over feed continued to drop profit into the bottom line. 

Times have changed.

Drive Forward: Vita Plus Swine Summit 2015 Recap

Posted on April 8, 2015 in Swine Performance
  About 200 pork producers, Vita Plus employee owners and industry peers met in Morton, Minnesota for Vita Plus Swine Summit 2015 on March 26 and 27.  In addition to networking with their peers, attendees learned about the latest trends in pork production, management and markets from industry experts.  Follow the links below for complete

Navigating Uncharted Waters | Vita Plus Swine Summit 2014

Posted on April 21, 2014 in Swine Performance
More than 100 swine producers, Vita Plus consultants and industry peers came together March 27 and 28 for Vita Plus Swine Summit 2014 in Morton, Minnesota.  Keep reading for complete event coverage, including articles, videos, photos and speaker presentations. Biosecurity Panel:  Where Are You Headed? | Mitch Christensen, Norsvin USA; Pat Albright, Albright Swine Farms;

The profit opportunity of increased ADG

Posted on June 4, 2013 in Swine Performance
By Nate Brown Over the past several years, pork producers and consultants have increased focus on concepts such as optimum market weight, Full Value Pigs© and other measures that attempt to define the dynamics of optimizing profits based on hog market weight. No matter what model or calculations are used, the process of defining what

All in…

Posted on April 4, 2013 in Swine Performance
More than 150 pork producers, Vita Plus staff and industry partners recently gathered in Morton, Minnesota for the Vita Plus Swine Summit 2013.  This year’s event centered on the theme “All in…” as attendees learned about cutting-edge research and tools from top-notch speakers.  They also spent time networking and learning from fellow progressive producers from

This little piggy went to market and this little piggy stayed home

Posted on January 15, 2013 in Swine Performance
By Julie Salyer Over the years, producers have used many different to help lower economic loss by answering the questions of “when” and “how many” pigs to top, leading to lower group weight variation when taking pigs to market. However, many might still be missing the mark. Vita Plus has adopted helpful tools that map