Soy-based fish feed helps promote sustainable aquaculture

Feed trial research results using soybeans in fish feed as an alternative to fishmeal and fish oil have attained a major goal for sustainable marine fish aquaculture — producing farmed marine fish with a wild fish in/farmed fish out ratio of less than 1:1 — according to the U.S. Soybean Export Council.
The amount of fishmeal and fish oil from wild-caught sources used in farmed fish feed has been a concern for the long-term sustainability and scalability of aquaculture. Marine species, such as salmon, tuna, and yellowtail are higher up the food chain, and require diets comprised mostly of proteins and oils. These are usually in the form of fishmeal and fish oil derived from smaller fish lower on the food chain, such as anchovies and menhaden. However, these wild fisheries cannot be scaled up to meet the feed demands of a growing global aquaculture industry.
"Attaining a [fish in/fish out ratio] of under 1:1 has been the holy grail of marine fish feed research for some time," said Neil Anthony Sims, president of Kampachi Farms. "We show here that we can produce premium, sashimi-grade fish with a net increase in marine proteins: that is, we produce more fish than our fish eat. This represents a significant step forward for the economics and the ecological efficiencies of marine fish culture."

China to destroy 6.7 metric tons ractopamine-fed US beef

The Taipei City government's Department of Environmental Protection will burn 6.771 metric tons of U.S. beef containing the feed additive ractopamine to ensure that the contaminated meat does not reach Chinese consumers, according to reports.
The beef, confiscated from Taipei-based beef importer Shusen Corp., is the first batch of U.S. beef containing the banned feed additive to be destroyed in wake of recent inspections. Shusen has been fined NT$60,000 (US$2,030) for importing and selling meat products containing ractopamine, and the Department of Health will continue to conduct spot checks on the company and others while the government finalizes its decision on the additive's ban.
Currently, there is a zero-tolerance policy in place on beef containing ractopamine, with imports testing positive for the additive subject to fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$6 million (US$203,031). There is a current dispute, however, over the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou’s plan to partially lift the ban on ractopamine in U.S. beef products.

International Pig Veterinary Society Congress 2012 ‘early bird’ deadline approaching

The final deadline for the "early bird" registration for the International Pig Veterinary Society Congress 2012 congress in Jeju, Korea is March 15.
Delegates and students are urged to take advantage of the discounts available with this offer, which can be found on the Congress website. The conference is being held at the International Convention Centre from June 10 to June 13.
The theme of this year’s event is “Happy Pigs – Healthy People” and the program has been specifically designed to cover every aspect of the swine industry, including economically important diseases, new and exotic diseases, production management, feed and nutrition, genetics, welfare and pork safety. 

USPOULTRY studies broiler infectious bronchitis vaccine options

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the USPOULTRY Foundation have completed a funded research project at the University of Georgia studying infectious bronchitis hatchery vaccination methods for broilers.
Infectious bronchitis is a contagious upper-respiratory tract disease that is difficult to control because several viruses are responsible, and vaccination for one virus type does not protect against all types.
The Arkansas vaccine type is the main virus found in the field indicating that birds are not completely protected against this virus. Combining other infectious bronchitis vaccines at the hatchery with the Arkansas vaccine did not interfere with the effectiveness of the Arkansas vaccine, and the combination of other vaccines with the Arkansas virus actually improved protection.
The Arkansas vaccine did not produce an effect in one-day old broilers when given in a hatchery spray cabinet; however, vaccine given by the eye drop method provided good immunity. This research indicates that hatchery spray may not be the most effective method for giving the Arkansas vaccine, and infectious bronchitis protection can be improved by giving the Arkansas vaccine in conjunction with other infectious bronchitis vaccines. 

RECALL: Western Feed voluntarily recalling Kountry Buffet animal feed

Western Feed LLC is voluntarily recalling two lots of its Kountry Buffet 14 percent feed because it may contain monensin sodium, which is potentially fatal for horses, according to reports.
Monensin sodium is a medication used for some livestock and poultry, but it can be fatal to horses if fed at sufficiently high levels. Western Feed has received a report of some horses that died from eating the feed, said the company.
The recalled lot numbers are M718430 and M720280. The feed is packaged in 50-pound bags with the Payback logo. It was distributed Dec. 2 to Dec. 15, 2011, to retailers in Nebraska and Wyoming.

European Porcine Circovirus Type 2 research award presented

The European PCV2 Research Award was presented to projects from France and Spain concentrating on Porcine Circovirus Type 2. The projects chosen were among nine proposals submitted from seven different countries: UK, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and France.
These questions will be addressed by the research projects selected by the independent review board for the 2011 awards:

• Evaluation of Porcine Circovirus Type 2 eradication feasibility by massive vaccination of both sows and piglets (Dr. Marina Sibila, CReSA and Universitat Autònoma, Barcelona, Spain)
• Effect of long term Porcine Circovirus Type 2 systematic vaccination on viral evolution (Dr. Tuija Kekarainen, CReSA and Universitat Autònoma, Barcelona, Spain)
• Study of Porcine Circovirus Type 2 transplacental transmission after intranasal infection (Dr. Beatrice Grasland, Anses – LERAPP laboratory, Ploufragan, France)
The award is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Georgia poultry industry affected by new stormwater runoff legislation

Proposed Georgia legislation calling on poultry facilities near impaired streams to capture rain in heavy storms could have strong implications for the state's poultry industry, says the Georgia Poultry Federation.
Under the new proposal, facilities with a history of pollution must take serious action to clean up water discharged into streams. Those that don't meet water quality goals in three years will be under stricter scrutiny, and repeat offenders will have to meet certain levels or face penalties.
In particular, poultry companies are concerned about the standard for fecal coliform. One quarter of Georgia's poultry plants will be affected by the new requirements for sites near streams deemed impaired because of high levels of the bacteria, according to Mike Giles, head of the Georgia Poultry Federation. Flat Creek, for example, which flows through a heavy industrial area, is so contaminated with the bacteria that it has been listed as impaired. Among the companies with processing facilities along Flat Creek is Pilgrim's Corp.
But poultry companies say they aren't the only ones responsible for high levels of the bacteria. "Fecal coliform is a challenging pollutant to measure and also to control through a permit process," said Giles. "It is everywhere in the environment."