Meat the Pig Farmers, Bruce and Karen Grant’s farrow-to-finish pig farm is located near Meadow Grove, Nebraska.  They are the parents of Jason, Jeremy and Kristen, and proud grandparents, as well.  In addition to the pig operation, the Grant family farm also grows a rotation of corn, soybeans and alfalfa.   After their three children reached school age, Karen began to focus on the farrowing operation, keeping animal welfare her highest priority.  She cares for the young pigs, making sure they are receiving ample food and water, she power-washes barns, and keeps the fin ..read more

Meat the Pig Farmers, Meat the pig farmers at Livingston Enterprises! Headquartered in Fairbury, Nebraska and owned by Bruce and Trudy Livingston, Livingston Enterprises is one of the largest, family-owned pork producers in Nebraska. They have been in the swine production business for more than 40 years and have been incorporated since 2001. Bruce began his own operation with six gilts at the age of eight, earning three of the gilts by working for his dad and uncles. Two gilts were purchased with earnings from a 4-H swine project and one gilt was won by placing first at a swine judging contest ..read more

Meat the Pig Farmer, Photo courtesy of Curt Arens, Nebraska Farmer Magazine. Pig farmer Jared Lierman, from Beemer, is all about helping other young people in his community and in the pork industry. He is a third-generation farmer and owner of 3L Farms, a wean-to-finish operation.  Jared is president of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association. One of Jared’s goals for his presidency is to expand opportunities for independent producers and to develop options for interested persons to become pork producers. “I would like to educate as many young producers as possible about the option of rai ..read more

Meat the Pig Farmer, Just like so many farm families, the Bartling’s pig farm was hit hard during 2020.  Foreign policy implications and the massive outbreak of COVID-19 in the packing plants caused a collapse in the hog market that was hard to handle.  The family decided to make a pivot and change its game plan.  Bartling Family Farms began a new venture that brought market-ready product from their farms in Nebraska directly to consumers.   The original farmstead was founded in the late 1800s by Johann and Johanna Bartling who traveled from Germany and settled in the ..read more

Education Director Nebraska Pork Producers Association Full-Time Exempt Position Reports Directly to Executive Director Our Organization: The Nebraska Pork Producers Association is a grassroots, incorporated, nonprofit organization established in 1961. As a USDA checkoff organization, we carryout education, promotion, and … The post Career Opportunity – Education Director appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more

Recent research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln integrated next-generation sequencing and metagenomic analyses to uncover the source of recent cases of congenital tremor in newborn piglets observed in research and commercial farms across Nebraska. The research was undertaken after … The post UNL Research Team Uncovers Novel Strains of Atypical Porcine Pestivirus Associated with Severe Congenital Tremor and High Mortality in Newborn Piglets appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more

Kyle Baade, Plymouth (Producer): Kyle and wife, Laura, own and operate Baade Genetics, an 80-head sow herd. Their operation specializes in raising purebred and crossbred show pigs and breeding stock, as well as an on-farm … The post 2020 Board of Directors: New Members appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more

By Zachary Lubeck    The participants in the Pork Leadership Program braved the cold Nebraska January weather for their sixth and final session of the 2019-2020 program.  This session covered a variety of topics in the pork world … The post Pork Leadership Program Tours Quality Pork International’s Facilities in West Point and Omaha, and Wiechman’s in Fremont appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more

Shana Beattie and her husband, Bart, are fifth generation pork producers in Sumner. She grew up in north central Florida, the daughter of farmers, and studied animal science at the University of Florida. After her marriage to Bart, they moved … The post Farmer Spotlight: Shana Beattie appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more

By Benny Mote  Ph.D., Swine Extension Specialist, UNL Department of Animal Science    Replacement gilts are selected primarily on structure and conformation. These selection decisions, however, occur while gilts are still growing. Few studies have … The post Assessment of Conformational Changes across Three Parities in Sows appeared first on Nebraska Pork ..read more