Lucy Towers

GERMANY - Provisional figures from the November census indicate that, at 27.3 million head, the German pig herd had fallen by 1 per cent relative to the same point in 2015.

NETHERLANDS - Fresh/frozen pork volumes exported from the Netherlands were back 6 per cent on the 2015 figure during the first nine months of 2016, at 610 thousand tonnes.

GLOBAL - It’s the New Year and we are thinking about the China swine markets and how it will affect us, writes Jim Long President – CEO Genesus Inc.

GLOBAL - Speaking last week at the UK's Oxford Farming Conference to leaders from the food and farming industry, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom has outlined her hopes for a reduced regulatory burden on farmers when…

UK - Just six months in, the AHDB Pork Focus Farm has achieved a 61 per cent reduction in pre-weaning mortality.

IRELAND - As we enter 2017, farmers are expecting an uplift in prices early in the year and stable pig prices for 2017 to give pig farmers a chance to recoup the loses of the past 18 months, Chairman of the Irish Farmers…

UK - Pig semen from the UK has been used for the first time in India to improve its breeding stock and produce better quality pork.

CANADA - The Chief Agricultural Economist with Farm Credit Canada expects the low Canadian dollar to be the primary driver for profitability for Canadian agriculture in 2017, writes Bruce Cochrane.

CANADA - It is known that providing pre-wean piglets with creep feed can ease the transition from an all milk diet, to an all solids diet. However, research has shown that less than 50 per cent of piglets actually consum…

Pig production around the globe has become very sophisticated with well-controlled environments that, if controlled properly, maximize animal well-being and production efficiency. The major thermal challenge in pig housi…

GLOBAL - Ralco has joined forces with Genesus swine genetics company to advance swine nutrition and genetic characteristics for swine producers around the world. The two global companies will work together to improve ret…

UK - Farmers, growers and the food industry need to “step up“ to address the challenge of agricultural competitiveness and productivity in a rapidly-changing world.

US - The National Pork Board is now open to applications for its pork industry scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year.

EU - 2015 ended in Spain with 7 per cent more sacrifices than in 2014, exporting 45 per cent of the production (Germany and Spain have increased their exports, while other countries of EU have lowered theirs), with an av…

UK - The EU-spec SPP has seen an increase in the week ended 31 December, following the modest decline seen in the previous week.

BRAZIL - Pamplona, a pig producer and exporter with headquarters in Rio do Sul (SC), has become the first company in Brazil to have the right to use the Brazilian Pork seal, maintained by the Brazilian Animal Protein A…

US - Hog futures took a step back yesterday, with the nearby February futures contract declining by more than 260 points. The decline followed some weakness in the cash market for pork cuts, which is not unusual for this…

EU - The European pig keepers feel quite limited in their feeling Christmas joy. For the second time in a row, most of the quotations went down to a more than somewhat clear extent.

US and THAILAND - Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Bellisio Foods Inc. from Centre Partners Management.

CANADA - A researcher with the University of Manitoba says several compounds are showing potential as alternatives to in-feed antibiotics to help improve the health of pigs and stimulate growth, writes Bruce Cochrane.