US, Colombia poultry industries announce quota auction for US chicken

Organizations representing the U.S. and Colombian poultry industries have announced the first quota auction for sales of U.S. chicken leg quarters to Colombia as part of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and Colombia’s Federación Nacional de Avicultores have launched a dedicated website to handle all sales transactions for the quota, which is 6,750 metric tons for the remainder of 2012. Bids open at 9 a.m. EDT on October 4, and close on October 5, at 5 p.m. EDT. Quota shipments are allowed to enter Colombia at zero duty, and the shipment period is October 10 through December 31.
TRQ (tariff-rate quota) Certificates will be awarded to the highest bidder(s). Any person or entity incorporated or domiciled, with a legal address, in the U.S. is eligible to bid. The minimum bid quantity is 1 metric ton; the minimum bid price is $44.08/metric ton (i.e., $0.02/pound). Bids must be submitted in dollars and cents per metric ton. Bids should not be submitted in amounts that include fractions of a cent.

National Farmers' Union, ABN partner on poultry training program

The National Farmers' Union and ABN have partnered to create the Poultry Industry Programme, a training program designed to give young people insight into market influences that impact British poultry meat and egg production, and create new industry leaders for British poultry.
As part of the seven-month initiative, twenty participants will learn about the importance of lobbying and policy development, managing and mitigating risks in feed raw materials, and how planning and bank lending can influence business expansion. They’ll also receive training in media, social media, negotiation skills and a look at market demands from supermarkets and the British consumer.

“I want those involved to take away skills that will add real value to their business and importantly an understanding of what the NFU does for them as poultry producers in the UK and Europe," said National Farmers' Union poultry board member Kinsey Hern. “I hope that some of them will remain involved with the NFU at some level, whether nationally, locally or regionally. You never know we may even produce a future president of the NFU.”
In the long term, it is hoped the program will create a communication network between young producers and the poultry board, to help the National Farmers' Union put in place a succession plan for its poultry board, said organizers.

Drought shrivels US poultry industry confidence

What does the current poultry industry have in common with the 1969 Chicago Cubs baseball team and golfer Greg Norman in the 1996 Masters Tournament? Like these famous collapses from front-runners, the perceived fortunes of the poultry industry have faded dramatically.

Confidence reversal

Just three months ago, I reported “confidence in the poultry sector has never been higher.” Now it’s near rock bottom:


• lowest Overall Index ever (44.7 based on 1996 baseline = 100)
• Lowest Future Profits Index ever (26.6)
• Historically low Opportunities and Conditions measures
• Lowest broiler and turkey Indices ever (35.7 and 43.6, respectively)


Poultry outlook wilted with drought

So, what happened? A severe drought has negatively impacted grain harvesting:


• Corn harvest is expected to be 13 percent less than a year ago, resulting in the lowest production since 2006 and the smallest surplus since 1996
• Soybean bushels are forecasted 14 percent below 2011 levels


Costs making poultry operations unprofitable
When coupled with rising energy costs – gasoline prices increased 27 cents per gallon during a single month – and the inability to pass on costs even though food prices were up 6 percent during July, poultry producers are forced into unprofitability.
Although some poultry producers have compensated with reduced production, third-quarter trends are nearly equal to a year ago (although year-to-date placements are down 3 percent).
Poultry retains edge in consumer value
The only bright spot for the foreseeable future is the widening value gap of poultry, relative to other protein sources. The competitive efficiencies of poultry have made chicken products more attractive to consumers than beef or pork.
Increased demand should help integrators weather this storm, but a return to long-term profitability will require significant changes in market conditions.

Greg Rennier, Ph.D., is president of Rennier Associates, Inc., email greg@rennierassociates.com.

US poultry industry supports Mexico in Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership

The National Chicken Council and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council have expressed their support for Mexico's inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, in response to the U.S. International Trade Commission’s request for comments and investigation on negotiating objectives with respect to the country's participation.
“Mexico’s membership is unconditionally supported by our industry and we view its inclusion as an opportunity to demonstrate improved relations by our government agencies and, thusly, both of our industries,” said National Chicken Council President Mike Brown and export council President Jim Sumner.

