US Beef Sector Well-Poised To Increase Exports On The Rebound Of The World Economic Climate

Sep 16, 2016

By Jim Robb,

Director of the Livestock Marketing Information Center Jim Robb recently spoke with Radio Oklahoma Farm Director Ron Hays about current trends happening on the stage of international trade. Robb says he’s been keeping an eye on exports and from what the numbers are telling him, US trade volumes seem to be climbing higher compared to last year.

Robb says that while comparisons to the first part of 2015 were fairly tough, the scales are starting to tip the other way as some international counterparts struggle with their own trade issues.

“We think that’s the perspective,” Robb said. “This is really driven by the world economic environment, which is sort of improving. The US and a couple of other countries are well-positioned to export to countries that want to buy beef.”

Exchange rates, growing incomes and current product pricing are all helping right now, Robb says, even if they don’t stir a shift in demand. If nothing else, we should be able to sell more product overseas at lower prices, according to Robb.

Click here to see more...

Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.