CME: Changes for Beef, Pork & Poultry Supplies
US - USDA updated yesterday its forecasts for grain and meat supplies 2012. As we noted in our 2/8 report, much of the focus in the grain front remains on the progress of S. American crops and USDA...

Third TOPIGS Import into China in Three Months
CHINA - TOPIGS has imported 550 more top breeding pigs into China. This is the third import in three months.

Action Taken to Ramp Up Abattoir Inspections
NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA - Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson today announced that the NSW Government would immediately ramp up random inspections of domestic abattoirs in NSW following...

FAO Food Price Index Rebounds in January
GLOBAL - The FAO Food Price Index rose by nearly two per cent or four points from December to January – its first increase since July ...

OleoServ Takes over Harles & Jentzsch Assets
GERMANY - OleoServ has acquired the assets previously owned by Harles and Jentzsch, the company at the centre of the dioxin scandal one year ago.

US Pork Export Forecast is Unchanged
US - Pork production is raised as firstquarter slaughter and first-half carcass weights are expected to be higher than forecast last month.

Public Resistance Ousts GM Crops From EU
EUROPE - Public resistance to genetically modified crops has ensured that the area grown in Europe in 2011 remained at 0.1 per cent of all arable land, shows figures released yesterday by Friends of the...

Nutreco Achieves Excellent Progress in 2011
NETHERLANDS - Nutreco saw excellent progress in 2011 where it achieved a total EBITA of €241 million.

Animal Welfare: The Right Thing to Do
CANADA - Manitoba Pork Council is encouraging pork producers and other industry stakeholders to secure tickets for a 23 May 2012 presentation by renowned animal welfare advocate Dr Temple Grandin, Bruce...

New Zealand Pork Seeks New CEO
NEW ZEALAND - After almost six years at New Zealand Pork, CEO Sam McIvor is leaving the role.

Two Cases of ASF in Wild Boar
RUSSIA - The Russian veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of African swine fever in Volgogradskaya Oblast.

2011 Pork Imports Higher Than a Year Ago
UK - Imports of fresh and frozen pork from January to November 2011 were three per cent higher compared to the same months of 2010.

New Way to Map Drought and Water Use
US - Every month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Center for Climate Prediction has a drought briefing by teleconference to identify the latest drought areas in North America,...

Nutreco CEO to Step Down at End of 2012
NETHERLANDS - Nutreco announces that CEO Wout Dekker (1956) will be leaving Nutreco by the end of 2012. This will mark the end of a career at the company encompassing almost thirty years, of which twelve...

Importers Face High Stocks & Weak Demand
SOUTH KOREA - Various Korean beef importers reported this week that high stock levels and weak consumer demand is hindering trading activity, reports Meat and Livestock Australia.

Stepping Up Pressure for Practice in Rural Rat Control
UK - The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use will be focussing on farmers and gamekeepers during 2012, to help them improve rat control efficacy and eliminate poor practice.

December 2011 Retail Animal Feed Production Down
UK - The total production of animal feed during December 2011 was lower than in December 2010 by 3.5 per cent.

NSW Protection of the Environment Legislation
AUSTRALIA - Australian Pork Limited (APL) recently wrote a letter to the NSW Minister for the Environment Robyn Parker MP, the NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson and the Chief Executive...

Precision Feeding Cuts Feeding Costs
CANADA - A Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada suggests, by utilizing new technologies to better match feed to the nutritional requirements of the pig, pork producers can lower their...

China Pork Prices Higher in January
CHINA - Prices of pork, China's staple meat, soared 25 per cent year-on-year in January.

Further Discussion on Forthcoming EU Ban on Stalls
UK - Working together was the key message to come out of a meeting between BPEX and the NPA with Defra Minister Jim Paice.

Weekly Roberts Market Report
US - A firmer US dollar and lower crude soybean oil prices hung over the market, writes Michael T. Roberts.

Swine Vesicular Disease Reported in Italy
ITALY - Five outbreaks of swine vesicular disease have been confirmed so far in Campobasso Province (Molise region). The source of infection has been traced in one holding, which moved animals to the other...

Improved Profits Projected for Pork Producers
CANADA - The General Manager of H@ms Marketing Services predicts Canadian pork producers will reap slightly stronger profits in 2012 than they did in 2011, Bruce Cochrane writes.

Livestock Company Opens Feed Factory
VIET NAM - The Hong Ha Nutrition Joint stock Co, a private Vietnamese firm, yesterday inaugurated an advanced animal feed production line to raise its capacity to 400,000 tonnes per year, becoming the...

Breeding Success and Maximising Returns
CANADA - The London Swine Conference will be held for two days, 28-29 March 2012, at the London Convention Centre in London, Ontario.

Update on PRRS Elimination from AASV
US - A national PRRS elimination effort began 2 years ago in a somewhat formal way, although elimination projects in several states had been ongoing for several years.

EU Sets New MRL for Altrenogest
EU - A new maximum residue limit (MRL) for altrenogest in pig tissues has been set.

Bill for Grocery Adjudicator Needed Urgently
UK - The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has called on the Government to bring forward a Bill to establish a Groceries Code Adjudicator as a matter of urgency.

Pork Commentary: Russia Hog Prices Real Strong
RUSSIA - This past week we spent several days with Russian swine producers, writes Jim Long.