Hendrix Genetics and NPM Capital join forces in animal breeding

Hendrix Genetics, a leading multi-species animal genetics company, and NPM Capital, a subsidiary of family owned SHV Holdings, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for NPM to become a minority shareholder in Hendrix Genetics via the issuing of new shares. Existing shareholders are the Hendrix family, Management and Sofiprotéol. 
Completion of the transaction is expected mid-year. The Hendrix family will remain the majority and controlling shareholder and the company will continue to conduct its business under current corporate governance and with the existing management team, strategy and structure. The transaction is subject to customary notification and approval requirements.

RA-SE Genetics announces new nucleus pig farm in Ukraine

The pigs shipped to Ukraine will be part of a 600, pure-line GGP population.

In August, RA-SE Genetics delivered breeding pigs from Rattlerow Farms in the United Kingdom to ELITA's nucleus farm in Ukraine. A second delivery is planned for September to complete the population of 600 pure line great-grandprogeny (GGP) sows and boars. ELITA is currently a distributor of RA-SE Genetics in Ukraine.
Since 2004, RA-SE Genetics has been active in the Ukrainian market as a supplier of pig genetics. The company regularly exports breeding animals from RA-SE Genetics farms and partners in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
The project will use a genetic match program to guarantee up-to-date genetic progress. The breeding stock produced from the nucleus will be marketed in the growing Ukrainian pig production sector. Pure line GGP stock will be replaced by animals produced from imported frozen semen from RA-SE Genetics. Ukrainian and Belgian veterinary authorities are working on a bilateral agreement for the importation of deep-frozen pig semen from Belgium. The first export of deep-frozen semen to Ukraine is planned for the end of 2013.

Hypor supplies breeding pigs to Asia

Hypor pigs were delivered to Taiwan from Canada.

Hypor is now supplying breeding pigs to Asia, and several shipments have been exported to various countries in the region, including China, Japan and Taiwan. The pigs exported were selected from Hypor's health nucleus in Canada.
"These exports enable our customers in Asia to continuously improve the genetic footprint of their operations," said Jacques Sips, general manager of Hypor Asia.
In China, breeding pigs were sent to Zhejiang Jiahua Pig Breeding Co. Ltd. and Shandong Hypor Liuhe Pig Breeding Farm. In Japan, Hypor's partner received Hypor Large White, Hypor Landrace and Hypor Kanto GGP boars. The boars, Durocs, will be used to produce pork with a high percentage of intra muscular fat and marbling. After quarantine, the animals were transferred to Hypor Japan's A.I. stud, in Miyagi. In Taiwan, Hypor's representative, Nice Garden, received a shipment of breeding pigs from various lines for later distribution in Taiwan.

How are UK pig breeders faring in Asia?

British pig breeding companies may be fewer in numbers than they used to be, but the quality of stock is better than it has ever been. This is the opinion Stephen J Curtis, executive chairman of ACMC, whose stand at this year’s VIV Asia illustrated the various countries in which his company has commercial agreements.
But what has stood UK pig breeders in good stead in the Asian market? Curtis believes that it is the dedication to commercial traits and, in the case of ACMC, the combination of traditional breed improvement methods along with genome selection – a well balanced combination of the two approaches.
“Some traditional methods are still very relevant, especially when measuring carcass yield, for example,” he notes. “We are big investors in measuring individual feed intake. This is an expensive process, hence why many companies have shied away from it.
“But with feed costs being so high, it is essential now. More expensive feed needs more efficient pigs, feed efficiency is unbelievably important, and we are concentrating on feed efficiency and production of saleable pigs per year.”
He continues that the company has franchise breeding operations in China, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
Along with the provision of pigs there is also the supply of services, ie technical support for breeding programs. ACMC’s Gene Evaluation Program sees data fed back from nucleuses in Asia to the UK, so that superior animals can be identified for further breeding. Other UK breeders are also offering support services, helping to build relationships with Asian producers.
Yet can pigs from the mild UK climate perform well in hotter countries?
Yes they can,” says Curtis, continuing that the Asian market will continue to grow and that UK breeding stock produced locally will continue to grow with it.
While health remains a major issue in the region, and foot and mouth disease, hog cholera and PRRS remain endemic in many countries, low wage costs mean that farms can afford higher staff levels than in Europe, for example. This means that each pig gets a greater degree of attention.
Asian incomes are generally rising, and pork, like chicken, is a relatively cheap meat to produce and highly popular.

