2014 profitability looking positive for JSR’s Spanish partner

As the second largest producer of pig meat in Europe, Spain has the biggest breeding herd on the continent and Burgos-based JSR-eQ is confident of a successful year ahead, despite a gradual fall in the country's breeding herd numbers.
With lower feed prices, tight pig supplies and a good export market pushing the price per kilo deadweight to over EUR1.80 (US$2.45)/kg compared to the EU 28 at EUR1.70 (US$2.32), future profitability is looking promising.
Within JSR-eQ, which was established in November 2009 by Jose Luis Gento and Miguel Angel Cachafeiro, the main operation is the Program 8.25, which is an in-herd breeding system consisting of over 10 herds with more than 2,200 GGP and GP Genepacker dam line females, with a total breeding herd of over 22,000 females operating within it.
At their base in northern Spain the females are mated with JSR Genepacker dam line semen from boars imported from the nucleus herds of JSR Genetics, which stand in the JSR-eQ boar studs.
Cachafeiro explains, "We had been using JSR breeding stock prior to launching JSR-eQ, so it made sense for JSR to provide the original seed stock when we set up this venture in 2009. Now JSR supplies us with Genepacker dam line replacement boars for our AI studs, to maintain the link with JSR's genetic improvement in the UK and bring in unrelated lines.
"The Program 8.25 has basically remained the same since we started - it's just the number of herds wanting to join has increased. JSR Genepacker gilts are robust and produce a high number of pigs per sow per year. They also have one of the highest lean meat and best feed conversion ratios. These lines have adapted well to the warm climate in Spain.
"We are also currently working with two JSR Geneconverter sire lines specifically for the Spanish market - the Geneconverter 500 for meat-eating quality, and the Geneconverter 750 for yield of lean meat."
Cachafeiro and his team are maintaining the genetic management of the 8.25 program using JSR Select - a custom-designed genetic software program and database, which solves over 4.75 million equations per week to help improve performance and efficiency for its users.
Through working with JSR Genetics in the UK, Cachafeiro is confident he can soon make JSR-eQ one of the leading breeding companies in Spain.
"We are working with technical consultants, environmental experts and construction companies to try and establish comprehensive system solutions on our farms, so we can pass on good production ratios and financial efficiency to our customers," said Cachafeiro.
John Alexander, international key account manager at JSR, comments, "Having just returned from my first visit to JSR-eQ, I was impressed with the commitment and drive of Miguel and his team. I am certain that, together, we can work to grow his business in this very important EU market."

JSR Genetics uses imaging software to increase pig meat flavor

JSR Genetics is using new image analysis software, BioSoft ToolBox II, to analyze ultrasound scans from live animals in order to determine intra muscular fat levels, the trait that determined flavor, tenderness and succulence in pig meat, according to the company. This technology will allow for meat with more marbling without adding back fat, an ideal situation for producers.
The new scanner software, developed by Biotronics Inc. of Iowa in conjunction with Iowa State University, uses texture analysis technology enabling it to accurately measure intra muscular fat in the loin muscle of living animals. “In genetic terms, being able to scan live animals, and therefore actively select for IMF without excess back fat, is far quicker than having to wait until slaughter to score animals," said Dr. Grant Walling, JSR's managing director. "It means boars go into our AI studs with IMF measurement on both them and their relatives."
New applications for Biotronic’s software are also being investigated.  “Developments are already underway, for example, looking at how this IMF software can be integrated into the slaughterhouse line,” said Stephen Waite, JSR's head of science. “By quickly identifying specific levels of loin marbling in carcasses, the scanner will enable carcasses to be directed towards high meat eating quality lines. That way both processors and producers will benefit from the sale of higher quality pigs.”

JSR Genetics develops new sire line

International pig breeding business JSR Genetics has developed a new sire line which has been bred to provide producers with progeny that the breeder claims are up to three days faster to finish than its rivals.
The new JSR Geneconverter 800m boar will be available internationally in May, following the 2012 British Pig & Poultry Fair, where customers will be able to see the new boar and get all the breeding data. The new boar has been developed in response to direct customer demand in various parts of the world, including the UK, according to JSR's managing director Grant Walling. “We enjoy very close links with our customers and have become aware that faster growth and reducing days to slaughter is a real priority that’s not being adequately met for some,” said Walling.
The company used its global genetic library, as well as various breeding programs, to develop the new sire line with an emphasis on post-weaning growth. “We have been able to focus on providing new genetics that we believe will provide these much-needed traits for producers," said Stephen Waite, who is head of science at JSR. "Interestingly, it was by looking at the early growth stages, often neglected, that we have been able to achieve such remarkable results. We now have a new, very exciting boar that is exceptionally fast-growing. The animals that we are selecting from on our nucleus farms are consistently exhibiting exceptional growth.”

