Sanderson COO Butts: Understand every step in poultry operation

Lampkin Butts, president and chief operating officer of Sanderson Farms, speaks at the USPOULTRY Financial Management Seminar. 
 “As an accountant, you should understand every step in the operations process and know where the numbers come from,” Lampkin Butts, president and chief operating officer of Sanderson Farms, said at USPOULTRY’s 2014 Financial Management Seminar in Destin, Florida. The seminar brought together key financial managers to discuss best practices and strategies to improve their ongoing treasury operations.
In his Top Management Perspective of Poultry Financial Management presentation, Butts opened the seminar and highlighted key techniques that Sanderson Farms’ utilizes to monitor and control operational costs. He stressed that measuring sticks, such as cost charts and performance management systems, are what allow the company to continue to generate improved margins.
Animal welfare affects bottom line
Kay Johnson Smith, president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, provided a brief overview of the Alliance’s background and the role they play in the agriculture industry. In her presentation, Animal Welfare Activity and the Impact on Accounting, Johnson Smith emphasized that the agriculture industry needs to have a voice on issues that can directly impact their bottom line and provided an outline of critical measures companies should implement in order to avoid being blindsided by oncoming initiatives.
She reminded attendees that the agriculture industry is not the only one at the table and that there are also a multitude of activists and animal welfare groups that want to drive down demand through disparaging anti-modern family campaigns, partnership building and state lobbying efforts.
Economist cautiously optimistic about poultry industry’s future 
Dr. Terry Barr, a CoBank economist, provided a cautiously optimistic economic forecast, noting that although the economy has been off to a slow start, momentum is building going into the second half of the year. Barr discussed key trends and transitions in the global and agricultural economy.
He commented, “Although we are back to where we were prior to the recession, the question is how we can sustain the growth?”

Marfrig to invest $309 million in China poultry operations, logistics

Brazilian meat packer Marfrig Alimentos SA will invest $309 million in implementing vertical integration in Chinese poultry operations and creating a multi-temperature logistics company in China, according to reports.
The joint ventures, which will be carried out with Chinwhiz and Cofco LTDA, respectively, will be handled through Marfrig's international arm, Keystone Foods. "With these investments, Marfrig will be strategically positioned to meet the growing demand for food in the Chinese market, with operations that range from processing to distribution to clients," said the company in a statement. "The investment is also consistent with the company's strategy of focusing on its financial sustainability over the long term, which will contribute to consistent cash generation."

Idaho congressional committee approves livestock bill

An Idaho senate committee has unanimously approved a bill that would move responsibility for overseeing poultry and swine operations from the state’s Department of Environmental Quality to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, according to The Times News of Twin Falls, Idaho.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Tim Corder, who also chairs the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee. It would group operations into permitting and regulatory categories by their size. For poultry, requirements would also vary depending on the type of bird and the type of manure-handling system the operation has in place. For example, certain permit requirements for liquid manure handling would kick in at a flock size of 9,000 laying hens, while similar requirements wouldn’t kick in for solid manure handling until a flock reaches 25,000, The Times News reported.
“As we go forward in these times, we find more and more groups that are critical of the state’s management of water quality and air quality, and we want to provide some assurances that we’re serious about that as a state and not only that, but the industry’s serious,” Corder said.
The bill now goes to the full senate for consideration.