JSR Genetics delivers 885 breeding pigs to China

JSR Genetics has shipped 885 high genetic merit breeding pigs to China to create a new nucleus herd at Hubei Jinxu JSR Breeding Limited, the joint venture between JSR and Chinese pig producers Hubei COFCo.
The delivery includes JSR Genepacker 1 and 2 dam lines and JSR Geneconverter 500 and 700 sire lines. It will enable the nucleus herd to breed not only Genepacker 90 gilts — known for their consistent lifetime performance — but establish new markets by using the Geneconverter 700 boar to increase carcass yields. “We are delighted be establishing a nucleus herd here in the Hubei Province,” said Paul Anderson, JSR’s international sales director. “A strong presence here is very important to us. China is home to half the world’s pigs and pork consumption is still growing. JSR is certainly targeting China as a major growth area in the coming years. The Hubei province is centrally located with an excellent distribution network, so success here is crucial.”
The animals are the latest major consignment of JSR pigs sent to China and follow a delivery in March 2011 of over 800 JSR Genepacker GGP gilts and JSR Geneconverter GGP boars to stock a new breeding nucleus farm with the Guangzhou Animal Husbandry Company, based in Guangzhou province.

US pig breeding inventory, litter rate up first quarter 2012

The March 1 U.S. inventory of breeding pigs came in at 5.82 million head, 0.55 percent greater than 2011 numbers and the fifth consecutive quarterly increase since March 2011, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The modest size of the increase may suggest the extent to which expansion optimism in the sector continues to be tempered by risks surrounding feed costs and prices, said the USDA. The report also showed that breeding herd productivity continues to climb. The litter rate for the December 2011–February 2012 quarter was measured at 9.97 pigs per litter, an increase of 1.73 percent over the same period in 2011. Although a bit smaller than the 2011/2010 increase (1.98 percent), the steady string of consecutive litter rate increases since 2003 suggest that producer adoption of innovations in genetics and nutrition, together with enhanced management skills in animal care, can boost hog sector productivity, according to the USDA.
The data is forecasting a 2.1 percent increase in commercial pig meat production for the second half of 2012. Part of this change in expected production is premised on assumptions of the higher second-half dressed weights that forecast lower feed costs will likely bring about. Total commercial pig meat production for 2012 is expected to be 23.3 billion pounds, an increase of 2.2 percent above 2011.

JSR’s 22nd Technical Conference preparing pig producers for ‘Next Agricultural Revolution’

JSR Genetics director Dr Grant Walling – “We need to share our knowledge and expertise.”

In spite of consistent technological advances and a confident belief that pig production is well placed to meet the challenge of increasing global demands, there remain many unknowns that the pork production sector must still try to address.
This message emerged from the 22^nd Annual Technical Conference arranged by JSR Farms, “The Next Agricultural Revolution” – and it left delegates with plenty of food for thought.

Known, unknown issues
Speaking at a briefing before the event at Nottingham University’s Sutton Bonnington Campus in England, Lord Christopher Haskins, former rural adviser to Tony’ Blair’s government and non-executive director of JSR Farms, adapted a quote from Donald Rumsfeld, former US secretary of Defence, when he said that there were the known knowns (things we know about), known unknowns (things we know we don’t know) and unknown unknowns – and predicted they would all have a bearing on agriculture and how it evolved.
Of the known issues, the pig sector understands the increasing demand for food and that new technology will continue to advance and increase efficiency to help meet these challenges.
Climate change and agricultural reform are known unknowns, commented Lord Haskins. “These are happening, but as yet we’re uncertain of the outcome.”
Of the unknown unknowns, Lord Haskins listed global conflict, natural disasters and a breakdown of animal health. There was also the question of sustainability.

