Category: Industry information

Weekly Overview: Meat Demand Rise to Fuel Feed Grain Price Hikes in Next Decade

12 July 2016

ANALYSIS – Overall world meat production is predicted to stagnate at about 321 million tonnes in 2016, while pigmeat output could decline, according to the June 2016 FAO Food Outlook.

World production of pigmeat in 2016 is forecast to decrease marginally, by 0.7 per cent to 116.4 million tonnes.

As in 2015, lower output in China, which accounts for almost half the world total, is the main reason for the slowdown.

An unfavourable feed-pork price ratio in the country and new environmental regulations have caused farmers to reduce breeding sows, stalling growth. China’s production is projected to be 54 million tonnes, down 2.5 per cent from the previous year – click here to read more.

Another recent report, the ‘OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025’, projects that inflation-adjusted agricultural commodity prices will remain relatively flat overall in the coming decade. However, livestock prices are expected to rise relative to those for crops.

Food consumer prices are expected to be less volatile than agricultural producer prices over the coming decade.

As incomes improve, especially in emerging economies, demand for meat, fish and poultry will demonstrate strong growth, creating additional demand and price rises for feed grains.

“Significant production growth is needed to meet the expanding demand for food, feed and raw products for industrial uses, and all of these have to be done in a sustainable way,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

“We are optimistic that most of that future demand for agricultural commodities will be mainly met through productivity gains rather than expansion of crop area or livestock herds,” he added – read more.

In disease news, ThePigSite this week reported on outbreaks of African Swine Fever in Ukraine, and in wild boar in Poland and Lithuania.

Regulation Changes to Aid Wild Boar Management

11 July 2016

CANADA – Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture says regulatory changes will make it easier to deal with free ranging wild boar while allowing legitimate wild boar producers to continue to operate, writes Bruce Cochrane.

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture says amendments to the province’s Wildlife Regulations and Stray Animals Regulations will make it easier to deal with free ranging wild boar while allowing legitimate wild boar producers to continue to operate.

Free-ranging wild boar have been reported in more than 60 rural municipalities across southern Saskatchewan.

In response the province has amended the Wildlife Regulations and the Stray Animals Regulations to clarify the status and hunting requirements for feral wild boar.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart says, while wild boar farming remains a legitimate enterprise, free ranging wild boar are becoming a nuisance.

Lyle Stewart-Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister:

Under the Stay Animals Regulations we’re going to continue to allow wild boar inside fences to be farmed but no longer consider escaped wild boar to be considered strays with potential owners and also improve the minimum requirements for a lawful fence to contain wild boar.

The Environment Ministry is moving in concert with us and allowing free ranging wild boar to be hunted year round without licensing.

Free ranging wild boar pose a danger to native wildlife and wildlife habitat.

They can also cause crop, forage, pasture losses and damage and there’s potential for them to pass diseases on to domestic livestock.

We think a lot of it came about by inadequate fencing for wild boars and a number of escapes, mostly I think early in the earlier days of wild boar farming in the 1990s I would say, when most of the experimentation with different ways of fencing them in took place.

Generally we think the producers that are still in the business have adequate fencing but we’re going to make sure that everybody is up to a minimum standard at least.

Stewart says farms that don’t meet those minimum criteria will have to come up to those standards to maintain permitting but he’s confident they can get there without too much difficulty.

Canadian Farmers More Stressed, Study Shows

11 July 2016

CANADA – Farmers are among the most vulnerable when it comes to mental health, according to a new study from the University of Guelph.

Stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion and burnout are all higher among farmers than among other groups, early findings of the survey show.

As well, Canadian farmers are more stressed than those living and working elsewhere.

Prof Andria Jones-Bitton, a professor in the Department of Population Medicine, analysed more than 1,100 responses from across Canada to an online stress and resilience survey, conducted on agricultural producers from September 2015 to this past January.

“Some of the producer comments leave little doubt about the impact their job and culture is having on them,” Prof Jones-Bitton said.

“One said, ‘We are not invincible, but we feel we must be’.”

The survey found 45 per cent of survey respondents had high stress. Another 58 per cent were classified with varying levels of anxiety, and 35 per cent with depression.

Overall, that’s two to four times higher than farmers studied in the United Kingdom and Norway, Prof Jones-Bitton said.

Resilience, popularly believed to be a strength among producers, is also lower among two-thirds of the respondents than it is among a comparative US population.

In agriculture, a stigma is associated with mental health treatment, Jones-Bitton said.

So it follows that the survey showed 40 per cent of respondents said they’d feel uneasy getting professional help “because of what people might think.”

