Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial - Happy New Year? US Pig Population Down, FMD on the Rise

First and foremost, a very happy New Year to you. May 2011 be a healthy and profitable year for the global pig industry!

At the end of last year, USDA published its Quarterly Pigs and Hogs Report. There were about half a million fewer market hogs and 72,000 fewer sows on 1 December than a year previously. And with high feed prices, an expansion looks very unlikely in the first six months of this year.

To give a few details, US inventory of all hogs and pigs on 1 December 2010 was 64.3 million head. This was down one per cent from a year previously, and down two per cent from 1 September 2010.

Breeding inventory, at 5.78 million head, was down one per cent from last year but up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 58.5 million head, was down one per cent from last year, and down two per cent from last quarter.

The September-November 2010 pig crop, at 28.2 million head, was down slightly from 2009. Sows farrowing during this period totalled 2.85 million head, down two per cent from 2009. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49 per cent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was a record high 9.89 for the September-November 2010 period, compared to 9.70 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 7.70 for operations with between one and 99 hogs and pigs to 10.00 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.

Also in the US, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published the final rule on nutrition labelling of meat products, effective January 2012. The rule, which has been 10 years in the making, will give consumers more information about the nutritional content of foods and so help them make healthier choices.

On the disease front, Aujeszky's disease has been found in dogs in Germany, and FMD has been reported in South Korea, Taiwan and Mozambique in the last two weeks.

Jackie Linden

This Week's Feature Articles

Company News

Chinese Delegates Visit East Yorkshire
UK - Staff from Yorkshire-based pig breeding company, JSR, were “honoured” to host a group of business delegates visiting from the Xiangfan province of China. The delegates were visiting the North East to meet with JSR as part of European business trip encouraging investment in the Xiangfan Province.

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Big Dutchman Trainees Visit Malaysia, Michigan
SOUTHEAST ASIA & US - First hand reports from the Big Dutchman trainees Natalia Krieger and Christian Sauer about their internships in two of the company's subsidiaries in South-East Asia and in North America reflect a very similar tone.

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Pfizer Acquires Synbiotics, Enters Diagnostics Sector
US - Pfizer Animal Health has announced it is to acquire Synbiotics Corporation and thus enter the diagnostics sector, reaffirming its commitment to providing veterinarians with comprehensive animal health solutions.

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Pork Commentary: US Pork Exports Continue Strong
US - In this week's Pork Commentary, Jim Long writes about US pork exports during October.

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Pork Commentary: USDA December Hogs and Pigs Report
CANADA - In this week's Pork Commentary, Jim Long comments on the 1 December Hogs and Pigs report released by the US Department of Agriculture on 27 December.

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TOPIGS Genetics in the Most Northern Pig Farm
RUSSIA - On 1 December 2010, a batch of Tempo boars was delivered to the Prigorodnyi farm in the region of Murmansk in Russia. This farm is without any doubt the most northern professional pig farm in the world.

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Global Pig Industry News

Korea, South

 » FMD NEWS: More Vaccination Areas to Combat FMD

Australia

 » Aussie Pork Puts the Crackle into Christmas
 » Rain Hail or Shine Grains Gain with AusScan

Netherlands

 » Expression Biomarkers to Improve Pork Quality
 » VION Guarantees Boar Taint-Free Pork

Canada

 » Quebec Pork Producers Assess Carbon Footprint
 » Livestock Producers Receive Feed Assistance
 » New System Expected to Make Disease Control Easier
 » Expectations from New Level-3 Biocontainment Lab
 » Fusarium-Damaged Cereal Grains Reported in 2010
 » Coordinated Research Aimed at Water Protection
 » Maple Leaf Foods Schedules Special Meeting
 » Monitoring New Fusarium Graminearum Chemotype
 » Pork Producers Have Cost of Production Advantage
 » Encouraging Adoption of Anaerobic Digestion
 » Pork Producers Forced to Adjust to Canadian Dollar

Germany

 » Germany Reports Aujeszky's Disease in Dogs
 » More Dogs in Germany Hit by Aujeszky's Disease
 » New Dioxin Scandal Hits Poultry, Pig Industries

European Union

 » EU Pig Prices: Supply and Demand Well-Balanced
 » EU Pig Prices: Christmas, New Year Show Steadiness
 » EU Pig Prices: Barometer Shows Downward Trend

United States

 » Swine Premises Identification Surpasses 90 Per Cent
 » US Swine Economics Report
 » Weekly Roberts Report
 » Three Sacked over Animal Abuse Allegations
 » CME: Animal Welfare in the Media & Meat Demand
 » Beef and Pork Exports Up in 2010
 » CME: Pre-Report Estimates for Hogs and Pigs Report
 » Commercial Red Meat Production in November
 » Smithfield Report Finds Unacceptable Behaviour
 » Swine Breeding Herd Down at Start of December
 » Honour to Pledge to Conduct Economic Analysis
 » Market Preview: No Surprises in Pig Crop Report
 » CME: Highlights of Latest Pig Crop Report
 » December Quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report Analysis
 » FSIS Publishes New Rule on Meat Labelling
 » CME Pork Belly Trade Dwindles
 » CME: USDA Cold Storage Report
 » CME: High Feed Costs Expected to Go Higher
 » Ag Secretary Appoints Pork Producers Delegate Body
 » NY Considers Allowing Antibiotics Only for Therapy
 » 2010 a Good Year for Hog Prices
 » Weekly Outlook: Pork Prices-Sky's the Limit for 2011?
 » CME: Factors Affecting 2011 Livestock, Meat Markets

United Kingdom

 » First Lactation is Key to Sow Performance
 » Last Chance to Come to QMS R&D Conference
 » Meat Industry Opposes FSA Plan
 » LAA Calls for Uniform Levy Rate Rises
 » Are We Due a Wheat Price Correction?
 » Animal Medicines: Changes to Sales

Denmark

 » Danish Crown to Move Hadsund Production

Brazil

 » European Pig Producers Pay Visit to Brazil
 » Meat Consumption and Production to Rise

Ireland

 » Northern Irish Firm in Pig Meal Case to Pay €38 Million

Czech Republic

 » FVO Raises Some Welfare Concerns after Audit

Taiwan

 » EPA: Sustainable Villages Through Clean Pig Farming

Singapore

 » ICA Foils Raw Barbecue Pork Smuggling

Philippines

 » Dealers Want Tariff on Imported Pork Offal to Stay
 » Modest Hog Production Target within Reach
 » Farmers Call for Halt to Poultry, Pork Imports
 » Pork Producers Consider First MBM Plant

General

 » New Report Looks at World Cereal, Oilseed Prospects
 » Landmark Year for Veterinary Profession Ahead

Russian Federation

 » Russia Reports Two New ASF Outbreaks

China

 » China's Pig Industry Optimistic about 2011

Hong Kong

 » Hotpot Alert as Pig Liver Linked to Hepatitis Virus

Ukraine

 » Cargill Builds Feed Mill in Ukraine



That's all for this week!

Ed.