ThePigSite Newsletter - 3 January 2012

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Tuesday 3rd January 2012

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial – US Pig Market Finishes 2011 Strongly but What's the Future for Feed Costs?

The inventory for all hogs and pigs in the US on 1 December 2011 was 65.9 million head, according to the latest Hogs and Pigs report from USDA. This was up two per cent from 1 December 2010 but down one per cent from 1 September 2011.

At 5.80 million head, the breeding herd inventory was up slightly from last year but down slightly from the previous quarter. At 60.1 million head, there were two per cent more market pigs than last year but one per cent fewer than the last quarter.

The September-November 2011 pig crop, at 29.0 million head, was two per cent higher than in the same period of 2010. Slightly more sows farrowed during the period than for 2010. Average pigs weaned per litter achieved a record of 10.02.

The US ethanol tax credit, worth roughly $6 billion, ended at the turn of the year. Industry watchers are undecided on the likely effects of the end of the ethanol tax credit on the corn market and livestock producers.

Many in the country's ethanol industry believe they have built such secure foundations that its removal on 31 December will not have serious repercussions. Bob Dinneen of the trade group the Renewable Fuels Association said that he even expects a continued growth in the industry. But for some US manufacturers, the removal of the tax breaks, which came into force in 1979, is a major blow.

With now around half the corn grown in the US going to first generation biofuels, the removal of the assistance to ethanol producers could have far reaching repercussions. Ethanol takes a larger share of the US maize crop than cattle, pigs and poultry put together.

The removal of the tax credits is likely to have an effect on the price of corn for animal feed.

When the subsidies are removed, will the price of corn for ethanol production be forced down as the ethanol manufacturers strive to reduce production costs? Will the farmers, who have been receiving good money from the ethanol producers for their corn, accept a dip in prices?

In the long run, if the removal of the subsidies has the effect of reducing corn prices, this also will be good news to livestock farmers, who could expect to see feed corn prices also come down.

This New Year offers an interesting time on the corn markets in the US, which in turn, will be reflected in corn markets and prices around the world.

The latest figures released by Eurostat on farm workers’ incomes and farm output in the EU on the surface appear to make happy reading as they reveal farm workers overall are earning more and both crop and livestock production is up.

However, the picture might not be as rosy as it appears.

For while agricultural producer prices rose by 7.5 per cent – with crop production up by 5.4 per cent and livestock production up by 6.7 per cent in value and 1.1 per cent in volume – the cost of production is expected to rise by 9.7 per cent.

The reasons for this steep rise in input costs is down to an increase in feed costs of 16.8 per cent, fertilisers and improvers by 14.6 per cent, energy and fuels by 11.8 per cent. These costs are expected to keep on rising, putting an increasing strain on production costs.

If the costs of labour, which on average rose by 6.7 per cent, are then added to these costs, the cost of production will go up even more sharply. This in turn can only lead to one thing: higher food inflation and a rise in prices for meat and cereals in the EU.

The Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union has agreed import volumes for pork (and other meats) for the coming year. While the volume of pork imported into Russia will be lower than 2011, the volume is raised for Kazakhstan and remains unchanged for Belarus.

A major European report on progress in genomics has been published. It is the Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE) Report on genomics for sustainable breeding of cattle, pigs and poultry.

Jackie Linden

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 13 new features this week:

Christmas Cheer Comes Early for Global Pig Prices
By Chris Harris, Editor-in-Chief of ThePigSite. Our snapshot of the ongoing global pig industry trends as reported in the December 2011 Whole Hog Brief. To read the full detailed analysis, including all the commentary and graphical data, subscribe to the publication.

USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report - December 2011 [Updated]
The latest quarterly Hogs and Pigs report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Comparative Evaluation of Use of Heat Exchanger, Ground Source Heat Pump and Conventional Heating Systems in Grow-Finish Rooms
Initial results reveal that a heat recovery ventilator with a forced-convection heater and the ground source heat pump system reduced energy consumption for heating by 52 per cent and for ventilation by 39 per cent compared to a conventional forced-convection heater, according to Leila Dominguez, Bernardo Predicala and Alvin Alvarado of the Prairie Swine Centre in the Centre's latest newsletter.

Tools for Science and Selection: Numerical Genomics
An overview of the reasons for genomic analysis and software tool development from the final scientific report from the EU group, Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE) subtitled 'Cutting Edge Genomics for Sustainable Animal Breeding'.

BPEX Export Bulletin - December 2011 - Week 51
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin reports pig industry trends from around the world. Among the highlights are that fifth quarter exports were clearly the winner in 2011 and the quote of the year belongs to a beef processor who said "Meat has become a by-product of by-products".

EU Pig Population - 2010 - Update
The latest update for the EU pig population from Eurostat includes the final figure for Romania, which brings the EU total to just over 151 million pigs in 2010, writes Jackie Linden, senior editor of ThePigSite.

