Mizzou researcher gives pork producers an edge against extreme heat

By Brian Consiglio

Aug. 4, 2026
Contact: Brian Consiglio, [email protected]
Photo by Abbie Lankitus

The University of Missouri is expanding an innovative, research-based mobile app that helps pork producers predict heat stress in pigs before symptoms appear.

Backed by a $1.15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jay Johnson, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, will build on HotHog, a smartphone app that identifies heat-related risks in pigs.

Unlike humans, pigs do not sweat, making them especially vulnerable to heat. In livestock production, excessive heat can affect animal welfare, slow growth, reduce reproductive performance and, in severe cases, lead to animal losses.

"By the time you start seeing your pigs panting, they've already been impacted," Johnson said. "The goal of the app is to help producers make management decisions before animals reach that point. That not only improves the welfare of their animals but also the economic outlook of the pork production industry, which is huge in Missouri."

Johnson launched HotHog in 2023. Today, the app is used by more than 2,000 people across 50-plus countries. The app provides location-specific forecasts and alerts that help producers prepare for heat-related risks.

"Whether it's checking ventilation systems, adjusting water sprinklers or planning transportation timelines, this app helps producers be more proactive instead of reactive, which ultimately improves the efficiency of their operations," Johnson said. "Users can enter multiple barn locations and receive notifications from the app when conditions are expected to reach certain risk levels."

While traditional weather apps provide temperature forecasts, HotHog goes further by showing how specific combinations of temperature and humidity affect different categories of pigs.

"The app also provides management recommendations tailored to pigs at different stages of pregnancy, as weather conditions don't impact all pigs the same way," Johnson said. "The algorithms running in the background on the app are going to be very specific to the animals of interest to pork producers."

The current version of HotHog focuses primarily on sows that produce and nurse piglets. The grant will expand the science behind the app to include recently weaned pigs, pigs approaching market weight and market-weight pigs.

The work leverages Mizzou's Animal Science Research Center and a new thermocline facility currently under construction at South Farm, which will include video cameras to record animal behavior across a controlled temperature range. Together, those resources will help researchers better understand how pigs respond to environmental conditions and identify when heat stress begins.

The findings will inform future versions of the app and strengthen the recommendations provided to producers.

The project includes partnerships with researchers at Purdue University, the University of Pretoria in South Africa and the University of Melbourne in Australia, allowing the model to be adapted for different climates and production systems around the world.

In addition, the grant includes a significant outreach component. Johnson and his colleagues will work with MU Extension specialists across Missouri to train producers on using the app and gather feedback about how it affects their operations.

"The app is free because we want it to be as accessible as possible," Johnson said. "Welfare and production go hand in hand. That's the number one priority of producers: making sure their animals are in a positive welfare state. As part of that, we hope to see production efficiency improve as well."