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News: 150 days from birth is the average time you need to sell your pigs for slaughter and it is about 85 kgs on average.
 
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Author Topic: Canadian Pork Producers:  (Read 42530 times)
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mikey
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« Reply #15 on: April 13, 2008, 06:04:37 AM »

Foreign Workers Help Ease Chronic Farm Labour Shortage
CANADA - The production manager with Sunterra Farms says that hiring foreign workers has proved an effective solution to the chronic labour shortage plaguing western Canada's agriculture sector, Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
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Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
A low unemployment rate in western Canada has made it increasingly difficult to attract workers.

To contend with that shortage Sunterra Farms has been recruiting foreign workers, primarily from Mexico and the Philippines, to fill all types of positions from entry level to highly skilled.

Mark Chambers says the process is relatively simple but it takes a considerable amount of time.


Mark Chambers-Sunterra Farms
The first process is to obtain authorization from Service Canada or HRSDC that you can hire a foreign worker and to make that application you have to show that you've tried to recruit from within Canada, you've done some advertising and submit your application and that process, just to get approval, can take up to about 32 weeks at this moment in time.

They're getting overloaded, there's a lot of people coming to Alberta.

We're like 100 thousand employees short in the province so everybody's looking for foreign labour.

The burden on Service Canada to process all of this paperwork is huge.

They just don't have the workforce to do it and it's getting things backed up.

That process to get that approval takes a long time.

Then, depending on which country we recruit from, if you to Mexico, once they've got LMO approval in Mexico, you can as quickly as six weeks get an employee on a work permit to come to Canada.

If you go to somewhere like the Philippines where there is more and more people from the Philippines applying to come through Canadian immigration there, that process can take up to six months.

It's not a quick fix.

It takes a long time and you've got to be ahead of the game all the time.

You've always got to be thinking about how many employees will I need in six months time because I've got to start the process now because it can take six months to a year to get someone.

Chambers stresses many people have the impression that hiring foreign workers is a quick cheap fix but that's not the case.

He notes pay scales are governed by Service Canada and are equal to what Canadians would be paid and there are additional recruiting costs but the process is extremely satisfying.



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« Reply #16 on: April 13, 2008, 11:43:41 AM »

Hey slyfox there you go we are looking for people like you!you are highly skilled in this hog bizniz .
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« Reply #17 on: April 15, 2008, 07:35:02 AM »

Desperate farmers to euthanize thousands of hogs
Larry Kusch, Canwest News Service 
Published: Friday, April 11, 2008

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Manitoba Pork Council

Andrew Dickson

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WINNIPEG -- Desperate Manitoba hog producers, suddenly unable to ship young pigs to the United States, are preparing to euthanize hundreds of thousands of animals over the next several months, the general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council said late Thursday.

Andrew Dickson said the farmers have "no choice in the matter" as U.S. farmers are breaking contracts to buy the three-week-old pigs because of worries over the impact of looming country-of-origin-labelling legislation in the United States, which is set to take effect in September.

"We'll have the animals brought to a central point. They'll be gassed with carbon dioxide in a special chamber and the animals will be taken in special containers to (the rendering plant in Winnipeg)," Dickson said.

Up to 25,000 pigs a week will be disposed of in this way - likely beginning late next week, he said.

"It's not the farmers' fault; they've bred and raised the animals in good faith because they had a contract (with U.S. buyers)," he said.

Some farmers have tried to give the piglets away to other Manitoba farmers, but without success. That's because producers who feed pigs to market weight - more than 200 pounds - are losing between $40 and $50 an animal due to of rock-bottom market prices and sky-high feed costs.

As little as two weeks ago, producers were selling weanlings to the U.S. for up to $40 a piece. But lately, the price has dropped to almost nothing - when there are buyers at all.

"This is dirty dealing by these American farmers (who are backing out of contracts to take the Manitoba piglets)," Dickson said.

Country-of-origin-labelling or COOL legislation will require food products such as pork to carry labelling indicating its country of origin. That has spooked U.S. retailers and meat packers, who are shying away from Canadian hogs at least until the rules are finalized.

Political attitudes on product labelling have hardened in the U.S. because of the contaminated pet food scare and other consumer issues that critics say have nothing to do with the pork industry.

Manitoba is the biggest shipper of weanling pigs to the United States among Canadian provinces, exporting 3.5 million to four million animals annually.




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« Reply #18 on: April 16, 2008, 07:38:09 AM »

Tuesday, April 15, 2008Print This Page
Canadian Genetics Shipped to Expanding Russian Agri-Business
CANADA - Genesus has just completed the successful delivery of a Four Plane Shipment of swine genetics to Kuban AgroHolding of Krasnodar, Russia.

 
Kuban AgroHolding is a large agricultural complex with 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) over 5,000 employees, 10 agrarian enterprises which include swine production and pork processing. Director General is Fyodor V. Druginin.