At the same time, more than three-quarters of those surveyed said professional mental services can be helpful in times of struggle.

Prof Jones-Bitton is building a team to deliver mental health training for farmers.

“We need to do something,” she says. “Farmers want help, and we’re going to find ways for them to receive it.”

China a Key Market as Brazilian Pork Exports Rise Further

11 July 2016

BRAZIL – Brazil’s June pork exports were 31.4 per cent higher than the same period last year, with exports in the first half of 2016 55.5 per cent higher than 2015, according to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA).

“Exports of fresh pork to China exceeded 12,000 tons in June. With this number, the market was the second largest importer of the product in the month, surpassing Hong Kong and approaching the levels of export volumes to Russia,” said the vice president of markets, Ricardo Santin.

New Pain Mitigation Product for Swine Now in the Pipeline

11 July 2016

CANADA – A new product designed to mitigate pain in swine during painful procedures is expected to be submitted to Health Canada for approval by this fall, writes Bruce Cochrane.

Effective July 1, under changes to Canada’s Pig Code of Practice, pork producers are required to provide pain mitigation during painful procedures such as tail docking and castration.

Dr Merle Olson, the research director with Alberta Veterinary Laboratories and Solvet, says, right now because there are no products approved for mitigating pain in piglets, veterinarians are forced to use products off label.

Dr Merle Olson-Alberta Veterinary Laboratories and Solvet:

Right now the available is actually using a Lidocaine injection.

Unfortunately Lidocaine itself is very irritating and it is probably as painful to give the Lidocaine injection as it is actually doing the procedure without anything.

And, on a squirming piglet, it’s also real prone to getting occupational injections, basically people working the pigs injecting themselves so that’s not very good either.

Number two, there is some injectable pain control products available.

They do cause some tissue irritations and again the producers are really not very interested in doing these injections into the piglets with some of these other analgesic pain control drugs.

Another option is actually using an oral pain control drug, actually one that we actually make, the one we use in cattle.

It’s called Meloxicam Oral Suspension. It’s diluted 1and 10 and provided that for piglets.

That product actually does produce long term pain control but does not provide short term pain control.

Our research is actually directed at a product that will actually provide short term and long term pain control for piglets.

Dr Olson says research is complete on the new topical product and reports are being prepared for submission to the Veterinary Drug Directorate, hopefully by this fall.

CME: US Pork Exports Up Compared with 2015

11 July 2016

US – The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published May monthly trade numbers for the protein industries last week. This data is based on the US Department of Commerce trade data, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner.

ERS then calculates and publishes the meat trade numbers on a carcass weight equivalent basis.

Across the protein sectors of beef, pork, and chicken, in May there was a consistent theme of seasonally normal export movements. However, some protein categories were surprising in terms of overall volume movement for the month.

Starting with beef, imports for the month of May were 10 per cent below year ago. The majority of this decrease came from a 35 per cent decrease in imports from Australia compared to May of 2015, with an additional 25 per cent decrease in volume from Brazil and 53 per cent in imports from Uruguay.

Beef imports into the US increased from our immediate neighbours, up 16 per cent from Canada and up 21 per cent from Mexico compared to year ago.

Beef exports for May experienced notable growth and were up 14 per cent year-over-year. Three of our four top beef export destinations increased over 20 per cent year-over-year. Beef exports were up 29 per cent to Japan, 60 per cent to South Korea, 40 per cent to Mexico, and 1 per cent to Canada compared to May 2015.

Year-to-date (through May) beef exports were almost 3 per cent above 2015’s and imports were 12 per cent below 2015’s.

We do expect to continue seeing year-over-year improvements in beef exports due to lower priced product in the US, a more export favourable exchange rate, and comparing to the drop off seen in beef exports July through September of 2015.

Moving on to pork, imports for May were slightly higher than expected at 11 per cent over year ago levels. Increases in pork imports came from Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Poland.

Pork exports were up 5 per cent year-over-year, and the only main category that showed a counter seasonal movement (up) on export volume.

Pork exports were up 1 per cent to Canada, up 152 per cent to Mainland China, up 100 per cent to Hong Kong, up 11 per cent to Mexico, and up 3 per cent to the Caribbean. Conversely, exports were down 13 per cent to Japan (our second largest pork export destination) and down 34 per cent to South Korea.

Year-to-date, through May, pork exports were 1 per cent higher and imports were 3 per cent higher than in 2015. Seasonally, it is normal for pork export volume to decline from May through late summer, but we expect slight year-over-year gains to be posted in pork export volume for the second half of 2016.

