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Perfect Fall Weather For Pumpkin Harvest

Manitoba's pumpkin harvest is underway.

Scott Friesen grows about 60 acres of pumpkins near Halbstadt.

"So far the weather's been cooperating very well for the harvest," he said. "It's just been excellent weather getting the pumpkins off the field. No mud to deal with, no dirty pumpkins. We cut them off the vine and then roll them into windrows and then put them in wooden crates and take them home to get washed and put into the shipping bins and we have been shipping fairly steadily since about September 10th."

Friesen noted harvest started about a week early this year.

He commented on yields so far.

"Yields are pretty good. The pumpkin profile has sized up fairly well. A little bit smaller, but overall, pretty good. The yield is as good as any year, maybe even a little bit better. Those August rains are what the pumpkins really needed."

Friesen says about 7.5 inches of rain fell in his area throughout the month of August.

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.