Popular Pig Podcast Episodes

Balancing Welfare and Productivity in Swine Care | Kurt Preugschas, DVM

About the Guest

Kurt was born and raised on a pig farm near Barrhead, Alberta, which sparked his passion for swine production and medicine. He graduated with his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2010 from WCVM in Saskatoon. After graduation, he went directly into swine medicine and has worked in swine practices in Manitoba and Alberta. In 2019, Kurt started a new swine veterinary practice, Precision Veterinary Services inc., based in Red Deer, Alberta. He and his wife Tanja have their home near Lacombe with their 4 children.
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Rethinking Pig Welfare: Beyond the Basics | Dr. Martyna Lagoda

About the Guest

Dr Martyna Lagoda holds a B.A degree in Science, Zoology, and an M.Sc degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare. Following the completion of her Ph.D in Sow Welfare (focus on sow chronic stress and its implications for piglet prenatal stress) at Teagasc, Ireland, in collaboration with the Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Poland in 2022, Martyna worked as a research technologist on the “Tail Bite Advice” project in Teagasc, aiming to develop algorithms to accurately monitor tail biting behaviour, and to create a data-driven PLF decision support tool to actively advise farmers on how to reduce tail-biting occurrences.

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Improving Pig Livability: A Continued Collaborative Effort | Dr. David Rosero

About the Guest

Dr. David Rosero is an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University. He leads a dynamic research program dedicated to advancing swine nutrition and smart farming practices. His current research initiatives include 1) maximizing the nutritional value of feed ingredients in swine diets, 2) implementing nutritional interventions to improve pig livability and swine systems sustainability, 3) determining the adequate access of pigs to welfare resources, and 4) harnessing computer vision AI technologies to improve production practices and animal welfare. Leveraging his past experience as the Technical Officer at The Hanor Company, he combines invaluable industry experience with academic pursuits.

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Building a Biosecurity Blueprint: Advancing Science-Based Policies | Dr. Scott Dee

About the Guest

Scott Dee earned a DVM, MS, and PhD from the University of Minnesota, is board-certified in veterinary microbiology, past President of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, past Chair of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents and currently serves on the AVMA House of Delegates. After 12 years in swine practice and another 12 years in academia, Scott joined Pipestone Veterinary Services as Director of Applied Research, where he served as Director of Discovery and Innovation for Pipestone for 12.5 years.

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Digitizing Biosecurity to Prevent Disease Outbreaks | Rob Hannam

About the Guest

As the CEO of Farm Health Guardian, Rob Hannam is committed to helping farms and food companies improve animal health and protect against the devastating impact of animal disease through digital biosecurity.

Launched in 2020 for the swine and poultry sectors, Farm Health Guardian technology is reducing the risk of disease spread and improving biosecurity compliance which saves time, reduces the cost of production and improves farm sustainability.

Rob’s passion for agriculture was cultivated while growing up on his family’s grain farm in Guelph, Ontario. He has worked in agriculture for over 30 years and has proven experience in building innovative businesses.
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Evaluating a New Antibiotic: Insights from Field Trials | Dr. Kyle Nisley

About the Guest

Kyle Nisley graduated from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 and has been a staff veterinarian with Christensen Farms since the fall of 2023. He was introduced to the swine industry with a production internship at CF in 2017 and was hooked ever since. He expanded his experience in the SVIP program at both Christensen Farms and Swine Vet Center and knew that he wanted to work with pigs long term. Now, he spends his time practicing medicine and researching new and upcoming innovations in the swine world.
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Building Trust Through Authentic Branding in Agriculture | Dave Morton

About the Guest

Dave received his BA from The University of Northern Iowa in 1982. In 1984, Dave, with business partner Jeff Westrom, formed JWMorton, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based advertising agency. They produce marketing communications programs ranging from branding to digital to broadcast and for clients representing over 30 industries from high tech to healthcare. JWMorton’s work is seen in local, national and international markets. They are the only Iowa-based independent agency to create and produce a spot airing on the national Super Bowl broadcast. JWMorton’s agriculture roster has included brands such as Diamond V Mills, Vi-Cor, Art’s-Way, Chore-Time, PigTek and Brock Grain Systems. (more…)

Strategic Water Management and AgTech Innovation | Patrick Henry

About the Guest

As the CEO of GroGuru, I drive the overall strategy and operational execution for an exciting AgTech company that is changing the way that we grow crops by using an innovative IoT system for precision irrigation, soil monitoring and management. Former contributor at FastCompany, Tech.Co, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, and other publications. Previously featured on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and in Forbes. (more…)

Empowering Farms with Technology and Compliance | Melissa Bradford & Azael Romero

About the Guest(s)

Melissa Bradford – Operations Coordinator 

Melissa Bradford graduated from Purdue University earning a bachelor’s degree in animal Agribusiness.  For the past 15 years Melissa has worked for Martin Family Farms in Williamsport Indiana and is currently the Operations Coordinator. Prior to working at Maritn Family Farms, Melissa also worked for United Animal Health and M2P2 (Ames, IA). Melissa has served on Indiana Pork’s Youth Committee for the past 7 years.

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Risk Management in Pork Production | Chris Ford & Val Weis

About the Guests

Chris Ford

VP Corporate Swine Lender, Farm Credit Services of America, Frontier Farm Credit, and Ag Country Farm Credit.

Chris works with swine operations across the Farm Credit Services of America, Frontier Farm Credit, and Ag Country Associations’ state territory and throughout the Midwest ranging in a variety of sizes. Chris is a part of the specialized Swine Team which has lending relationships with 28 of the 40 largest swine producers in the nation. Prior to becoming a Vice President of Corporate Swine Lending, Chris was a Credit Underwriter that specialized in swine operations.
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