Broiler exports for May continued to move seasonally higher, but also continue to post levels below year ago.

Important to note, it is expected that the majority of year-over-year improvement in broiler exports will be seen starting in June and more obvious in the second half of the year.

For May, broiler exports were down 2 per cent year-over-year. This included a 10 per cent increase in exports to Mexico and a 24 per cent increase to the Caribbean, compared to 2015. However, that was not enough to overcome an 11 per cent and 20 per cent year-over-year decline to Canada and Hong Kong, respectively, as well as declines in product sent to Mainland China, Iraq, and South Korea.

PIC China and Shennong Strengthen their Long-Term Partnership

11 July 2016

CHINA – PIC China signed a multi-year partnership agreement with Yunnan Shennong Agricultural Industry Group providing 50,000 sows for a new production pyramid.

This agreement also includes the stocking of a multiplication farm with the capacity to produce 30,000 grandparent gilts a year, as well as the establishment of a sire line nucleus to produce high-quality terminal boars in China. Both farms will be stocked with animals bearing the most advanced, high-health genetics from PIC’s genetic nucleus in the United States.

Yunnan Shennong is an integrated pork producer and one of the most progressive pig farming companies that has reached the milestone of 30 PSY production in China.

Mr. He Zuxun, Chairman of Shennong commented on the event: “This cooperation agreement provides a powerful guarantee for Shennong to further expand its large scale, efficient, and bio-secure pig production system. Meanwhile, our Dali breeding farm will become the first GGP breeding multiplier for PIC in the South-West of China. Partnering with a leading enterprise such as PIC helps us to be a more prominent and successful pork production player. The high end products and technologies provided by PIC support Shennong’s continuous improvement program. In the past ten years, both sides have established a relationship based on good faith, pragmatism and mutual benefit. We believe that deep collaboration delivers the most positive results. I expect that today’s agreement sets us forth a decade of even better cooperation”.

Catalin Lapuste, PIC China Operations Director, stated: “we have been working with Shennong for many years and never stopped improving our relationship. The accumulated trust and our common experience are translated today into a strategic cooperation which is setting the partnership for future sustainable growth.”

Founded in 1962, and a subsidiary of biotechnology leader Genus plc, PIC is now the international leader in the provision of continuous genetic improvement in swine breeding stock and in world-class technical support to the global pork supply chain. PIC combines quantitative analytics with leading-edge biotechnology to develop breeding stock that helps our customers maximize profitability.

Global Pig Meat Production Set to Decline

11 July 2016

Overall world meat production is predicted to stagnate at about 321  million tonnes in 2016. Poultry is forecast to register some growth, followed by bovine and ovine meat, while pigmeat output could decline, according to the June 2016 FAO Food Outlook.

World production of pigmeat in 2016 is forecast to decrease marginally, by 0.7 percent to 116.4 million tonnes, thus registering a second year of virtual stagnation. As in 2015, lower output in China, which accounts for almost half the world total, is the main reason for the slowdown.

An unfavourable feed-pork price ratio in the country and new environmental regulations have caused farmers to reduce breeding sows, stalling growth. China’s production is projected to be 54 million tonnes, down 2.5 percent from the previous year.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippines and Viet Nam could boost output. Also, production in Japan and the Republic of Korea may expand, as the industry recovers from outbreaks of porcine endemic diarrhoea
(PED), which reduced piglet numbers in the previous two years. Recovery from the effects of PED has been faster in the United States, where a second year of growth is anticipated, when production could increase by 1.9 percent to a record 11.3 million tonnes. Output in Mexico also continues to recover, following a PED outbreak in 2014, and may rise in 2016 by 2.0 percent to 1.3 million tonnes.

In both countries, lower feed prices have encouraged upscaling.

Elsewhere in the Americas, favourable feed costs are forecast to boost production in Canada and Brazil.

In the Russian Federation, the pace of growth in pigmeat production could quicken, due to investment in, and the growing importance of, large-scale production units.

Meanwhile, EU output is expected to fall marginally, by 0.3 percent to 23.3 million tonnes, as a result of a decline in breeding sow numbers.

Trade: second year of strong growth

Trade in pigmeat in 2016 is expected to experience a second year of growth, increasing by 4.4 percent to 7.5 million tonnes – a record level. Lower international prices have stimulated trade.

In May 2016, average export prices were 11 percent below a year earlier and almost 33 percent below those of May 2014. Most of the principal importing countries are anticipated to augment their levels of purchases, including Mexico, China, the Russian Federation, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Australia. The upward surge in demand would be more than sufficient to counterbalance anticipated declining imports by Canada, Viet Nam and Colombia.

