ThePigSite Newsletter - 28 June 2010

Monday 28th June 2010

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial - Quarterly Report Reveals Further Falls in US Pig Numbers

The USDA's Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report was published at the end of last week, and has been described as 'neutral'. The inventory of all hogs and pigs on 1 June 2010 was 64.4 million head – four per cent lower than 1 June 2009 but up one per cent from 1 March 2010.

The breeding inventory, at 5.79 million head, was down three per cent from last year but also up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 58.6 million head, was down four per cent from last year but up one per cent from last quarter.

The March-May 2010 pig crop, at 28.2 million head, was down three per cent from 2009 and down two per cent from 2008. Sows farrowing during this period totalled 2.87 million head, down five per cent from 2009 and down six per cent from 2008. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50 per cent of the breeding herd. The average pigs reared per litter was a record high 9.81 for the March-May 2010 period, compared to 9.61 last year.

Russia has reported two new cases of African swine fever in the last week, and following routine surveillance, six pigs in Taiwan have tested positive for foot and mouth disease and 163 animals were slaughtered after healed lesions were found.

Jackie Linden

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report - June 2010
This quarter's Hogs Quarterly and Pigs report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Risk Management for Pork Producers
Risk management is a structured approach to managing uncertainty, writes ThePigSite LatinAmerica Editor, Chris Wright.

Economic Aspect of Agriculture in 2010 and Beyond
The economic aspect of agriculture for 2010 shows more stability compared to the economic outlook for 2009, according to an annual joint report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entitled Agricultural Outlook 2010-19. Rachel Ralte, Junior Editor of ThePigSite, provides a brief outline of the Outlook.

Benchmarking: The Right Tool for the Times
Lee Whittington, president of the Prairie Swine Research Centre, explains the benenfits of benchmarking for the pig industry in the latest issue of the Centre's Centred on Swine.

Foaming Manure
A warning about the danger of explosions when manure forms a foam, from Robert Chambers, engineer specialising in swine and sheep housing and equipment with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in the latest issue of Pork News & Views.

Company News

Intervet/Schering-Plough Receives Positive Opinion
EU - Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, yesterday announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded the referral procedure for PorcilisÂ® PRRS and for Porcilis M Hyo on simultaneous administration of these products in piglets.

ACMC Tip: Recording Finishing Pig Performance
UK - While many producers at least have some form of recording system for their breeding herds, many still do not record the performance of their feeding enterprises.

Global Pig Industry News