Poultry and livestock groups collaborate on report highlighting advancements in animal agriculture

The Animal Agriculture Alliance, in collaboration with the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, National Cattleman's Beef Association, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and National Milk Producers Federation, has issued a report titled, "Advances in Animal Agriculture: What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission and Others Aren't Telling You About Food Production." This report highlights recent accomplishments sustained by the specific poultry and livestock production sectors and is a stark contrast to an anticipated five-year update by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production to be issued by the Center for a Livable Future on October 22.
Each group provided information for the report and was given the opportunity to emphasize specific accomplishments in five areas: animal care, responsible antibiotics use, food safety, environmental sustainability and industry research initiatives. The report highlights the many, continuous improvements made by the poultry and livestock industry, explains how agriculture has adapted to the changing landscape, including embracing technology to improve animal well-being and food safety, and discusses modern agriculture and the need to feed 9.1 billion people by 2050.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance will host a teleconference October 22, from 11 a.m. to 12  p.m. EST with various third-party experts to discuss the information presented in the report. The presenters will also be prepared to answer questions about the Center for a Livable Future's re-release of the Pew Commission's 2008 report. Experts participating in the teleconference include:

• Dr. Richard Raymond, former under secretary, Food Safety Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Dr. Scott Hurd, former deputy acting under secretary, Food Safety, USDA
• Janeen Salak-Johnson, Ph.D., University of Illinois, associate professor Animal Science
• Dr. John Glisson, DVM, MAM, Ph.D., retired department head of Population Health and former head of the Department of Avian Medicine, University of Georgia; vice president, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
• Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor and air quality extension specialist, Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis
• Dr. Guy Loneragan, Ph.D., Department of Animal Sciences, Texas Tech University
A full copy of the report is available on the alliance's website. To register for the teleconference, please email Emily Meredith, Alliance communications director, at emeredith@animalagalliance.org.

Poultry market conditions improving, Rabobank reports

The global poultry industry continues to operate in a challenging market place, but conditions for 2013 are improving; a reduction in corn prices in recent months has been a welcome break for an industry that saw margins shrink in many parts of the world throughout 2012. According to Rabobank, the poultry industry’s pricing power should improve, with continuing high prices for competitor meats such as pork and beef leading consumers to choose the cheaper poultry option, and an improving supply discipline in some key producing countries.
“Despite the positive picture, this outlook is very fragile and dependent upon risks related to feed costs and supply discipline," said Rabobank analyst Nan-Dirk Mulder. “As grain and soybean stocks remain low, supply discipline will be a key tool for the industry to maintain margins. This has been demonstrated in Brazil, where production cutbacks have paid off in improved margins. Regions with inadequate market balance, such as South Africa and India, need to reconsider production levels in the next few months. This is also the case for producers in the EU where performance worsened throughout 2012, although Q4 did see some improvement.”
Global poultry industry performance has been affected by the increasing feed prices and local market supply/demand balance. Companies active in countries with a relatively good or improving local market balance have been the first to benefit from an improved market situation. Brazil, in particular, has benefitted from more disciplined supply management. The opposite is still the case in South Africa, India and Thailand, where industries are still exposed by oversupply, although signs are that in Thailand and India things are improving slightly. The best performing local industries are still in Russia and Ukraine, with ongoing high margins and a good local supply situation with growth in local demand, although prices in Russia have tended to decline recently.
The performance of poultry companies in 2013 will depend, to a large extent, on how well they are able to deal with volatility from grain and oilseed prices. Although the current outlook suggests a slowdown in feed price increases, uncertainty remains due to low stock levels and an uncertain production outlook for grains and oilseeds. The industry should therefore be prepared for any change in input prices. It has been proven that an optimal supply management system will be a key element here. In addition, further optimisation of industry structure should become a higher priority for companies in which elements such as market power, efficiency and risk mitigation are key for 2013.

