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.

US - US pork exports in November spiked up to the highest volume of the year, topping the next highest month (May) by more than 10 per cent. Compared to November 2015, pork exports were up 18 per cent, writes the Steiner…

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

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…

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.

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…

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.

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…

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

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…

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.

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.

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 - 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…

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…

GLOBAL - The new PCV2d variant of the Porcine Circovirus is an emerging virus that has been associated with vaccine failure.

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