UK broiler, egg producers to see 2012 margins decline

The average income on UK specialist poultry farms is expected to fall by some 8 percent in 2012, according to figures from the country’s government.
Although the value of output from the egg and broiler sectors is expected to increase, this will be offset by the increased cost of production, particularly the cost of feed. The forecasts and farm income data for 2010 and 2011, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, suggest a strong 2012 for the UK farming industry as a whole, with dairy farmers seeing an increase in income of 27 percent.
“These forecasts are in contrast to the wider economy," said National Farmers' Union chief economist Phil Blicknell. "They follow on from the improved confidence that we’ve seen in some farming sectors and build on other recent indicators that have underlined agriculture’s contribution to the wider economy. This is undoubtedly positive news for parts of the industry.
But not all farm types saw improvements to their bottom line, according to Blicknell. Pigs and poultry saw profitability decline, as rising input costs, most notably feed, made inroads into enterprise margins.

Brazil lowers corn crop harvest estimates

Brazil lowered its harvest estimates for the 2011-2012 summer corn forecast, saying a 13-week drought has caused corn growers to reduce output in a key growing region in that country.
Brazil lowered its corn forecast by 4.3 percent from December 2011's estimated 36.44 million metric tons to 34.88 million metric tons, according to AgRural Commodities Agricolas. According to the crop forecasting firm, Brazil harvested 35.93 million tons over the same period last year. 
AgRural said Brazil's southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana reduced output by 13 percent to 12.86 million tons due to an extended dry season followed by heavy rains. 

Animal feed industry group concerned over new EPA proposal

The Idaho Cattle Association expressed concern over a new Environmental Protection Agency proposal that would some require animal feeding facilities to disclose certain information to the federal government.
According to a prepared statement by the association, section 308 of the Clean Water Act would require concentrated animal feeding operations to provide owner contact information, geographic coordinates of the operation’s location, number and type of livestock, and total land acreage, to be placed in a database accessible through the Environmental Protection Agency's website. Noncompliant feed facilities would be subject to fines up to $37,500 per day, according to the association. These requirements would “go far beyond the authority of the EPA, and in doing so, put our nation’s food supply in grave danger,” said Idaho Cattle Association representatives. 

American Feed Industry Association hosts Pet Food Conference

The American Feed Industry Association hosted a Pet Food Conference in conjunction with the 2012 International Poultry and International Feed Expo in Atlanta.
The association announced a new third-party facility certification program designed specifically for manufacturing pet food and pet food ingredients. The Pet Food Manufacturing Facility Certification Program and the Pet Food Ingredient Facility Certification Program were developed by the association's pet food and quality committees with input from third-party food safety experts. These two programs build upon the association's Safe Feed/Safe Food program, and are designed to monitor the process controls specifically related to the manufacturing of pet food.
“AFIA sees this as a model program for the entire pet food industry,” said Joel G. Newman, the association's president and CEO. “I commend the pet food committee for developing this program to help ‘raise the bar’ for their own industry.” The PFMF and PFIF certification programs were designed to meet requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations, and the american feed industry association says it is seeking Food and Drug Administration recognition of these programs. “In 2004 AFIA launched the first third-party feed facility certification program, Safe Feed/Safe Food program, addressing the needs of the feed industry. And then in 2010 the International Safe Feed/Safe Food program was added to provide a tool for companies that wish to meet the EU requirements. Now today, adding the Pet Food Facility program to the family of third-party certification program makes sense not only for our members, but for the pet food industry,” Newman said. 

Hatchery-Breeder Clinic held at International Poultry Expo

The Hatchery-Breeder Clinic was recently held in conjunction with the 2012 International Poultry and International Feed Expo, focusing on improvements in broiler performance.
In his presentation on Profiles in Breed Development, Scott Martin, hatchery specialist for Cobb-Vantress’ technical support team, commented that breeders should address incubation management, and said that improvements in broiler performance start at the hatchery level. Martin said that breeders should use data loggers to monitor the temperature and humidity of eggs at all of these points.  Terry Bruce of Tip Top Poultry gave a presentation on Breast Vaccination Concerns, saying that the poultry industry could be adversely impacted unless it addresses the issue of granulomas associated with Salmonella breast injections. “Granuloma formation is a natural response to the bacterial vaccine. It’s not something foreign that is being introduced,” Bruce said.  Other topics included a Disease Update for Breeders; New Equipment for Hatcheries and Breeder Farms; Changing Vaccination Programs and the Impact on Disease Trends; and Male Management for Optimum Fertility.

Americans to consume 1.25 billion chicken wings Super Bowl weekend

Americans will consume an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings — more than 100 million pounds of chicken — during the Super Bowl, according to the National Chicken Council's 2012 wing report, contributing to a projected 25 billion wings to be consumed in all of 2012.
Of the total wings sold throughout 2012, 9.5 billion wings, or 2.2 billion pounds, will be sold through foodservice channels and another 4 billion (800 million pounds) will be sold in retail grocery stores. Thirty-three percent of those numbers will come from casual dining restaurants, 26 percent from pizza places, 16 percent from chicken places, 9 percent from mid-priced full-service restaurants and 8 percent from food stores, according to NPD Group data.

Mexico issues preliminary ruling on US chicken anti-dumping case

The Mexican Ministry of Economy has announced a preliminary determination regarding an poultry antidumping investigation involving chicken leg quarters imported to Mexico from the U.S. The case was brought forward by Industrias Bachoco S.A.B. de C.V.  and two other companies in 2010, and hearings began in August 2011. 
The resolution established these main points:
• There are dumping conditions on chicken leg quarters imported from the U.S., including margins ranging from 62.9 percent to 129.77 percent.
• These practices damaged the domestic poultry industry.
• The Ministry possesses all elements for establishing anti-dumping duties, but did not proceed as the interested parties expressed the will to reach an agreement.
• The antidumping practices investigation process with regards to chicken leg quarters price discrimination will continue.
• The Ministry agreed to establish a 30-business-day period for the interested parties to provide additional arguments or elements deemed relevant to the investigation. This term started the day after the resolution was issued.