Can You Take Me Higher

Feb 21, 2024

Creed’s song Higher, with its chorus “can you take me higher,” came to mind when learning of the latest increase in farmland values from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Despite many headwinds, farmland values continue to answer Creed’s question with an emphatic “yes”. The latest evidence comes from a survey of commercial bankers by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Bank economists Cortney Cowley, Jannety Mosely, and Ty Kreitman report bankers in the Tenth District (Nebraska, western Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and northern New Mexico) indicated the value for non-irrigated land rose 11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 2022. Values on irrigated and pasture ground exceeded 2022 levels by 7 percent. The increases on non-irrigated and irrigated land in Nebraska were the highest in the district, up 15 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Pasture ground in Nebraska was up 3 percent.

The growth in land values came despite lower commodity prices, higher interest rates, and reports of financial strain among producers.

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Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

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.