US Chicken industry operations going through significant changes

A new report from Rabobank's global Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory department examines the challenges faced by the U.S. chicken industry and the implications for necessary change in the industry going forward.
According to "This is not your grandfather's chicken industry — Thoughts from a banker's perspective," written by Rabobank's senior poultry sector experts, the U.S. chicken industry is encountering permanent rather than cyclical changes which will require significant changes in how the industry operates in the future. Those challenges include:

• Excess supply in the industry, which has been made difficult to remedy given recent court rulings which inhibit companies' ability to eliminate capacity or even reduce production
• Increasing government regulation which makes it difficult to achieve competitive cost management and efficiency
• Rapid globalization of the industry, requiring U.S. companies to develop new export products for new export markets
• Maturation of the U.S. domestic market
• Structurally higher and more volatile feed input costs

"Rabobank believes the industry will adjust eventually, but those who will survive and thrive in the future will be those who recognize that the operating environment has changed forever, and alter the way they run their business," according to the report.

Poultry forum speakers announced

Economist Donald Ratajczak will be a featured speaker at the Poultry Market Intelligence Forum, during the International Poultry Expo in 2010. He will offer insight on U.S. and global economic conditions. Sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, the event is slated for Jan. 27-29, 2010, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Additional speakers include economists Mike Donohue and Paul Aho. They will examine the issues that will impact the domestic and international poultry industry in 2010.

World's Top Poultry Cos. Database now online

Compiled by WATT editors of Poultry International, WATT PoultryUSA and Industria Avicola, the World's Top Poultry Company Database includes company names, locations, production volumes, products offered and markets served. You can sort by region or nation, or do a search for a specific company.
Search the top companies database here, or view the October issue of Poultry International to see the report.

China’s poultry, egg prices decline

The average price of Chinese live chicken weighing 1 to 1.5 kilos decreased to 16.52 Yuan (US$2.42) per kilo in late July, a drop of 0.56% compared to late June, and 3.35% compared to the same period of last year, according to the Beijing-based China Animal Agriculture Association.
The data from CAAA also shows that China's chicken meat price only reached 14.08 Yuan (US$2.06) per kilo in late July, dropping by 0.65% compared to late June and 5.45% compared to 2008.
In July, China consumed a total of 15,200 tons of eggs for 5.97 Yuan (US$0.87) per kilo, according to Beijing's Himfr.com. Although the egg sales volume in China increased by 7.7% compared to July 2008, its price of each per kilo fell by 3.6%, said the report.

Study shows poultry resistant to 2009 H1N1

Recent studies suggest that commercial poultry is resistant to the newly emerged 2009 H1N1 flu strain which has now assumed pandemic status among humans. A research paper to be published in the Journal of General Virology from the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Riems, Germany showed that chickens in contact with infected pigs failed to develop the disease.
The 2009 H1N1 virus will spread from infected pigs to their pen mates under controlled experimental conditions carried out in a Bio-Safety Level 3+ facility. In addition, a recent study conducted at the Southeast Poultry Laboratory in Athens, Ga., demonstrated that chickens, turkeys and ducks were refractory to 2009 H1N1 virus isolated from human patients.
The focus of research is now directed at developing a suitable vaccine to protect humans since it is anticipated that there will be an upsurge in cases in the U.S. in fall and winter. Readers are referred to the July 10 edition of Science, which incorporates two articles on the origin of the 2009 H1N1 virus and its genetic characteristics.
In the context of commercial production, no individual suspected of being infected with 2009 H1N1 or any influenza virus should have any contact with live poultry during the clinical phase and for at least seven days thereafter.

Research links temperature, broiler breeder performance

Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed an equation specifying how a broiler breeder's maintenance energy requirement fluctuates as a function of four variables: body weight, weight gain, external temperature and age, according to a Poultry Science Association report.
The goal of the research, which has been underwritten by poultry breeding company Aviagen, seeks to optimize reproductive performance of broiler breeders by controlling their growth curves through feed allocations, based on weather forecasts.
According to lead researcher Dr. Martin Zuidhof, the team has made progress in quantifying the relationship between feed, body temperature and external temperature, thereby understanding better the energy required by the breeder for growth at various temperatures.
Dr. Zuidhof will present the results at the 2009 PSA Annual Meeting, to be held on July 20-23.

