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.

Hog producer enters receivership due to high feed costs

Canadian hog producer Big Sky Farms has entered receivership due to high animal feed prices caused by the ongoing U.S. drought, according to reports. An outside party will control the company until it can restructure its debt or be sold; Big Sky Farms has said it has no plans to lay off staff or liquidate its pig inventory.
The company has been losing C$40 (US$41.01) to C$50 (US$51.27) on every hog it sends to market, said Chief Executive Casey Smit, leaving the company with few options. Big Sky Farms filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 when feed costs increased to similar levels and restructured its business.

India gets cattle feed processing plant in state of Gujarat

A cattle feed processing plant and an institute for dairy technology have been inaugurated at Mahesana's Dudhsagar dairy in the Indian state of Gujarat, according to reports.
The factory is the biggest in the country and will process 1 million kilograms of cattle feed per day. Chief Minister Narendra, who led the inauguration, said that the cattle-rearing sector has been neglected in India. "Milk productivity per animal in India is lower when compared to other parts of the world," he said. "This is the reason why the cattle breeders in India have not become prosperous." To help remedy this, the government has recently set up Kamdhenu University to create a pool of manpower for encouraging scientific cattle-rearing techniques in Gujarat.

Kansas State feed short courses focus on HACCP, manufacturing

The American Feed Industry Association, along with the International Grains Program of the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University, have partnered to offer two short courses on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and feed manufacturing.
The interactive courses, both held in Manhattan, Kan., are taught by instructors who provide in-depth training on all aspects of the industry associated with feed manufacturing and feed safety:

• The AFIA-KSU Advanced Feed Manufacturing Short Course will be held October 8–11. The course provides participants with an in-depth understanding of the specifics of feed processing. Emphasizing feed safety, this advanced course targets individuals with feed industry experience that understand the basic principles of feed manufacturing.
• Establishing a HACCP Program for the Feed Industry will be held November 5–8. The course focuses on the development of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points plan for all sectors of the feed industry, including feed mill managers, quality assurance personnel and ingredient suppliers.
Registration can be found on the American Feed Industry Association's website. 

EU partial sow stall ban could provide boost for adaptable breeders

The forthcoming partial ban on sow stalls in the European Union going into effect on January 1, 2013, could provide a boost in sales for pig breeders with gilts that are already well adapted to the new group housing system, which has been in operation in the UK for more than a decade, according to some companies.
International pig genetics company ACMC said it is expecting sales of its AC1 gilt and grandparent stock to increase substantially in 2013 after the new welfare codes come into force in mainland Europe. “The UK banned sow stalls over a decade ago and many British producers had difficulty adapting to the new system because of fighting, bullying and general aggression among their sows,” said Matthew Curtis, managing director of ACMC. “However, it’s been found that the quiet temperament of the AC1 gilt — which contains genes from the docile and prolific Chinese Meishan breed — means it is well adapted to this system and we have found them easier to mix in group systems than traditional breeds, so they suffer less stress which results in reduced fetal deaths and abortions."
Curtis said that this ability to perform under group-housing systems has already been borne out on mainland Europe, where a 1,000-sow herd belonging to the Taroncher brothers — who farm near Valencia in Spain — are weaning 32.5 pigs per sow per year. The farm is already fully compliant with the new regulations. “It has been suggested that there is increasing interest in selecting pigs for behavioral traits," said Curtis. "Less aggressive finishing pigs convert their feed better because their energy is diverted to growth rather than fighting."

Pig producers focus on energy efficiency at SPACE 2012

Several exhibitors in the pig section at SPACE 2012 in Rennes, France, held September 11–14, said they were “pleasantly surprised by the positive response” they were receiving from visitors to the show, and that energy efficiency seems to be a key point of interest.
Large crowds of producers thronged the aisles of the pig sector halls on September 13, with many stopping to look more closely at the array of different products on display. “Business is good,” said a spokeswoman for Dutch bio-energy installation company HoSt Bio-Energy, a first-time exhibitor at the event. “We are finding there is a lot of interest among the pig producers here in our small farm-scale anaerobic digesters, which can produce electricity and heat for their businesses. “I think an increasing number of French pig producers are realizing that they need to take action to control and cut their energy costs, as well as find new, less expensive ways to deal with their waste products, especially slurry.”
Charlotte Højgrav-Huus Skjold, sales manager at VengSystem, a Danish supplier of ventilation technology, said she is seeing the same thing. “Pig producers here seem surprisingly positive about the future, with much more focus on saving energy wherever possible," said Skjold. "I feel things are definitely changing." In addition to France, she said that VengSystem is looking at new markets in Asia. It already exports its systems, which provide controlled temperatures for sows and piglets and, she said, help reduce ammonia emissions. The company exports to Canada, the UK, Ireland, Norway and other EU countries.
While some observers at the show said they think production will fall during the first few months of 2013, they are all confident it will bounce back as producers adapt to the new EU welfare regulations, which come into force on January 1, 2013, and the prices for pigs rise. Shi-Heung Park, president of InterHeat, which specializes in supplying heating lamps for pig houses, also said he feels business has been good in France in 2012, and he has confidence about the future. “People must eat,” he said.

SPACE 2012: Animal nutrition specialist Olmix researching algae for pig gut health

French animal nutrition specialist Olmix is conducting further research and development into the use of algae to help improve the gut health of pigs, and it expects to have new products available for producers within a year or two, said the company's European business development manager, Olivier Biannic, at SPACE 2012 in Rennes, France, on September 13.
The company, which is already seeing success with its algae-based products for pigs, saw greater potential for further development of the beneficial effects of algae on pig health and productivity, said Biannic to Pig International. A product the company launched in 2011 — ecopiglet, which helps prepare piglets for weaning — is proving very popular, according to Olmix, and has resulted in a 50 percent improvement in the health of piglets in trials, while the use of antibiotic medications had been reduced by more than 50 percent.
This news followed a pre-SPACE seminar on “algae, the blue revolution for a sustainable chemistry,” organized in nearby Pontivy, France. Nearly thirty scientists, including Breton specialists in marine sciences and in algae; representatives of research labs; and representatives from CNRS Roscoff, the University of Western Brittany, the University of Southern Brittany, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research and the regional SMEs; presented the potential of algae to provide global solutions to the issues of nutrition and health, particularly of animals and plants.