Innovation, Sustainability, and Resilience in Australian Pork | Edwina Beveridge
About the Guest Edwina and her husband run Blantyre Farms, a 2,200 sow pig farm and a mixed farm of sheep, cattle and crops, near Young, NSW, Australia. In operation for more than a decade, a methane digestion system captures methane gas from pig manure and converts it into electricity. Blantyre also utilizes food waste […]
An Australian Approach to Balancing Welfare and Economics in Pork Production | Steve Coleman
About the Guest What began as a spontaneous job application became a lifelong commitment to protecting animals across New South Wales and supporting some of the state’s most underserved and marginalized communities.
Eliminating PRRS and Protecting the U.S. Herd | Dr. Dustin Oedekoven
About the Guest Dr. Dustin Oedekoven is the chief veterinarian for the National Pork Board, based in Des Moines, Iowa. In this role, Dr. Oedekoven leads a team of veterinarians and swine production experts in Pork Checkoff-funded work for pork producers, including foreign animal disease (FAD) preparedness, protecting the U.S. herd from African swine fever […]
How to Reduce Wean to Finish Mortality Without Guessing | Nat Stas
About the Guest Nat Stas is a Technical Services Director for PIC and has been in the commercial swine industry for 15 years, 8 of which have been with PIC. He holds a master’s degree from University of Illinois under Dr. Mike Ellis focusing on swine genetics and reproduction.
Pork Demand Must Be a Priority | Al Wulfekuhle
About the Guest Al Wulfekuhle lives on Lake Delhi in east central Iowa, he is the owner of G&W Pork, a farrow-finish operation that markets around 50,000 pigs per year to Tyson Foods. Al also farms 640 acres of corn and soybeans. Al has business experience in managing farrow to finish pig farms and providing […]
The Real Cost of Mortality and Why It Matters | Dr Derald Holtkamp
About the Guest Dr. Derald Holtkamp is a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostics and Production Animal Medicine (VDPAM) in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa, U.S.). He received his DVM, MS in Agricultural Economics, and B.S. in Agricultural Business with a minor in statistics, all from Iowa State […]
Building Farmer Grade on Trust, Not Claims | Sawyer and Tork Whisler
About the Guests Sawyer Whisler is an Iowa hog farmer and the co-founder of Farmer Grade. He built an audience by sharing real day-to-day farm life through the @thislldofarm channel and later launched the Barn Talk podcast. His father, Tork Whisler, is part of the father-son dynamic behind the show and the long-term focus on […]
Novel Strategies to Select for Livability | Jenelle Dunkelberger, PhD
About the Guest Jenelle Dunkelberger has worked as a geneticist at Topigs Norsvin for the past eight years. She holds a PhD from Iowa State University, where the focus of her research was on the role of host genetics in response to viral disease in pigs. She continues to study this topic, along with other […]
Modernizing Execution in Pig Production | P.J. Corns
About the guest PJ Corns is the Technical Director for JBS Live Pork, Greeley, CO. Responsible for nearly 260,000 sows, boar studs and gilt development units across the Midwest. PJ has spent his entire career forging world class results with every step from managing large sow units in North Carolina, to working internationally with PIC […]
The Real Economics Behind Pig Livability | Dr. Clayton Johnson
About the Guest Dr. Clayton Johnson is a globally recognized swine health expert with Carthage Veterinary Services in Carthage, Illinois. A 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, he began his career with The Maschhoffs, LLC—where he helped double sow production—and later joined Carthage in 2016 to lead company health initiatives.
Taste, Data, and the Future of Pork | Kiersten Hafer
About the Guest Kiersten Hafer is Vice President of Business Intelligence and Innovation for the National Pork Board and provides strategy, insights and guidance to the pork industry and supply chain on where to play and how to win with pork. She has leveraged her 30 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies and high-growth […]
Crawling Before Running: Making AI Practical in the Swine Industry | Dr. Ben Blair
About the Guest Ben Blair was raised in Sparta, Illinois, where he grew up helping on his family’s corn, soy, wheat, and farrow-to-finish farm. He always enjoyed the numbers behind how things worked, which led him to study engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After finishing his engineering degree, he felt the pull back toward animal […]