Study shows economic impact of meat, poultry industry

A study by the American Meat Institute shows that the meat and poultry industry contributes about $832 billion, or 6% of total GDP, to the U.S. economy.
It also shows that the industry employs 6.2 million people and pays $200 billion in wages and benefits.
Conducted by John Dunham and Associates in New York City, the study also suggests that the industry generates sizeable tax revenues - more than $81 billion in taxes to federal, state and local governments and more than $2 billion in state sales taxes.

Tyson Foods reports improved chicken sales

Structural changes and modified business practices, along with improved market conditions, have benefitted Tyson Foods' chicken business, according to a news report.
Donnie Smith, senior group vice president for poultry and prepared foods at Tyson, said that as a result of such changes, the company's chicken segment will have a stronger Q3 than anticipated a month back. Smith was speaking at the Stephens Inc. Spring Investment Conference held in New York on June 2.
However, Smith added that higher input costs and a demand for other sources of protein could affect chicken sales later in the year.

FAWC guidelines for poultry welfare

In a report released on May 28, Britain's Farm Animal Welfare Council has proposed six principles for the humane slaughter of poultry, according to a news report.
FAWC has urged the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to implement the new guidelines as the current welfare standard before and during slaughter is poor.
The guidelines cover the welfare of birds from the time they are hauled from farms to when they are stunned and killed. It suggests poultry handlers be better trained, and to ensure the bird is unconscious when slaughtered.
In the UK, over 800 million birds are killed for human consumption annually.

Egg prices down 31% compared to last year

The April 6, 2009 layer flock projection and economic commentary produced by Don Bell, University of California, Riverside contains the following updated statistics and projections:

• The hatch-to-date covering January/February 2009 is approximately 3.5% below the corresponding placements for the first two months of 2008 with an average of approximately 37 million pullet chicks placed per month.
• Projected pullet placement into layer houses through July 2009 exceeds the equivalent seven month period in 2008 by 1.7 million.
• The average flock size for the first two months of 2009 is 283.7 million hens or 0.1% greater than in 2008.
• Total egg production for the first two months of 2009 was 12,499 million or 0.5% below the 2008 figure, confirming a restraint in expansion.
• 24.6% of the flock had been molted at the end of February 2009 which is 1.1% lower than the value for the first two months of 2008.
• Hen slaughter for the first two months of 2009 averaged 4.85 million or 17% lower than in 2008.
• Shell eggs broken amounted to 5.183 million cases for the first two months of 2009 compared to 5.395 million cases in 2008, a reduction of 3.8%.
• Urner-Barry Midwest Large egg price averaged 112 cents per dozen for the first three months of 2009 which is 31% lower than the average of 162 cents per dozen for the three-month period in 2008.
• Urner-Barry Midwest breaker egg prices declined by 56% from 108 cents per dozen for the first quarter of 2008 to 47.4 cents per dozen for the first quarter of 2009.
• The estimated cost of egg production for the first quarter of 2009 declined by 11.7% from 69.5 cents per dozen to 58.2 cents per dozen.
• Hen numbers will decline slightly from a March value of 283.2 million through September then will increase to 284.6 million and 285.6 million respectively in November and December 2009.
• The projection for Urner-Barry Midwest large will decline from 105 cents per dozen to a low of 85.1 cents per dozen in June thereafter rising to 98.1 cents per dozen and 95.8 cents per dozen in November and December respectively. The projection for January and February shows an increase to 112.7 cents per dozen based partly on economic recovery and also a reduction in hen flock to 284.4 million and 283.4 million respectively for first two months in 2010. Price projections have been revised downward from the previous monthly report.

USDA-ERS values published in the Livestock and Poultry Situation Report for April project an annual production of 6,455 million dozen for 2009 or 0.8% higher than 2008. Egg consumption is estimated at 247.1 per capita compared to 248.9 per capita in 2008.