New medium, large hog farms banned in Arkansas watershed

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission is implementing a ban on new medium- and large-sized hog farms in the Buffalo National River’s watershed.
Under the motion that was unanimously approved by the commission, no new facility could have more than 750 swine weighing 55 pounds or more, or more than 3,000 swine weighing less than 55 pounds, according to a report from the Baxter Bulletin.
The ban will take effect 10 days after the commission secretary files it with the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office. Once enacted, the ban will last for five years.
The only hog operation currently in the watershed area that meets the criteria as a medium or large hog farms is C&H Hog Farms, located in Mount Judea, Arkansas. However, since that facility is already in operation, it will not be impacted by the commission’s decision.
Such a ban was advocated by environmentalists, which contended that the pig farms would harm the watershed and the Buffalo National River itself, which is the country’s first national river and a popular tourist spot that in 2014 attracted more than 1.3 million visitors.
While the ban passed is to last for five years, The Ozark Society and Arkansas Public Policy Panel petitioned the commission to implement a permanent ban.

Nebraska hog farm fire presumed accidental

• 

  Freeimages.com/rotorhead

  A hog farm fire in Jefferson County, Nebraska, occurred on March 22 and is believed to have been accidental.

  From WATTAgNet:
  A fire that damaged six buildings at a large hog farm in Jefferson County, Nebraska, on March 22 is believed to have been accidental.
  The fire, which is being investigated by the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office, are looking at some heavy equipment as a possible source of the blaze.
  Firefighters from at least 20 area departments in Nebraska and Kansas battled the fire at a hog farm near Reynolds owned by Livingston Enterprises Inc. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered several buildings on fire, and two more ignited while emergency personnel was on the scene, reported the JournalStar. The hog confinement buildings were connected, so firefighters used a backhoe to separate some and managed to save four more, Fairbury Rural Fire Chief Kenny Krause said.
  Firefighters cut power to the complex to shut off giant ventilation fans that helped fan the flames, Krause said. Weather also hampered their efforts. "A front came through and about halfway through the attack the winds changed and we had to move our equipment," Krause said.
  No people were injured, but some animals died in the fire. No damage estimate has yet been made available.
  The fire, which was reported around 5:30 p.m., was contained by about 11 p.m.

MU researcher looking to reduce hog odor

MU Extension assistant professor Teng Lim, left, and graduate assistant Brandon Harvey study the material inside a biofilter at the MU Swine Research Center. The biofilters reduce hog odors.
A University of Missouri (MU) Extension assistant professor of agricultural systems management is researching ways to reduce odors from hog houses. Through funding from the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Teng Lim is working with biofilters to reduce the odor, dust and gas emissions from typical swine operations.
Lim has evaluated small-scale biofilters at commercial hog farms and concluded that these biofilters could be scaled up to reduce emissions from larger hog operations.
"We are trying to evaluate different potential media to improve the biofilters," Lim says. He is looking at materials within the biofilters at the MU Swine Research Center in Columbia. Wood chips are the main type of media used in the filters, although he is also using a puffed plastic material.
The biofilters at the MU hog facility have windows to observe the materials inside and are raised off the ground to keep them away from rodents. The rooms in the research barn all have individual ventilation control systems and can be monitored over the Internet. The system uploads all the data to a server and sends a daily email with data from the previous 24 hours.
Lim says the data lets the researchers evaluate whether the pigs are comfortable and monitor temperature fluctuation, humidity and barometric pressure to make sure the whole system is working.
When producers look to expand their operations or build a new barn, neighbors often have concerns about the odors. Lim says biofiltration is one of the least expensive ways to reduce odors and dust and should be part of farmers' best management practices.
"It also shows they are concerned with taking care of the environment and their neighbors and community as well," he says.
MU Extension structural engineers, air quality engineers, soil scientists and other specialists are working as a team to evaluate farms and offer recommendations on the best ways to mitigate odor and dust.
Lim is also conducting research on anaerobic digesters, which can help with managing waste and controlling odor while also providing a source of energy.
Manure from the facility goes through a 21-day biochemical process that produces methane gas, which can be used to fuel generators and boilers, says Brandon Harvey, a graduate assistant working with Lim.
Harvey says that a hog farm could meet its energy needs with an anaerobic digester and even earn revenue selling excess energy to the grid.
For odor mitigation alone, however, a digester is a much more expensive proposition than biofilters, he said.
  "Every farm is different, so we're trying to provide different options, viable options, sustainable options, for people to use," Lim says. "As hog operations expand, it is critical that they be responsible for the environment and be responsible for their community and neighbors. We want to make sure they have best management practices to adopt that improve their operations and minimize conflicts in their community."

US pork production expected to drop in 2013

U.S. hog producers' September–November farrowing intentions have been lowered to 2.85 million, almost 2.7 percent lower than in 2011, and the December–February 2013 farrowing intentions are estimated at 2.821 million, 1.5 percent lower than in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report. Both of these revisions reflect the intention of hog farmers to slightly scale back production.
This reduction in farrowings and breeding stock reflects what most observers have identified already: the effects of the summer 2012 drought on the U.S. feed crop have led to farmers’ intentions to reduce hog production in 2013 and thus to require fewer farrowings. While 2013 feeding margins have recovered somewhat since September, margins still remain narrow relative to expectations earlier in 2012, according to the USDA. Hog farmers have thus decided to farrow fewer sows in 2013 than in 2012.
While the number of pigs per litter is expected to continue to grow in 2013, the reduction in farrowings will more than offset the efficiency gains in sow litters, and the 2013 pig crop is expected to be lower than the 2012 pig crop. Commercial pork production is expected to be almost 23 billion pounds, which is still 1.3 percent below the annual production level in 2012. This increase is expected despite downward revisions of live hog imports in 2013.

