SHV Holdings sweetens offer for Nutreco

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  SHV Holdings has sweetened its offer for Dutch animal feed supplier Nutreco to EUR2.98 billion (US$3.71 billion).

  From WATTAgNet:
  SHV Holdings has sweetened its offer for Dutch animal feed supplier Nutreco to EUR2.98 billion (US$3.71 billion).
  The revised bid comes after a counteroffer from Cargill, which had expressed interest in acquiring Nutreco’s fish feed operations and selling its animal nutrition business to Permira, a European private equity firm.
  Nutreco rejected Cargill’s offer, saying its plan is “fundamentally inconsistent with Nutreco’s long-term growth strategy for the business as a whole.”
  “Nutreco concluded that Cargill’s expression of competing interest is not in the interest of Nutreco’s stakeholders,” Nutreco said in a news release.
  SHV’s new offer would have it paying EUR44.50 per share in cash for outstanding shares of Nutreco. This is an increase of 11.25 percent over its original offer of EUR40 per share.
  As part of Cargill’s counteroffer, it was willing to pay at least EUR43.20 in cash per share.
  The SHV deal is subject to regulatory approval and will be contingent on shareholders agreeing to sell 95 percent of Nutreco’s outstanding shares to SHV. SHV plans to delist Nutreco’s shares after the merger.
  Nutreco posted revenue of approximately EUR5.2 billion in 2013. It employs 10,000 people in 30 countries.
  SHV, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, employs 47,000 people in 50 countries. 

Vermont dairy farmers short on animal feed after flooding

Vermont dairy farmers are struggling to acquire enough feed for their livestock in the wake of damage done to their hay and corn harvests by Tropical Storm Irene, according to reports.
The August storm flooded 6,000 of the state's 92,000 acres of feed corn, causing water damage that flattened, contaminated or molded crops. Vermont Agriculture Secretary Chuck Ross estimated that crop losses and farm damage exceed $10 million, though a final tally is still being determined. "It's going to put [farmers] under strain," said Ross. Most affected farmers will need feed until May or June, when cows can graze again. If they keep their cows in barns year-round, they’ll need feed until next fall.
The state has urged farmers to get their stored corn tested for mycotoxins, which thrive in damp conditions, and the University of Vermont Extension has opened a testing lab to screen feed free of charge. Vermont farmers are sharing their stocks with each other, and those who are short are receiving offers of help from Canada, Maine and New Hampshire.

Muscatine Foods forms Kent Nutrition Group

Muscatine Foods Corporation is uniting its livestock and pet nutrition subsidiary companies into the Kent Nutrition Group Inc.
The Kent Nutrition Group will be comprised of a feed division and a pet division. The feed division will focus on the specific products and services important to commercial producers, horse owners and lifestyle farmers. The pet division will focus on developing products for dog and cat owners, small animal enthusiasts and birders.
“We believe having a customer-focused structure is a powerful strategy that will benefit the dealers and retailers we do business with and spur growth,” said Gage A. Kent, chairman and CEO of Muscatine Foods Corp.
Prior to the formation of the Kent Nutrition Group, subsidiary companies Blue Seal Feeds Inc., Kent Feeds Inc. and Evergreen Mills functioned independently in their own distinct geographic regions of the U.S., servicing commercial livestock producers, equine and lifestyle farmers and pet owners.
The feed division will be led by Rich Dwyer, formerly president of Kent Feeds, and this division will be headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, with a regional sales and service office in Londonderry, N.H. The pet division will be led by Kevin Fields, formerly president of Blue Seal Feeds, and this division also will be headquartered in Muscatine, with a regional sales and service office in Londonderry.

Weak ruminant market hits supplement sales at Westway

Westway Group Inc in the US produces approximately 1.5 million tons of liquid feed supplements annually at 37 facilities through its subsidiary Westway Feed Products.
In an earnings statement for the six months to June 2010, it says the tonnage sold by its liquid feed supplement business declined by 3% because of continued weakness in the dairy and cattle markets, to 771,000 tons from 792,000 tons for the same period of 2009.
This included a 2% drop to 355,000 tons for the three-month period ended June, compared to 362,000 tons in April-June 2009, although the gross profit margin (net revenues minus cost of sales) remained constant at US$9.6 million.

Kiotechagil launches Bactacid brochure

Feed supplier Kiotechagil is launching a new brochure to inform customers in new markets on its Bactacid product. The country said it has seen sales in Vietnam, Thailand and Brazil, countries with large pig populations.
Bactacid is used to control enteropathogens in feed and the intestinal tract. Trials have shown that as it lowers the pH in the intestine and slows the growth rate of potential pathogen, according to the company.

Animal Science Products signs distribution deal

Animal Science Products Inc. has an agreement with CoinVet Inc. to bring its products to Central and South American markets. Through the distribution deal, the Columbia company will distribute the full line of Animal Science’s premix blends, feed additives and packaged goods.
CoinVet will distribute products such as Water/Vaccine Stabilizers, pH water treatment product PKA, stabilizers including Vac- Pac and Vac-Pac Plus for drinking water vaccination, Spray-Vac for spray vaccination in the hatchery and poultry house, and Opti-Vac for protection of eye drop vaccines. Animal Science Products Inc. serves the feed and food animal production industry.

VIV Europe news: Feed supplies are protected

VIV Europe Hotline, 21 April: From an exhibition perspective, when a cloud of volcanic ash interfered with international flights this week, the first thoughts at the VIV Europe show being held in the Netherlands centered on the immediate travel plans of visitors and exhibitors.
Another aspect being discussed by the end of the show’s first day, however, was whether flight restrictions could affect the delivery of essential production supplies to livestock and poultry farms in Europe.
“I can only speak for our own business,” says Patrick Charlton, European regional director for Alltech, “but we are well stocked for product at the warehouses attached to each of our 40 offices in Europe and the combination we have of European manufacture with local warehousing means we do not normally need to use air freight.
“Transporting by air is very expensive, and therefore would not be used unless under exceptional circumstances, such as when a seasonal product was in short supply and needed urgently. So I do not think that this particular incident with the volcano will have any effect on deliveries to farms or to feed mills.
“Of course, such incidents put a spotlight on air travel --- involving animals as well as people. For us, this is the year not only of our 30th anniversary, but also of our sponsorship of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky , starting in September. It will be huge. I am told that it will involve the largest international transportation of horses since World War II.
“To link in to the Games, we have now established local partnerships on equine feeds in 63 countries. Local partners have the right, for example, to use the games logo on their packaging. Through our sponsorship of the equestrian games and the partnership initiatives, we want to familiarise horse owners with the Alltech name and make them more aware that our products are inside the feeds they use.”