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Agriculture This Week: Farming always evolving

When you have grown up on a farm in the 1960s and ‘70s it is almost beyond belief the changes in farming we see today. 

It was a mixed farm for me, and that meant pigs and grain. 

In my youth I hauled a lot of ground grain to feed the pigs using cleaned five-gallon pails that originally were filled with some weed spray, or another. 

Looking back over some 40-years it seems like it was such a crazy thing, but repurposing the pails was pretty standard. I’m pretty sure potatoes came from the garden to the cellar bin in similar pails. 

Of course I clearly recall Dad taking plugged nozzles off the sprayer, his gloves getting soaked in the process, and then simply blowing out the nozzle with his breath. 

Knowing what we do now it’s a wonder what health problems were caused in a time we didn’t know better, or were reluctant to change. Dad lived to a considerable age, his heart giving out one day, but one wonders. 


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Swine Leaders Live | Episode Featuring Macie Reeb (AMVC Nutritional Services)

Video: Swine Leaders Live | Episode Featuring Macie Reeb (AMVC Nutritional Services)

Swine Leaders Live, host Jim Eadie sits down with Macie Reeb, Associate Swine Nutritionist at AMVC Nutritional Services, for a thoughtful conversation on leadership, nutrition, and the future of pork production.

Macie is an emerging leader in the pork industry, combining hands-on swine nutrition expertise with a strong passion for education, advocacy, and consumer outreach. From her experience in the Iowa Pork Leadership Academy—including representing pork producers on Capitol Hill—to her day-to-day work supporting swine operations, Macie shares insights on where the industry is headed and how the next generation is shaping its future.