Pipestone Veterinary Services News

At Pipestone, we are committed to all aspects of the pork industry, and that commitment doesn’t get left at the office.  We take our passion for promoting the pork industry to our homes, friends, and communities.  In 2014, Pipestone County was represented by three young individuals that are sons or daughters of Pipestone employees or shareholders.  The Minnesota Pork Ambassador program gives young...

Performing a mixer efficiency test should always be on the radar screen; however, it can be easily overlooked. Properly mixing the ingredients is a must do to provide the proper nutrition in every mouth full of feed. Kansas State University performed a nursery trial evaluating different mixing time.  As you can see below, diets that are not mixed for an...

Sustainability has become a popular term in recent years to define everything from protecting the environment to ensuring the viability of family farms over multiple generations to many other facets of modern agriculture. For the Braun family of LeSueur, Minnesota, sustainability isn’t a new concept.  They’ve been growing and managing their farm with the future in mind for generations. David...

It is no secret to anyone in the pork industry that the combination of high domestic and international demand, a shortage of pig inventory due to the PED virus outbreak, and lower feed costs are presenting strong profit opportunities for pork producers.    These opportunities are driving many producers to also take their management practices to a new level. Dr. Barry Kerkaert...

We recently had an emergency call from a frantic owner about his Shih Tzu, Buddy. Buddy means the world to his owner, so he takes him everywhere with him. Buddy’s owner left him in the car for just a few minutes and was sure to get the car extra cold before he left. However, by the time Buddy’s owner was...

Beau may be a small dog, but that hasn’t stopped him from overcoming big health challenges even before his first birthday. Beau is a two and a half pound Yorkie owned by Debbie Lindemulder from Ottumwa. He will be a year old in August, 2014. “Beau has such a great personality – he loves everyone and is very laid back,”...

by: Curt Vlietstra, DVM Even though we had a brutal winter, and the normal spring warm-up seemed like it would never come, the heat of summer is inevitable in this area.  The combination of heat and humidity can be extremely hard on livestock, particularly cattle.  Both dairy and beef cattle have their own challenges when it heats up in the...

The drive to improve their dairy farm and provide better opportunities for their family has led John and Berlinda VanderWal to farms in three countries – Netherlands, Canada, and the U.S. – with multiple expansions over the past 25 years.  With each move or new project, they look for ways to adopt new management practices or technologies to be more...

As the PRRS’ year is coming to an end, Pipestone’s, Dr. Joel Nerem, is crossing his fingers.  “We’ve experienced what I consider to be a very successful year in minimizing Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) outbreaks.”  With everyone’s attention drawn to the latest PEDv epidemic, PRRS has been out of the spotlight.  Regardless, PRRS can be a catastrophe for...

In the year since Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) was confirmed in the United States, pork producers, veterinarians, researchers and many others have been working diligently to find ways to prevent the virus from entering herds, especially sow herds. While PEDv has been reported in other countries over the years, there had never been a PEDv case in the U.S...