Mexico, which was not originally included in current negotiations, now joins Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The U.S. Trade Representative has asked the International Trade Commission to provide advice concerning the probable economic effect of a U.S. free trade agreement with the countries. Brown and Sumner said Mexico’s participation does not offer anything in terms of tariff reductions since the two countries have long eliminated duties on poultry products. What it does offer, they said, “is an opportunity for the two governments to negotiate on the two issues that remain thorns in the side of liberalized trade in poultry: lack of productive movement on sanitary and phytosanitary issues and the use of bogus antidumping cases to hinder trade.”
Two negotiating objectives for Mexico’s inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership were also suggested:

• The negotiation of a specific and mutually agreed work-plan and timetable for recognition of Exotic Newcastle Disease-free areas in Mexico, and for recognition of equivalency of the Mexican poultry inspection systems, with a view toward establishing an acceptable level of two-way trade as soon as possible, consistent with public and animal health protection.
• The negotiation of a “peace clause” that would prevent either country from bringing antidumping cases, or imposing antidumping duties, on the other’s poultry products.

WATT webinar to probe poultry and grains outlook for 2013

Join a webinar panel of three experts focusing on the economic outlook for poultry and grains in 2013, taking place on October 16 and hosted by WATT Publishing.

Register for this webinar.
The speakers for "Poultry and Grains Outlook for 2013" include Dr. Paul Aho, Poultry Perspective, poultry industry consultant and economist; Chip Flory, Farm Journal Media, editor of Pro-Farmer and expert on grain-farming trends; and Mike Helgeson, CEO of GNP Poultry. Gary Thornton, agribusiness content director for WATT Publishing, will moderate.
Areas of focus for the panelists will include their forecasts for U.S. grain and poultry prices in 2013, and:

• What is the profitability outlook for poultry producers in 2013?
• How will corn supplies be rationed among meat and poultry producers?
• What is the nutritional quality of the new corn and soybean crop?
• Have U.S. corn yields plateaued and what does this mean for future supplies?
• How high will wholesale and retail meat and poultry prices go in 2013?
Plus, pose your questions to the panelists, live via the Internet, in a question-and-answer following their presentations. Registration is available online until the event begins at 10 a.m. EDT/9 a.m. CDT on October 16.

Iowa State University aims to improve swine dysentery diagnosis

Iowa State University veterinary researchers are working on developing improved methods for diagnosing swine dysentery, a disease which has re-emerged in recent years with increasing case numbers since 2003, according to the university.
The university veterinary diagnostic laboratory said it identified more than 100 cases in 2011, and 2012 seems to be tracking closely with those totals. Some possible causes for the re-emergence include changes in feeding practices that impact the intestinal microenvironment in pigs, changing genetics among herds or an emerging co-pathogen along with the bacteria that causes the disease, said Dr. Eric Burrough, an assistant professor in the Iowa State University Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine.
Burrough also said the researchers have identified a newly emergent bacterial source which shares the genus of the classic swine dysentery bacteria but is not the same species. This new bacteria causes the same symptoms and is treated the same way, but the current tools used to identify swine dysentery can't detect it. “What we’re looking for is a more rapid diagnostic tool to identify both the classic bacteria and potentially novel strains that could cause swine dysentery,” said Burrough. “Until we find a method to screen for virulence with a faster turnaround, culturing will likely remain the most reliable means of confirming a diagnosis of this disease.”
Swine dysentery is preventable through biosecurity measures, said the researchers, whereas treating it can be a costly proposition. “The bottom line is you don’t want your herd to be contaminated, and you can’t afford it,” said Dr. James McKean, a university professor and associate director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center.

Egg commission to bring World Egg Day to developing world

The International Egg Commission has started to work with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization as part of World Egg Day. The announcement was made to delegates at the commission’s annual marketing and production conference in London by Julian Madeley, director general of the International Egg Commission.
See video: Watch Julian Madeley explain the initiative in more detail
Madeley said that the International Egg Commission wants to take World Egg Day into the developing world, to replicate the successes that it has been achieving in wealthier economies since it started in 1996. At the beginning of 2012 an agreement was signed between the two bodies that recognizes the commission as the international voice of the egg industry, and World Egg Day is but one of a number of projects on which the two bodies are working together.

The commission is keen to show the power that eggs can have in developing countries because of the quality of protein that they provide. All claims on the new worldeggday.com website have been backed by science and reviewed by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is now linking to it from its website.