Govt to Invest $439m on Pig and Cow Breeding
CHINA - China has earmarked 3 billion yuan ($439 million) this year to support the large-scale breeding of pigs and cows in a bid to stabilize agricultural development and help raise farmers' incomes,...

Hypor Inc Forms New Alliance with Mag Inc
GLOBAL - Meeting the breeding needs of both Canadian and mid American producers has lead to the strategic alliance between Hypor Inc. and newly incorporated Mid-America Genetics International Incorporated...

TOPIGS South Africa New Agreement
SOUTH AFRICA - Ede Farming, a multifaceted crop and livestock farming operation in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, has signed a total depop-repop agreement with TOPIGS SA.

TOPIGS Helps Achieve 27.3 Weaned Piglets/Sow/Year
THE NETHERLANDS - Pig farmers with TOPIGS sows achieved an average production of 27.3 weaned piglets per sow per year in 2008.

Hypor the Choice of China's Largest Producer
CHINA - Hypor announced today that it has entered into a genetics program arrangement with AgFeed Industries, Inc. one of China’s largest pre-mix feed companies and the country’s largest independent hog...

Extension of Cull Breeding Swine Program Applauded
CANADA - The Canadian Pork Council is applauding a three month extension of the retroactive portion of the Federal Cull Breeding Swine Program, writes Bruce Cochrane.

Medina Pig Out Day to Showcase Research on Pigs
AUSTRALIA - Pig producers will be able to ‘pig out’ at the industry’s open day at the Department of Agriculture and Food’s Medina Research Station on Friday, 27 March.

Five Genesus Customer Herds Surpass 30 Pigs
GLOBAL - Five Genesus customers' herds surpassed 30 pigs weaned in 2008.

ACMC Stock for Spanish Integrator
SPAIN - Against stiff international competition, British-based pig genetics company, ACMC Ltd, has won an order to supply one of Spain's largest integrators with breeding stock.

Boars Live Longer in Top Herds
JAPAN - Koketsu and Sasaki have published a study into boar culling and mortality in commercial herds. On average, they found that boars were culled or died aged two years and eight months, having been...

Stronger Jaws Mean More Milk
BELGIUM - Why do piglets with a lean muscle gene show improved survivability and quicker growth?

Genus Increases Porcine Capacity in China
CHINA - Genus, a world leading animal genetics company, is pleased to announce significant advances in its strategy for expansion in China with progress being made in both the bovine and porcine sectors....

Enhanced Fertility in Boars with Selenium
US - Boars fed a supplement of organic selenium were more fertile than those fed inorganic selenium or no supplement, according to researchers working for Virginia Cooperative Extension.

US Distribution Agreement with Zierke Formed
US - TOPIGS International announces a US distributor agreement with the Zierke Company in Morris, Minnesota (US).

Old-Breed Pork Must Be the Real Thing
UK - In a decision that will have a major impact on both supermarkets and producer-retailers, Trading Standards officers have been told to clamp down on misleadingly labelled old-breed pork.

Heavier Litters for Sows on High-Fibre Diet
FRANCE - Piglets born from sows fed the high-fibre diet during pregnancy grew faster than those from sows fed a standard control diet, without compromising sow body weight or backfat.

Clones for Food: EC Breaking its Own Rules?
EU - An animal welfare group has claimed that The European Commission is breaking its own rules with a wait and see approach to animal cloning. The group claims that cloning harms animal welfare.

Intermittent Suckling: Variable Effects on Sow Fertility
THE NETHERLANDS - Gerritsen and colleagues at Schothorst Feed Research in Lelystad investigated the effects on sow reproduction of intermittent suckling (IS), a technique in which the sow and her piglets...

ACMC: Multipliers Wanted
UK - Against a background of a contracting UK pig industry, Yorkshire-based international pig-breeding company, ACMC, is finding increasing demand for high-health replacement gilts both domestically and...

Space Requirements for Gestating Sows
CANADA - Researchers with the Prairie Swine Centre report a range of factors will influence the amount of space required to maintain the health and productivity of gestating sows, writes Bruce Cochrane....

Pig Shipment Set to Boost Production
CAMBODIA - Cambodia's small-scale pork industry may be set for an overhaul, with large-scale breeding programs and factory-farm projects in the works.

Improved Breeding Herd Health with Circovac
EU - Latest findings from Merial demonstrate improved reproductive performance in sows vaccinated with Circovac PCV2 vaccine.

Reaping the Rewards of PCV2 Vaccination
IRELAND - Frank Moran, manager of a 1,100 farrow to finish unit at Glebo Farms, County Tipperary has now been using CIRCOVAC PCV2 sow vaccine for 12 months and is seeing outstanding results which are having...

DanBred Ranks First in German Breeding Programme
DENMARK - The Danish pig breeding programme, DanBred, recently achieved first place in a test of seven breeding programmes carried out by the Agricultural Chamber in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Genetic Boost for Irish Pig Industry
IRELAND - PIC Ireland Ltd has announced the arrival of its second consignment of genetically superior pig breeding stock directly from the PIC genetic nucleus in Canada.