Popular Pig Podcast Episodes

Maintaining a Sow’s Condition During Lactation | Todd Heisterkamp

About the Guest

Todd Heisterkamp was raised in a multi-generational farm family in western Iowa. Being a young man witnessing the struggles of his family during the fuel crisis of the late 1970s and the farm crisis of the early 1980s, Todd decided to choose an education and career path outside of agriculture. After having a successful 20-year career in business development and in manufacturing management in other industries, Todd joined the equipment-side of the pork industry 15 years ago… rediscovering his ag roots.

Chasing Fostering Excellence | Mike Ellis

About the Guest

Mike Ellis was born and brought up in a coal mining village in the north of England.  He obtained B.S. (in Agriculture) and Ph.D. (in Applied Swine Genetics) degrees from the Department of Agriculture at the University Newcastle-Upon-Tyne where from 1978 he held the position of Lecturer in Pig Production.  He moved to the University of Illinois in 1992 where his current position is Professor of Swine Production Management.  Dr. Ellis’ research interests span a range of areas related to applied swine production with a particular focus on managing the growth of pigs in wean-to-finish facilities, animal handling and transportation, pre-weaning mortality, and pork quality.   He has advised over 60 students for MS and/or Ph.D. degrees and has published over 180 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, 300 abstracts, and in excess of 300 occasional publications and reports, and has given presentations at over 250 scientific and producer meetings worldwide.  

2021 Outlook: True vs Truth | Jim Long

About the Guest

Jim Long is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

He is responsible for the direction of Genesus, drives change and sets the strategy and vision for the company, overseeing day to day business of running and managing the company.

Venture Capital and its Critical Role in Livestock Production and Animal Health | Kevin Lockett

About the Guest

Kevin brings nearly 20 years of experience in financing, managing, growing, and investing in early-stage companies.

Kevin brought his operational expertise in managing and growing other organizations to the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) in 2013 as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer where he oversaw all financial, human resource, information technology, and legal aspects of the organization. Kevin’s major focus was on the daily management of the organization’s assets which included real estate, limited partner positions in venture funds, and direct equity positions in early-stage animal health, agriculture, and human health companies. His extensive experience in finance and growing early-stage companies also helped prepare the KBA’s portfolio investment companies for future acquisition.

Equipping the Team for Optimizing Performance | Jon Hoek

About the Guest

Jon Hoek grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL, and was inspired to Agriculture by his Grandpa.  He graduated with a degree in Agricultural Production Management in 1986.  From 1987 to 1997 he owned and operated a 550-sow farrow to finish swine operation. Jon finished a 20-year career with Belstra Milling in 2017 to start a technology company focusing on precision livestock farming and human capital.  Jon has presented both internationally and domestically on the topic of pig production, systems management, and barn culture.  Jon and his wife Laureen have four children and two grandchildren and reside in Wheatfield, IN. 

The Modern Family Farm | Dave DeVries

About the Guest

Dave DeVries is a third-generation farmer from Drayton, Ontario, Canada. With his wife Lauren, they operate Zeldenrust Farms Ltd.,  a farrow to finish hog farm, producing hogs for the Raised Without Antibiotics market. Dave and Lauren have been blessed with four boys ages 6 years, 4 years, and 8-month-old twins. It has been a joy to watch the boys take a keen interest in agriculture from a young age.

The Lingering Effects of the Covid Pandemic | Drew Mogler

About the Guest

Drew Mogler is the public policy director of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, a position he has held since 2018. He previously served as IPPA’s producer outreach director and producer education director.

The Journey of Modernizing Swine Operations | Rebecca Barton

About the Guest

Rebecca Barton is a third-generation hog farmer on a 4500 sow farrow to finish operation founded in 1958 in Michigan. She has worked through multiple transitions during her career, first overseeing the farm’s transition from outside to inside open pen gestation, as well as a total herd repopulation in 2019.

The Use of Cooling Pads to Reduce Heat Stress in Sows and Boars | Dr. Allan Schinkel

About the Guest

Dr. Schinckel has conducted research to examine the potential for improvements in lean growth rate and lean feed conversion via genetic and environmental means including research in the areas of (1) development swine compositional growth curves; (2) modeling of the impact of health status and ractopamine on pig compositional growth; (3) development of stochastic models of pig compositional growth for production systems analysis.

Leveraging Technology to Create the Future You Want | Tork & Sawyer Whisler

Summary

Tork Whisler is a 5th generation farmer from Washington, IA. He and his wife Tricia have two adult sons, Clay and Sawyer. In addition to their contract finishing and grain operation, Tork spent 15 years in the swine construction business with Precision Structures Inc. both as a service technician and then a salesman. He left PSI in 2015 to assume a management roll with Eichelberger Farms. Just recently Tork has returned to the farm full time with his son Sawyer.