Looking ahead 10 and 25 years for the pork industry

Jul 13, 2026

On July 2, 2025 we became closer to 2050 than we were to 2000. Just think about how fast the year since has gone.

As a kid born in the early 1980s, 2000 felt like some distant future. But guess what? Fears of the Y2K computer bug are now more than 25 years behind us. Before we know it, 2050 will be here. What seems crazy is 2026 is as far beyond 2000 as 2000 was in the future in 1974. Where has the time gone?

Uncertainty of change fuels opportunities
We tend to predict the future in two ways. Both are imperfect. One, we expect the future to be just like today. It won’t be. Two, we look at the past, see the changes, and expect changes to be similar in the future. They won’t be.

But changes will occur. Big changes. Those who can most clearly see the opportunities, and challenges, will be best prepared to succeed. Yes, they will have a bit of luck. But you’ve heard the saying, “Luck occurs when preparation meets opportunity” or “Fortune favors the prepared.”

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Video: Screening Nursery Ingredients - Kynna Crawford

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Kynna Crawford, Graduate Research Assistant at South Dakota State University, discusses how Plackett-Burman designs can help screen nursery diet ingredients for early post-weaning feed intake. She explains why low intake after weaning contributes to stress and mortality, how screening trials can evaluate multiple ingredients in a single study, and how the approach can support both research and commercial nursery nutrition decisions. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/...

"A single screening trial can help identify which nursery ingredients deserve deeper research for early post-weaning feed intake."

Meet the guest: Kynna Crawford / kynna-crawford-a2610a3aa is a Master's student in Animal Sciences at South Dakota State University, where her work focuses on swine nutrition and nursery pig management. Her research examines strategies to alleviate weaning stress, including dietary approaches and screening tools to identify ingredients that may promote early feed intake. Learn more from Kynna Crawford on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.