UK pig breeder opens 900-sow joint venture in China

China celebrates the joint venture between JSR Genetics and Hubei Liangyou Livestock and Poultry Company.

Pig farm Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited, a new Chinese joint venture between JSR Genetics and state-owned Hubei Liangyou Livestock and Poultry Company, will house a 900-sow high health JSR nucleus herd.
The farm, built on a 66-hectare Greenfield site located in the Xiangyang region of Hubei, marks a major step forward for JSR, which has increasingly targeted China for its growth potential. “Establishing a nucleus herd here, with the support of a state-owned company, is a tremendous achievement for JSR,” said International Sales Director Paul Anderson. “China is a rapidly expanding market, already home to half the world’s pigs and the Hubei Province itself is the country’s third-largest pig producing area.”
Final selection of breeding stock is currently taking place. A team of four will visit JSR during November to view the animals and examine pedigrees and estimated breeding values. Nine members of the Hubei team have already visited JSR in the UK, spending three months in nucleus herd training and learning how to get the best out of JSR genetics. Pigs will be shipped on November 30, and the Chinese team will then be closely supported by regular on-site visits from JSR international pig specialists to monitor and advise on progress.
“It is a very thorough process,” said Anderson. “We are recommending a nucleus herd based on JSR Genepacker GGP Gilts – large white and landrace – and JSR Geneconverter Boars, the 500 and 700. We believe this specification will meet Chinese regulations for nucleus herds and provide the lean, lower fat, feed-efficient pigs that the Hubei market requires.”
According to Li Shenghong, chairman of HBCOF, JSR is the ideal partner for this new venture. “They can provide the world-class genetics we need to match our investment in this highly advanced unit," he said. "They can also bring a level of support and technical back-up that we feel will ensure the continuing success of this venture in the future.”

UK conference spotlights global pig industry

The future of food and farming, including new opportunities to revolutionize the global pig industry, is top of the agenda at JSR Genetics’ 22nd Technical UK Conference, “The Next Agricultural Revolution,” in September.The keynote speaker is the UK government’s chief scientific adviser Sir John Beddington, who will speak on genetic development and sustainable intensification within the pig industry, as well as its environmental responsibilities. Beddington recently commissioned the “Foresight Report,” a comprehensive review of food security, which warns that population growth and climate change will endanger food supplies in the future.
He will be followed by JSR managing director Dr. Grant Walling, who will present “Revolutionizing Global Pork Production,” which outlines his thoughts on the need for radical changes in the industry. "We are at a point where significant new technologies, with the potential to deliver the increased output we need to see in the pig industry, are not being used," said Walling. "We need to carefully scrutinize these technologies — whether they are breakthroughs in reproductive technology, cloning or GM — to take the next Herculean step forward, enabling food supply to keep pace with population growth."
Other presentations during the two-day event will include representatives from the pig supply industry, who also are facing challenges of keeping pace with rapidly changing industry demands. Magnus Westerkamp, managing director of Big Dutchman Pig Equipment, will discuss “How consumer demand affects the development of pig equipment,” while Mick Hazzledine, pig nutritionist at Premier Nutrition, will identify the major challenges in feeding pigs in a changing market place.

JSR partners with Croatian Agro-farmer

After five years of conversation and negotiation, JSR has partnered with Croatian pig producers Agro-farmer.
Agro-farmer is JSR's first Croatian agent, and JSR hopes this will open the door for further expansion in the region. "With Croatia likely to enter the EU in the next couple of years any period of increased prosperity will improve diets — pork is already very popular in Croatia," said Paul Anderson, international sales director for JSR. "This is an ideal opportunity for us to demonstrate the capability of JSR Genetics and the stock chosen will help Agro-farmer improve both pork quality and productivity throughout the region."
The new pig herd Agro-farmer gains will be housed in a new pig unit scheduled for completion in November 2010.

JSR Genetics Ltd enters China deal

UK-based pig breeding company JSR Genetics will build and stock a 900 sow nucleus in Hubei province of China in a new joint venture with Hubei Liangyou Livestock and Poultry Company Limited. The Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited project is expected to be completed by December 2010, and includes shipment of dam lines and sire lines.
The venture expects to produce its first breeding stock by the end of 2011, and anticipates increasing pig production. Hubei employees will train for three months in the UK, and JSR will supply a farm manger and genetic database software to the project. JSR Genetics Ltd is part of the JSR Farming Group.