Canada’s pig crisis
Opening the conference, Lee Whittington, president and CEO of Canada’s Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatchewan, commented that outside influences were the key reasons for Canada’s pig industry crisis.
Following 25 years of significant growth, Canada’s pig sector was battered by global recession, the loss of a substantial export market and legislation governing environmental issues, green energy and country-of-origin labeling.
In 2007, the Canadian pig industry accounted for less than 2% of world pork production, but provided 20% of world pork exports at 1.03 million tonnes. Today it is a very different story.
The Canadian pig industry also lost about 20% of its sow herd since 2006 and that has quashed investment in trade and research.
“However, what we knew then and still know today is that Canada remains one of the most efficient places to produce pig meat in the world,” said Whittington. “We have the infrastructure, the technology and capacity for growth and the flexibility to adapt to change going forward. What we didn’t know was how politics and foreign exchange rates could affect our industry and they have had a very negative impact on our whole industry.”
A significant “unknown” was the effect of U.S. country-of-origin labeling, COOL, legislation on Canada’s weaner market. The industry had established a significant export trade for 7kg pigs, which fuelled massive expansion.

Lee Whittington, president and CEO of Canada’s Prairie Swine Centre – “Canada remains one of the most efficient places to produce pig meat in the world.”

“These pigs were shipped as 7kg piglets to Midwest farms, fed on American corn, reared by American producers, and processed by American packers. They were a valuable product for us and the U.S. pig sector, but once COOL came in they were devalued and this coupled with falling currency rates meant the trade just collapsed,” said Whittington.

Pig feeding strategies
Coming in from another angle, Mick Hazzeldine, of Premier Nutrition, commented that although science has enabled nutritionists to fine-tune pig feeding strategies, they still need to be innovative with formulations and reevaluate nutritional densities.
“We know cost is our main concern, but it’s not the only consideration. These days’ formulations are more specific and defined and nutritionists need a far greater understanding of the raw materials they are using in diets,” said Hazzeldine.
“The energy value of wheat is between 55% and 60%, barley is around 20%, but what are the effects of fiber, hard and soft varieties, starch, viscosity and the rye gene? There is still a lot we don’t fully understand.”
The type of raw materials used in animal feed has also changed significantly as a result of increased competition from the human food sector and price sensitivity. Change also is being driven by the escalating cost of fats, which could mean a switch to lower nutrient density diets in the future.

Global pork production trends
Finishing on a positive note, Dr Grant Walling, director of JSR Genetics, commented that global pork production appeares to be in a fortunate position. It would have to increase output by 110% during the next 40 years to meet increasing demand, according to the UK government’s “Foresight Report” on the future of food and farming.
Although this sounds ideal, in reality most of this pork would not come from the current high-output Western pig industries, but from the large pig populations now developing in growing agricultural economies, such as China, Brazil and some African states.
Dr Walling said that to satisfy increased demand, Western pig production would need 55.7 pigs weaned per sow a year by 2050 – clearly an impossibility.
“We cannot carry on doing what we are doing. There are too many constraints – biological, environmental and legislative. Instead, we will have to invest our technology in these new industries and share our knowledge and expertise,” said Dr Walling.
“If countries like China, Russia and Brazil could achieve UK performance they could collectively increase output by at least 60%. On global scale that represents a 32.3% increase in world pork supplies, a significant contribution,” he added.
Biotechnology also has the ability to advance agriculture in developing nations at a far swifter pace that it has in the West, mainly because there is less resistance to novel technologies such as cloning and genetic modification.

UK to monitor pig movements with electronic recording

Electronic recording of pig movements will become law in the UK in October 2011, with the existing Pigs, Records, Identification and Movements Order 2007 amended by the government to reflect the need for pre-notification of movements.
The new system is expected to provide the industry with a realistic herd register containing accurate and timely information to enable better communication and control in the event of disease outbreak. In addition, when pigs are sent to slaughter, the system will combine the movement licence and Food Chain Information form in one and save producers time.  
There will be a transitional period of six months for the phasing out of the paper-based AML2 forms from October 1 to give producers and businesses the opportunity to adjust to the change in process. “From April 2012 the AML2 paper forms will cease to be a valid method of reporting movements," said Dorothea Schiemann of the British Pig Executive. "Pig movements will either have to be reported using the free eAML2 online service or the free eAML2 bureau service. There will also be third-party agents, such as marketing groups or the British Pig Association."

