DES MOINES — The data may be there, but putting it to good use continues to be a challenge for pork producers.

A panel discussion at the World Pork Expo here June 9 suggests even more data coming down the pipeline in the coming years. Some of that may be developed due to increasing use of smart technology.

With high feed prices, swine producers are looking to maximize feed efficiency.

“When feed prices get high, people are looking at ways to cut feed costs,” says Marcia Shannon, University of Missouri Extension swine nutritionist.

Emmalee Haege is no stranger to pigs.

The southern Illinois native grew up showing pigs in 4-H. She then spent some time judging shows. Now she spends each day at a different pork operation.

LEWIS, Iowa — Mike Marshall certainly did not think he would end up making a career in the pork industry. He planned to enlist in the Marines between his junior and senior years at Glenwood High School.

But the Marine Corps had some bad news for the southwest Iowa teenager.

HIGGINSVILLE, Mo. — On his Lafayette County farm, Mike Williams displays the skeleton of a Hampshire boar called “Roughneck,” an example of what made the boar successful and the role it had building the family farming operation.

Williams still raises Hampshire pigs, which still feature Roughneck’s genetics, and he says skeletons can determine a lot in the livestock business.

While the world’s attention focuses primarily on African swine fever, there are plenty of domestic diseases for U.S. pork producers to battle.

That recipe makes for a full plate for the pork industry, says Paul Sundberg, a veterinarian and executive director of the Swine Health Information Center.

After a two-year hiatus caused by foreign animal disease concerns and the COVID-19 global pandemic, the World Pork Expo returns to the Iowa State Fairgrounds June 9-11.

“This will be the first expo since 2018, and it feels really good to be back,” says Doug Fricke, director of trade show marketing for the National Pork Producers Council. “Our board took a hard look at everything, and they felt this was the right move for everyone involved.”

Gary Asay owns and manages Asay Farms, a wean-to-finish operation in Illinois that markets 9,500 hogs annually. He also raises corn and soybeans.

Asay most recently served on the Illinois Pork Producers Association board of directors and was a director for the National Pork Producers Council. He is an Operation Main Street speaker, as well as a member of the Illinois Soybean Association and the Illinois Corn Growers Association.