Argentina may see record corn crop in 2011-2012 season

Argentina corn farmers may produce 9.1% more than forecast, bringing their harvest to a record 30 million metric tons of corn in the 2011-2012 season, due to ideal weather conditions, according to the country's corn and sorghum trade group.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Argentina's Agriculture Ministry forecasts list outputs of 27.5 million metric tons and 28 million metric tons, respectively. Very good soil moisture and optimum temperatures are contributing to the potential record, said Martin Fraguio, executive director of the trade group Maizar. “The climate is much better than expected,” said Fraguio. “The expectation was for a very aggressive La Niña this year, and it hasn’t been. This is an ideal year."

EPA notifies West Virginia poultry farmers to cease discharging pollutants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has notified four poultry farmers in West Virginia to cease discharging pollutants from farms to waterways and obtain the necessary permits that are required by the Clean Water Act.
The EPA issued the orders following June inspections of five chicken and turkey operations in West Virginia. The inspections found that four of the five operations were concentrated animal feeding operations as defined by the Clean Water Act and that they had neither applied for nor obtained the required discharge permits. The fifth grower had already applied for the permit. Also, at four of the facilities inspected, man-made ditches draining stormwater away from the poultry houses and sheds containing manure and compost allowed pollutants to discharge to waterways during rain events.
The EPA and national and state poultry industry associations are in discussions on developing a program to educate growers on water quality and compliance issues. “Based on our experience, educating farmers on the requirements of the Clean Water Act goes a long way in helping them to protect and improve local water quality and increase compliance,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “We’ve had good results from working closely with integrators and trade associations, making sure farmers know how they can best reduce runoff and meet their regulatory responsibilities.”

US shell eggs broken down in October from 2010

U.S. shell eggs broken totaled 174 million dozen during October 2011, down 1% from October 2010 and 1% below the 176 million broken in September, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
During calendar year 2011 through October, shell eggs broken totaled 1.74 billion dozen, up 1% from the comparable period in 2010. Cumulative total edible product from eggs broken in January through October 2011 was 2.25 billion pounds, up slightly from 2010. Edible product included 1.38 billion pounds of whole eggs, 577.79 million pounds of egg whites and 294.93 million pounds of egg yolks.

USPOULTRY Foundation awards student recruiting grant to Texas A&M

Texas A&M University has received a $29,499 student recruiting grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation.
Funds from the Foundation will allow the school's poultry science department to invest significant time and resources in undergraduate student recruiting activities, according to Dr. John Carey, professor and head of the department. "Faculty and staff are involved in leadership of over 50 separate events throughout the year that are specifically geared to recruiting of students," said Carey. "Because we have the support of the USPOULTRY Foundation, we are able to reach and recruit high-quality students who will serve the future of the industry well.
The USPOULTRY Foundation board recently approved student recruiting grants totaling more than $180,000 to six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 14 other institutions with poultry programs. The Foundation provides annual recruiting funds to colleges and universities to attract students to their poultry programs.   

US hogs slaughtered up in October over 2010 numbers

U.S. hog slaughter totaled 9.91 million head, up 2% from October 2010 numbers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
Iowa led the numbers of hogs slaughtered in October, with 2.64 million head, up from 2.6 million head slaughtered in 2010. Illinois and Minnesota came in second and third, with 946,200 and 945,100 head slaughtered, respectively. Illinois numbers were up significantly, from 863,300 head in October 2010.
Pig meat production totaled 2.03 billion pounds, up 2% from 2010, while the average live weight was down 1%, at 275 pounds

Anhui Poultry net income down over 2010 numbers

Chinese duck breeder and processor Anhui Taiyang Poultry Co. Inc. reported a net income of $1.7 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2011, down 60.5% from 2010's $4.4 million, according to the company's latest financial report.
Part of the drop in income, according to Anhui, can be attributed to one-time gains in the sale of a fertilizer plant and the collection of a previously written-off account receivable in 2010. In addition, bad debt charges and increased income tax expenses affected 2011's net income.
Anhui's breeding unit saw a 57.3% increase in revenue in the first nine months of 2011 over 2010 numbers, bringing in $12.2 million compared to $7.7 million. The feed and food units saw 54% and 50.6% drops in revenue, respectively, coming in at $4.3 million and $6.8 million compared to 2010's $9.4 million and $13.7 million.

UK grants more funding for poultry disease research

The UK’s Institute for Animal Health will receive GBP80 million (US$124.4 million) in government funding towards the GPB100 million+ second phase of development at its Pirbright campus.
This phase will include the development of new high containment laboratories, experimental facilities and supporting infrastructure for studying avian and other animal diseases and to support the development of new vaccines and tests. “This significant investment in Pirbright will drive growth, create highly skilled jobs and improve our understanding of diseases that can have devastating effects on our rural economy, including avian flu,” said Minister for Universities and Science David Willets.
The new facilities will join the high containment laboratory currently under construction at Pirbright that is due to become operational in early 2014. “The new facilities in this next phase of development are urgently required to underpin UK and EU capability in research on virus infections of poultry and livestock," said Professor John Fazakerley, IAH director. "They will provide a single site that has a variety of bio-containment level working environments. In support of the UK’s poultry industry, we can with this investment build on previous research and innovation successes, such as vaccines against coccidiosis and Marek’s disease and the elimination of avian leukosis virus from poultry breeding stock. We will be able to expand our research into these and other important diseases of poultry and diseases that can spread from poultry to humans.”