EU Pig Meat Production - 2010 - Update
The latest Eurostat statistics for pig meat production in the European Union in 2010 include one amendment but this has not affected the total for the region, writes Jackie Linden, senior editor of ThePigSite.

Characterisation of Recent Human-Like H1 (δ-Cluster) Swine Influenza Virus Isolates
There is considerable genetic and antigenic heterogeneity among δ-cluster H1 swine influenza virus (SIV) isolates, according to researchers at Newport Laboratories in the US.

Pork Fat Quality, Iodine Values and Feeding DDGS
Pig meat processors are focusing on carcass fat quality by determining iodine value, according to Tom Guthrie, Extension Educator in Jackson, Colorado and Dale W. Rozeboom, Extension Specialist at Michigan State University's Department of Animal Science in the latest issue of MSU Pork Quarterly.

Russian Federation - GOR Ag Development Forecast for 2012-2014
An overview of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development's macroeconomic assumptions and sector-specific production forecasts on grain, sugar, oilseeds, meat, poultry, dairy, fishery, forestry, and food retail/catering in the latest GAIN report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

Proceedings of SafePork 2011
The 9th International Conference on the Epidemiology and Control of biological, chemical and physical hazards in pigs and pork was held in Maastricht, the Netherlands from 19 to 22 June 2011.

Proceedings of 6th International Symposium on Emerging and Re-Emerging Pig Diseases
The conference was held in Barcelona, Spain, from 12 to 15 June 2011.

Mycotoxin Control as an Effective Tool for Successful Demedicalisation
Nutrition is now being more widely used as a practical solution to maintaining animal health, according to Radka Borutova of Biomin.

Company News

JSR Purchases 650-Sow Nucleus Farm in Canada
CANADA - JSR's Nucleus Farm in Elstow, Saskatoon, Canada is now fully stocked producing our own GP1 and GP2 female lines alongside our Geneconverter 500 and Geneconverter 700 sire lines. Production is well underway and we are seeing some good production data.

Endocrinology: the Answer to Seasonal Infertility?
GLOBAL - For years the annual cycle of infertility has had major implications for the pig industry globally, from indoor producers in Korea to outdoor units in Scotland, writes Stephen Waite, Head of Science at JSR Genetics.

Herd Restock: Act Now for Earlier Payback
UK - With so many factors to consider - finance, logistics and sheer hard work - a full herd restock has never been a lightly made decision. What of the rewards?

Feed Training at TOPIGS Danubia, October 2011
CENTRAL EUROPE - In the middle of October, TOPIGS Danubia organised seminars for the Central European Region about the new TOPIGS feeding recommendations.

Stuart Bosworth Pig Farmer of the Year
UK - Stuart Bosworth from Willingale, Essex (UK) is Pig Farmer of the Year 2011.

BPEX Manager Gets Accolade
UK - BPEX Foodservice Sector Manager Tony Goodger has been chosen as one of the top 20 most influential people in public sector catering.

JSR Genetics Stocks Delimeat's 3,000-Sow Unit
RUSSIA - Russian dignitaries, local press and national TV gathered at the official opening of the Delimeat Farming Complex, a 3,000-sow nucleus herd stocked by JSR Genetics, to celebrate a future full of promise.

$75,000 Annual Advancement in PRRS Research Award
US - Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) is calling for proposal submissions for its annual Advancement in Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Research Award.

TOPIGS Imports More Top Genetics to China
CHINA - TOPIGS has imported 500 top breeding pigs into China. This second successful importation comes just one month after a first import of 1,000 animals.

Trainee Says Foreign Internship was Worthwhile
NETHERLANDS - "Every trainee who gets offered such a chance should take it!" Carolin Schlömer was absolutely thrilled when she recently returned to the Netherlands from Malaysia where she completed a foreign internship.

Biomin Seminar for Czech Pig Breeders
CZECH REPUBLIC - 10 November 2011 witnessed a seminar for pig breeders organised by Svaz chovatelů prasat v Čechách a na Moravě (Association of Pig Breeders in Bohemia and Moravia) called Pig breeding 2012 - Why is it failing in the Czech Republic while prospering elsewhere?

Barbecued Rats Fetch More Than UK Pork
THAILAND - While on a recent trip to Thailand, Stephen Curtis, chairman of international pig breeding company ACMC, spotted rat carcases hung up for sale at the roadside, fetching more in price than British pork.

Biomin India: Strong Presence at Local Trade Shows
INDIA - Kicking off in November, the annual Hyderabad Poultry Show is becoming widely recognised as the major event for the Indian poultry industry.

Forum on Demedicalisation of Monogastric Feed
FRANCE - Biomin France organized a Forum on the hot topic of demedicalization. It was held on 8 December at the Institut Supérieur des Productions Animales et des Industries Agroalimentaires (ISPAIA), in Ploufragan (France).

Global Pig Industry News