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The European farmers union Copa-Cogeca has called on the European Union to take action to help pig producers face up to the sharp rise in production costs and costly regulations.
Speaking in Brussels, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen is reported to have warned that EU pig producers were facing huge production costs, as a result of the EU’s high food safety and environmental standards which producers in non-EU countries do not have to comply with.
"Lately, feed costs have also risen sharply, partly due to the speculation in the international cereals market. EU pig producers are consequently facing major difficulties, especially as they have not had time to recover from the three-year crisis in the EU pigmeat sector,” he said.
The Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) will hold a Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus Advisor training session at Iowa State University on Oct. 5
Certification as an Advisor requires attendance at a daylong training session and passing an exam at the end of the session. "If you're interested in attending, please let us know by submitting an application as soon as possible," said IPIC spokesperson Jane Runneals. Requirements for eligibility include being a veterinarian, extension specialist or agriculture educator; having a D.V.M. or B.S. in animal science or an equivalent combination of education and swine production experience; and having two years of recent documentable swine production experience. The application deadline is Sept. 28.
The University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine will host the 37th Annual Allen D. Leman Swine Conference at the River Center in Saint Paul, Minn., September 18-21. A wide range of topics will be reviewed by experts in their field. The swine keynote sessions will include:
“A Wall Street View of the Protein Market” presented by Farhas Aslam, managing director at Stephens Inc.;
“Elimination of PRRS” by the faculty of the University of Minnesota;
“Feeding a Growing World Without Destroying the Planet” by Professor John Foley, director of the University Minnesota Institute on the Environment; and
“Bringing Prosperity to the Smallholder African Farmer through Livestock” by Dr. Greg BeVier of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Sponsors of the conference include Pfizer Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Alpharma Animal Health, Bayer Animal Health, Intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health, Novus International and the National Pork Board.
Novus International Inc. President and CEO Thad Simons has received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Bioscience Award in the Central Midwest region. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses, according to Ernst & Young.
Novus has grown from 300 to more than 800 employees globally with sales approaching $1 billion. Based in St. Louis, Novus creates science-based health and nutrition solutions for the poultry, swine, dairy, beef, aquaculture, companion animal and human markets.
BusinessWeek reports that pork prices are set to hit record highs this year as a result of high feed costs linked to demand for ethanol. The magazine reported that many swine producers have reduced their herds in response to rising feed costs, resulting in more demand than supply.
Demand is increasing as the economy rebounds and countries lift bans on U.S. pork, which were put in place last year over fears of swine flu. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, hog futures nearly doubled between August 2009 and late April 2010, while the wholesale cost of pork increased 25% in April to almost 91 cents per pound.
Canadian Swine Exporters Association announced that negotiations are finalized and trade in purebred swine genetics can now resume in China after the Chinese government halted importation last May due to H1N1 concerns.
“It has been a strenuous twelve months for the Genetics Industry in Canada; we are delighted about the latest news,” said Rosemary Smart, the executive director of the CSEA.
It is anticipated that $30 million in live pig exports will transpire in the coming year, according to the CSEA.
BPEX, the British trade group for swine producers, has launched a campaign encouraging producers to increase annual output to two metric tons of pig meat per sow. BPEX figures show Great Britain’s average annual output is 1,608 kilograms per sow, compared with an EU average of 2,000 kilograms.
Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company ACMC says it is helping farmers toward this goal through improved numbers born alive, growth rate and feed conversion efficiency over the past two years. “The on-farm value of our genetic improvements has amounted to £6.17 per pig, or about 8 pence per kilo, based on an average deadweight figure of 80 kilos,” said Ed Sutcliffe, the company’s technical director. The company is showing at this year’s British Pig & Poultry Fair in Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, May 11-12.
Presentations from the 2010 Iowa Pork Regional Conferences are now available as streaming videos on the Iowa Pork Industry Center Web site. Topics include pig comfort, energy efficiency and producer profits:
Mike Brumm of Brumm Swine Consultancy Inc. spoke on common ventilation mistakes and how to conserve electricity.
David Stineman of Consumer Energy talked about efficiency in farm energy usage and farm energy audits.
Iowa State University Extension swine field specialist Terry Steinhart presented information and updates on a variety of topics, including PQAPlus site assessments, market weights, and molds and mycotoxins.
To view the videos, go to the IPIC presentations Web page and search by presenter last name.
Dr. Paul Yeske has been chosen to receive the Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award, which is given every year by the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and Pfizer Animal Health in recognition of an individual’s scientific contributions to swine health and management.
Yeske maintains a veterinary practice at the Swine Vet Center in St. Peter, Minn., and is active in the field of swine health management, with a particular focus on disease control and eradication research. He publishes in numerous journals and is a member of the PRRS Eradication Task Force and Production Animal Disease Risk Assessment Program Committee for the American Association of Swine Practioners.
Yeske holds a master of science in swine medicine from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. He earned his doctorate of veterinary medicine from Iowa State University. He has also completed the executive veterinary program at the University of Illinois.
The award will be presented at the international Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, which takes place September 18-21, 2010, in St. Paul, Minn.
Indiana's growing swine industry brings more than $3B annually to the state economy, according to Tim Belstra, president of Belstra Milling Co. An Iowa study showed that a new swine facility directly creates 21 new jobs and indirectly creates 19 jobs, he said.
According to Indiana Pork data listed in The Times of Northwest Indiana, Indiana is the fifth largest pork-producer in the country, and the pork sector is the largest consumer of Indiana grain. About 3,000 producers are involved in Indiana’s pork industry.
Reports say the Minnesota State Fair is the location of the first confirmed case of H1N1 flu virus in a U.S. hog. The fairgrounds had four teenagers sick with the virus.Officials stressed this incident did not endanger commercial pigs raised for consumption, and that there is not a link between consuming pork products and contracting the virus.
DSM Nutritional Products’ Rovimix HyD 1.25% recently was authorized for use in pig feed in the EU. This comes after a positive safety assessment by the European Food Safety Authority was granted.The feed additive, according to information provided by the company, raises blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in swine.
The governors of nine key pork-producing states urged President Barack Obama to rescue the industry reeling from high commodity prices and disease scares, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The letter, sent Friday, July 7, urged Obama to buy pork worth an additional $50 million for government nutrition programs, withdraw the ceiling on the amount of surplus product the Agriculture Department can purchase, and expand export markets, primarily to China.
The request was signed by the governors of Iowa, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
The swine flu scare has cost pork producers $330 million in profits, the governors said, predicting that losses up to October could top $1 billion and cripple the rural economy.
In a hearing at the U.S. House Rules Committee a measure to stop antibiotic use in livestock was proposed by Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs, according to a news report.
The proposal is aimed at banning the use of seven classes of antibiotics and limiting the use of others to therapeutic and some preventative use with animals.
Supported by the American Medical Association, the legislation is opposed by the National Pork Producers Council. The Union of Concerned Scientists said that about 70% of antibiotics used in the U.S. are given to healthy chickens, pigs and cattle to encourage their growth or to prevent illnesses.
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