Pig breeder announces new franchise for Netherlands market

Pig breeding stock supplier PIC, part of Genus plc, has signed a franchise agreement with Elite Groep bv to deliver the company’s genetic improvement to the Dutch market.
The new company, PIC NL, will operate as PIC’s sole franchisee in the Netherlands, taking over all current business. Elite Groep will operate the franchise separately from its sister company, the production and trading business Elite Varkens bv, and PIC will continue to provide marketing and technical support to the business in the Netherlands, ensuring access to its genetics and international know-how.
“The creation of this new company offers an exciting way forward for our continued growth in the Netherlands market," said Ian Bond of PIC Europe. "It allows us to focus attention on our core business of creating and delivering genetic improvement and economic benefits to all customers.”
Paul van Der Meijden, general manager of PIC NL, called the franchise an important new venture for Elite Groep. “We see that the aims of our two companies are very much in line," said van Der Meijden. "In the current climate the total economy message has never been more important for Dutch farmers, and we believe this fits very well with PIC’s long history of developing genetics that are aimed at maximizing customer profitability.”

Malta pig production expanding, competing in global market

A new finishing house on a Maltese farm.

Malta's pig industry has become more efficient and productive since joining the European Union in 2003, due largely to genetic expansion, according to the island's producers.
The rise in productivity is allowing Malta to do more with less —  the island’s breeding herd is being reduced from the 6,000–7,000 sows it has had since 2005 to just over 4,700 sows in 2011, while maintaining production of slaughter pigs at around 85,000–95,000 per year.
To facilitate growth, the Pig Breeders’ Co-operative Society, which represents the 170 pig producers on Malta and nearby Gozo, is setting up a new nucleus breeding unit on the site of the agriculture ministry’s research and development farm using genetics from British pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd. as part of its genetics program. Until now, the co-op has had to rely largely on importation of F1 hybrids and GPs together with AI to supply its members with genetics. The new nucleus will enable them to breed their own AC1 replacement gilts.
The island has also begun selling surplus live pigs, both weaners and growers, to Sicily for further fattening and use for Parma ham.

English pig numbers remain stable from 2009 to 2010

Latest census figures show the total number of pigs in England has fallen slightly, but the breeding herd has remained unchanged.
The total number of pigs in England decreased by 1.7% from 3.6 million in December 2009 to 3.5 million in 2010. But the British Pig Executive said there was no real change in the number of breeding pigs — 415,000 in December 2010, with an 18,000-head reduction in sows in-pig offset by a 7,000-head increase in gilts in-pig and an 8,000-head increase in other sows.

UK pig industry seals major export deal with China

The way has opened for the export of UK pig meat and breeding pigs to China, following formal agreement of the export health certificate for export of pig meat from the UK to the China by the Chinese authorities on November 8th.
This means that exports from approved plants can now start, and opens up the world’s largest market to UK pig farmers, after nearly a decade of negotiations between the British Pig Executive (BPEX),in conjunction with the government and the country’s trade & investment body and the Chinese authorities.
In addition, the UK government has signed an agreement which re-opens the export of British breeding pigs to China - home to half of the world's pig population. The deal is valued at around £45 million to the UK pig industry over the next five years.
BPEX chairman Stewart Houston said: “This is wonderful news for the industry and something we have really been looking forward to. It will offer enormous opportunities for pig meat, particularly with a range of fifth quarter products – the parts of the carcase that command a premium in China.”
The process of approving the list of UK pig processing plants for export to China is now nearing completion. A joint UK government and BPEX delegation is due to travel to China on 24 November 2010 and will present several more plants for approval during the trip. 

Topigs announces 20 million pigs in breeding database

International pig breeder Topigs announces that its breeding database, Pigbase, now contains data from more than 20 million breeding pigs on 800 breeding farms. The company says this makes Pigbase the largest database of its kind in the world.
The piglet that became the 20 millionth pig in Pigbase was born on February 15 at the Topigs nucleus breeding farm in Rio Verde, Brazil.
Pigbase updates breeding values on a daily basis based on factors that include carcass quality, growth, feed conversion, litter size, sustainability, mothering characteristics and social behavior.