ThePigSite Newsletter - 20 September 2010

ThePigSite Weekly Newsletter

Monday 20th September 2010

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial - The Fifth Quarter: Making the Most of the Offal Market

From a conference entitled Fifth Quarter: Go Green for More Profit, Chris Harris reports that the consumption of offal in the UK rose by 67 per cent between 2003 and 2008 and was valued at £62 million. If only the same impressive growth could be achieved in other pig meat markets!

Chinese pork prices in August were reported to be steady, following a rapid rise in June and July as the result of disease and flooding in the south of the country. Rising feed costs and festivals are expected to cause prices to rise again in the next two months although the peak prices of 2008 are not expected to be reached this year.

Russia's Cherkizovo Group has been in the news three times in the last week. Firstly, the company reported strong growth across all its business segments for the first half-year, and future growth in the pork division will be assured by an increase in production capacity of 50,000 tonnes from two new farms on greenfield sites in central Russia. Cherkizovo has also been in the news as it secures sufficient grain to meet its feed requirements in the coming months.

And finally, turning to pig diseases, France has reported Aujeszky's disease in two pig herds and 34 wild boar in Armenia died or were destroyed as the result of African swine fever. The Latvian veterinary authorities have registered an outbreak of brucellosis in pig and cattle herds.

Jackie Linden

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 6 new features this week:

Opportunities for Offal
Consumption of offal in the UK rose by 67 per cent between 2003 and 2008 and was valued at £62 million, writes ThePigSite senior editor, Chris Harris.

Déjà Vu for Canadian Pig Herd
By Chris Harris, Senior Editor, ThePigSite. Our snapshot of the ongoing global pig industry trends as reported in September 2010 Whole Hog Brief. To read the full detailed analysis including all the commentary and graphical data, subscribe to the publication.

Group Size and Alley Width Affect the Movement of Market Pigs
When handling near-market weight hogs, group sizes of four or eight pigs are preferable for minimising stress based on handling and behavioural measures, according to L. Kavanagh, S. Goumon and H.W. Gonyou in the Prairie Swine Centre Annual Report 2009.

Advances in Sow and Gilt Management
Rudolf Wiedmann of the Centre for Education and Knowledge in Boxberg, Germany, describes the changes that can be made in feeding and husbandry to improve sow and gilt welfare and to reduce losses in a paper presented at this year's London Swine Conference.

US Pork Outlook - September 2010
Pig prices are expected to be supported by lower pork supplies and respectable consumer demand for pork products for the rest of this year, according to Rachel J. Johnson in the latest Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook from the USDA's Economic Research Service.

US Feed Outlook - September 2010
A decrease in corn production for 2010 has been seen from last month, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS).

Company News

JSR Appoints First Croatian Agent
CROATIA - A five year search for 'their ideal' genetics partner ended in August 2010 for Croatian pig producers – the Ivancic family – when they signed a contract with JSR Genetics, the UK-based international pig breeding company, for the supply of breeding stock to their Agro-farmer d.o.o business based at Sevete Ludbreske, Croatia.

Big Dutchman Welcomes BongDong to Agent Family
SOUTH KOREA - On 4 September, at the Big Dutchman booth in VIV China, Mr Cho Youngil, President BongDong, signed a Dealership agreement with Mr Magnus Westerkamp, Managing Director Big Dutchman Pig Equipment. BongDong will represent Big Dutchman pig equipment in the South Korean Market.

Start Mycoplasma Vaccination Early
US - Research shows that pigs may become infected with M. hyopneumoniae within the first three weeks of life.^1,2 This has veterinarians rethinking the timing of mycoplasma vaccinations in young pigs.

Full Licence for FluSure Pandemic Swine Vaccine
US - Pfizer Animal Health has gained full licensure from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for FluSure® Pandemic.

Global Pig Industry News