In response to rising demand, shipments by most of the main exporting countries are projected to grow in 2016. The Americas are forecast to lead the way, assisted by post-PED industry recovery in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generally favourable feed prices in all countries, including Brazil.

The EU is anticipated to see sales rise further, building on the vibrant growth experienced in 2015.

EU exporters have adjusted to the 2014 Russian Federation embargo by seeking alternative
markets, in particular in Asia, especially China. Conversely, Brazil, which was not subject to the ban, has experienced a substantial rise in exports to the Russian Federation, which, as a single destination, may constitute as much as half of Brazil’s external sales of pigmeat in 2016.

Hog Outlook: More Pork Coming to US from Europe, Less from Canada

12 July 2016

US – US pork imports totalled 90.2 million pounds during May. That is up 10.5 per cent compared to May 2015, write Ron Plain and Scott Brown, Ag Economics, MU.

US pork exports totalled 458.8 million pounds in May, up 4.9 per cent compared to a year earlier, and the most for any month since April 2015.

May imports equalled 4.6 per cent of production. Pork exports during May equalled 23.5 per cent of US pork production, the highest for any month since June 2014.

There were 473,541 hogs imported in May, up 12.9 per cent compared top May 2015.

January-May pork imports were up 4.4 per cent with less pork coming to the US from Canada, but more coming from Europe.

Pork exports were up 1.2 per cent during the first five months of 2016 with a bit less going to Japan, Mexico and Canada, but a lot more going to China and Hong Kong. US pork shipments to China and Hong Kong were up 137 per cent compared to a year earlier.

USDA’s Crop Progress report says that 75 per cent of corn acres were in good to excellent conditions on July 3. That is the same as a week earlier and 6 points higher than on that date last year.

Hog prices were lower last week. The national negotiated barrow and gilt carcass price averaged $77.19/cwt on Thursday, down $1.16 from a week earlier and down 16 cents from a year ago.

The national negotiated barrow and gilt price averaged $75.79/cwt on the morning report on Friday, down $1.17 from a week earlier. There were no regional negotiated price quotes on Friday morning for the eastern corn belt, western corn belt or Iowa-Minnesota.

The top hog price on Friday at Peoria was $49/cwt, unchanged from a week earlier. Friday’s top price for interior Missouri live hogs was $55.50/cwt, the same as the previous Friday.

Friday morning’s pork cutout value was $89.45/cwt FOB the slaughter plants. That is up 12 cents from the week before and up $8.65 from a year ago. Ham and belly prices were higher than the previous Friday, loins lower. Friday morning’s national negotiated hog price is 84.7 per cent of the cutout value.

Last week started with a holiday so slaughter only totalled 1.826 million head, down 13.7 per cent from the previous week and down 12.0 per cent from the same week last year.

The average slaughter weight of barrows and gilts in Iowa-Minnesota last week was 276.7 pounds. That is down 1.1 pounds from the week before and down 2.3 pound from the same week last year.

The July lean hog futures contract ended the week at $80.05/cwt, down $2.625 from the preceding Friday. On Friday, August hogs settled at $78.825/cwt, down $5.125 from the previous Friday. The October contract settled at $68.60, down $3.75 for the week.

Corn futures fell for the third week in a row. The July contract lost 3.25 cents last week to close the week at $3.4975 per bushel. September futures closed 5 cents lower than the previous Friday at $3.55/bu. December corn futures ended the week at $3.625/bushel, down 4.5 cents from last Friday.

Hog Slat’s New Medicator Offers Practical On-Farm Solutions

11 July 2016

US – Rated for use up to 11 GPM, the Hog Slat medicator can handle all your medicating, cleaning and vaccination needs. The fixed ratio 1:128 pump features reinforced valve support, a long lasting three-part spring design, easy-to-mount bracket and proven top and bottom seals.

Hog Slat’s Scott Bauck speaks to ThePigSite’s Sarah Mikesell at the World Pork Expo.

Hog Slat co-branded and designed the Medicator with one of the leading manufacturers of medicators in the world.

“What we asked them to do is to build us a compact unit, and we asked them to use some of the proven technology that we actually started out with 30 years ago from the original flat top. Then we asked them to increase the volume and incorporate improved materials in the seals and plungers,” said Hog Slat’s Scott Bauck. “This is a unit that we went to them said we’d like to buy a volume, and we’d like to buy it for a price that we are able to pass on to producers.”