Dr. Tim Loula of the Swine Vet Center in Peter, Minnesota suggests that as North American producers fight for position, they have a global advantage because of relatively inexpensive grain but need to think differently about raising pigs.

“It’s about survival. We’re in a global game of chicken,“ Dr. Loula told producers at the 2008 Shakespeare Seminar. Expensive feed makes pigs more valuable. Producers should stop thinking about cutting costs and start thinking about investing in better production, he said.

With over 450,000 sows in his Swine Vet Center in Saint Peter, Minnesota, Dr. Loula has a good idea of what makes a successful operation.

According to BetterFarming.com, the Dr. Loula has compiled a list of mistakes that producers should try and avoid. Some of them include not focussing on giving pigs a good start in the nursery, not focusing on cost of production, allowing poor production to go on for too long, keeping pigs around that should be euthanized before they eat their weight in feed and ot using automatic lactation feeders.