US hog futures fall on lowered values

U.S. hog futures have dropped 1%, pressured by plentiful hog marketings that lowered cash hog and retail pork values, according to the latest reports.
Cooler weather resulted in a 1.5-pound increase in average hog weights in Iowa and southern Minnesota, to 262.5 pounds, compared with the previous week. Higher hog weights increase pork tonnage to wholesalers and makes more hogs available to packers.
An estimated 1.249 million hogs have been processed so far during the week of August 22, 11,000 more than the previous week and up 19,000 from the asme time in 2010, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers.
October hogs closed down 1.175 cents, to 87.050, on August 24, and December was down 0.875 cents, to 83.450.

Canada hog inventories up for April 2011

Canadian farmers had 11.8 million hogs on their farms as of April 1, up 1.4% from the same date in 2010, despite a 3.5% reduction in the number of hog operations, according to Statistics Canada.
Sow inventories remained unchanged from April 1, 2010, at 1.3 million head. In addition, farmers anticipated no significant changes in the number of sows expected to farrow during the second and third quarters of 2011.
Approximately 5.5 million hogs were slaughtered during the first quarter, down 2.8% from a year earlier, and 1.4 million hogs were exported, down 3.6% from the same period in 2010.

North Carolina pig farmers get $900,000 for waste management improvements

Up to $900,000 in funding is available to help North Carolina pig farmers switch from hog lagoons to newer, innovative waste management systems, according to the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative, farmers may receive up to 90% of the cost for qualifying lagoon conversion projects and 75% for other projects. To receive funding, applications for designated federal initiative funds must be made by April 30.

Canada invests $3.7 million to strengthen swine traceability

The Government of Canada has announced an investment of more than $3.7 million to strengthen the Canadian Pork Council’s national swine traceability system, bringing the total investment for this initiative up to $7 million.
The Canadian Pork Council’s traceability system, PigTrace Canada, is designed to track the movement of hogs across the country. Phase 1 of this initiative focused on the creation of a tag distribution system for hogs, while Phase 2 will focus on combining swine movement information into a national centralized database. “There is no doubt that a strong traceability system benefits Canadian producers, the value chain and consumers alike,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “This investment will help the Canadian Pork Council continue the development of its hog traceability system and give our hog farmers the competitive edge they need to access markets around the world.”
The investment will be delivered through Growing Forward through the Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative, a program that supports national organizations in the development and implementation of traceability processes and systems.

Manila to get modern slaughterhouse, egg processing plant

Philippines Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla told a recent convention of the country’s hog producers that plans are on track for a modern slaughterhouse at a Bureau of Animal Industry compound in metro Manila. The facility will be able to slaughter 50 pigs per hour, the Manila Bulletin reported.
Fondevilla added that a private company is planning to establish a 900-square-meter egg processing plant outside the metro Manila area.
According to the Manila Bulletin, poultry production rose 1.82% and livestock production rose 1.2% in 2009, and animal agriculture accounts for 26% to 28% of the country’s annual agricultural production.

Agrologist: Canada’s grain farmers fare well under AgriStability

Most Canadian grain producers are faring well under AgriStability, the country’s financial safety net program for farmers, because it allows them to calculate a reference margin based on an average of the best three years out of the past five, consulting agrologist Kevin Hursh reported in a column for the Sakatoon (Canada) StarPhoenix. However, hog farmers and other livestock producers are not benefiting as much because a years-long downturn means that their reference margins are poor, he said.
Hursh also reported that farmers who produce both grain and livestock feel that they are getting short shrift, because AgriStability takes both production lines into account when making payments. Thus, a producer involved in both lines may receive fewer AgriStability payouts for weak livestock performance if grain performance is high that year.

Canada hog herd smallest in 12 years

Canada’s hog farmers are continuing with planned downsizing in the wake of a Statistics Canada report that the country’s hog numbers have hit their lowest point in a dozen years, according to Reuters. The national herd shrunk 4.5% to 11.63 million from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2010.
A planned downsizing that includes government incentives to help farmers leave the swine industry should help bring the price of hogs back up, said Andrew Dickson, general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council. He told Reuters that farmers need CAN$140 per pig to recoup their costs and another CAN$20 to manage their debts, but are commanding just CAN$127 a head.
Statistics Canada attributed the national herd’s decline to high grain prices and a drop in exports to the United States. New U.S. regulations requiring meat at retail to be labeled with its country of origin have put a crimp on trade.

Guangzhou to close live pig wholesale markets

Southeastern China’s Guangzhou city will shut down live pig wholesale markets in 2010, in order to improve quality control on hog production, slaughtering and sales, according to a report from Southern Countryside Paper.
Under the new policy, live pigs will be transported from hog farms directly to large-scale slaughterhouses, skipping hog wholesale trade markets that cause difficulties in product traceability, the report said.

Afta plan removes feed material tariffs

According to reports, the free-trade plan of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will lower feed costs for poultry and hog farmers. The plan is awaiting implementation.The Asean Free Trade Area-Common Effective Preferential Treatment (Afta-Cept) will eliminate tariffs, making alternative feed materials such as tapioca more affordable. The current tapioca tariff is 35%.
Other tariffs to be lifted include those on soybean meal and DDGS at 3%, and soybeans at 1%. Under the new plan, a 35% tariff on yellow corn imposed by Manila, Philippines, will also cease, potentially opening up new markets.