From Gilt to Sow: Setting Her Up for Success | Lori Kociemba

About the Guest Lori is from St. Louis, Missouri and for as long as she can remember, she aspired to be a veterinarian. After her undergrad degree, she worked in a large commercial sow farm in central Missouri where her dreams changed and she fell in love with pigs. Lori went to grad school at Kansas State University and completed her Masters and PhD in swine nutrition where the majority of her research focused around nutrient requirements in gestating sows. Following the completion of her degrees, Lori work for Gestal as a Nutrition and Production Specialist, before coming to PIC in 2020 where she currently serves as a Technical Services Manager. What can you expect to learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Why getting gilt eligibility right—age, weight, and cycle—is critical for her long-term success. How body condition scoring (with tools like the PIC caliper) improves longevity and performance. What gets in the way of building consistent body condition habits—and how to fix it. Why treatment protocols in open pen and Prop 12 setups matter more than ever. Lori’s “golden nugget”