Gut health challenges can present themselves in a variety of different ways in pigs.  Physical causes of gut disturbances, such as gastric ulcers or intestinal torsion (twisted gut), can flare up in barns or herds, and may be the result of changes in feed intake patterns or diets, most commonly deriving from environmental temperature changes […]

This prolonged heat spell is going to lead to some issues even after it breaks. One of those potential issues is urinary calculi. This condition is more frequent in males vs. females and more common in steers than bulls due to some physiological reasons. One of the biggest risk factors is elevated dietary phosphorus which […]

Swine Feeding Projections for July 6, 2021 Changes week over week: Open-market value of weaned pigs were down $4 this week at $40.76 /head and feeder pigs were down $4 at $63.34 /head. Carcass prices for the marketing window of pigs placed this week is $82.15 /cwt with marketing in December. Open corn price for […]

Drought-stressed corn can be a very good forage source if harvested properly.  On the other hand, it can be a complete train wreck if harvested incorrectly.  Timing is critical, and it is very important that one does not wait too long when making the decision to harvest drought stressed corn as silage vs. waiting for […]

June 2021 Cattle Feeding Projections June feedlot projections look a lot healthier than last months due to some drops in corn price on the board as investors wait to see how the weather market will play out. Lowered cost of gains and some strength to the live cattle futures shows black ink in quite a […]

Form-A-Feed has selected five students to receive a Form-A-Feed scholarship.  Each year Form-A-Feed awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors and first year college students who are pursuing an agriculture related career at a 2- or 4-year college or university. The following students received a $500 scholarship from Form-A-Feed: Landin Brink, Spicer, MN. South Dakota […]

Swine producers face many challenges throughout the lifetime of raising a pig from conception, to birth, to market.  Although many of the early stages receive the most attention, some of the most substantial impact to the bottom line can occur at the very end right before marketing animals.  Limitations in pen space and feeder and […]

Anyone feeding cattle right now is feeling the tight margins due to input costs rising and market prices not following. Whether we should place cattle in the near term is a tough call. What is not a tough call is that if we are tending to cattle today, we need to increase our management skills […]

Swine Feeding Projections for May 26, 2021 Changes week over week: Open-market value of weaned pigs was steady this week at $47.94 /head and feeder pigs were down $8 at $79.78 /head Carcass prices for the marketing window of pigs placed this week is $83.90 /cwt with marketing in October Open corn price for the […]

Form-A-Feed provides DFM and enzyme technologies such as MultePli, Release II, Dairy S.C.O.P.E, and Sci-Mic 40-20 tailored to improve ruminal energy utilization.  These products do this by enhancing the rumen microbial population’s ability to digest starch and fiber to a greater extent, improving total tract digestibility of feed, improving energy available on corn and forages, […]

Swine Feeding Projections for May 19, 2021 Changes week over week: Open-market value of weaned pigs were down $2 this week at $48.56 /head and feeder pigs were steady at $87.85 /head Carcass prices for the marketing window of pigs placed this week is $84.89 /cwt with marketing in October and November Open corn price […]

May 2021 Cattle Feeding Projections May projections are a mix of red and black as cost of gains (COG) continue to creep upwards. There are some fundamental buys with what the futures currently look like. Hope for some relief in the commodity ring continue to keep some feed yards speculating on lower costs of gains […]