Genesus Swine Genetics has the largest registered purebred herd in the world and is Canada's premier source of excellent health and high performance swine genetics.

"Genesus thanks Kuban AgroHolding for its confidence in our genetics and people. We look forward to many years of cooperation. Russia is rapidly expanding its domestic pork production; Kuban AgroHolding will be a major producer and leader in technology adoption" said Jim Long, Genesus President-CEO.

AgroHolding Kuban is an expanding and diverse agri-business. It has pioneered such areas of farming as stocking and processing, retail, sunflower, soy, corn, and barley seed and other agriculturally-based innovative technologies.

Within four years the company has allocated over 2.2 billion rubles into investment programs, including 1.2 billion rubles on new machinery and equipment; over 60 million on modernization and development of livestock farming, 250 million rubles on seed farming, 300 million rubles on grain storage and processing, and over 300 million rubles on the enterprise expansion; by 2008, 3.3 billion rubles is to be invested to the company development.

It is currently planning the expansion of its in-house crop processing business, construction of a meat-processing plant and a diary. It also hopes to increase its production area to 70,000 hectares.


 
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« Reply #19 on: April 19, 2008, 10:13:47 AM »

Hog producers await China ruling on Paylean
Alana Vannahme 4/17/2008 2:58:00 PM 
 
 

Related ItemsMore News by TopicLivestock   Canadian market access to China is expected to improve in the latter half of the year with Chinese officials expected to decide this summer whether or not to approve the use of the hog feed additive commonly marketed under the brand name Paylean, according to an Canadian pork industry official.

"Hopefully by July China will have reached some conclusion on this issue. They are conducting an import risk assessment and until that is done there is not a lot Canada can do except to wait for the results," said Jacques Pomerleau, executive director for Canada Pork International in Ottawa.

Paylean, which contains ractpopamine hydrochloride, improves the quality of meat cuts by directing nutrients away from fat deposition and toward lean deposition, thus increasing the amount of lean pork and high-value meat cuts in the carcass. It also increases production as lean is more efficient to produce than fat, meaning that pigs fed Paylean reach market weight in fewer days with less feed.

Paylean has been approved for use in 30 countries, including Canada and the U.S., but China has yet to give its approval for the use of the feed additive. The drug has been banned there since 2002.

In fact, its current zero-tolerance policy toward the additive resulted in several North American processing plants being delisted when their pork products were found to contain traces of it. Among the delisted plants are two Canadian companies, one of which is Maple Leaf's Brandon plant. Industry sources did not wish to name the second plant.

Canadian pork sales to China, in the meantime, have suffered considerably.

Martin Rice, executive director with the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) in Ottawa, said 18,000 tons of pork have been shipped to China and Hong Kong (viewed as a single market) in the first two months of 2008, an increase from the previous year's amount. The majority however, went to Hong Kong, whereas last year the bulk of the pork was shipped to mainland China. Exports to mainland China alone have declined roughly 30 per cent, Rice said, whereas in recent years exports had climbed steadily.

The main reason for the decline, he said, was the Paylean ban.

While less than half of the Canadian pork industry is believed to be using Paylean, the problem is augmented by the fact there are no records definitively showing who is and who is not using the feed additive, Rice explained.

Also, the plants which could reasonably guarantee Paylean-free pork because they own their own hogs, are not increasing their sales to China because they are not offered a price premium that would offset the costs incurred as a result of segregating pigs destined for that market from pigs fed Paylean, Rice said.

"Tyson Foods, for example, declined to discuss with China any further export shipments because they weren't really offering any kind of premium that would make it worth their while to go through the bother of separating their pigs and all that," he said.

Furthermore, plants may be unwilling to forego the considerable returns (C$2 to $3 per pig) that can result from Paylean use.

The Chinese market price for pork would have to increase in order to provide enough of an incentive to the plant, Rice said.

Pomerleau, meanwhile, is optimistic China will eventually allow the use of Paylean.

"I think we can be hopeful about the situation. There are new people in place in China and there is a new approach so I'm quite optimistic but these things take time. Some things just have to play themselves out and people have to do what they think is best," he said

In the event of a favourable outcome, Pomerleau believes there is excellent opportunity for Canada to increase its pork sales to China. Their pork supply is low this year and as incomes rise and the middle class expands, more Chinese households will have greater disposable income, he explained.

"The opportunities are there. If it weren't for the Paylean issue, we would be exporting a lot right now," Pomerleau said.

Rice also believes there will be increased opportunities in the coming years for Canadian exporters to sell higher-quality skeletal meat cuts to China, which currently buys mainly organs such as kidneys or stomachs. He noted that demand for value-added fresh, packaged pork products is growing as well.

 
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« Reply #20 on: April 19, 2008, 10:29:20 AM »

Thursday, April 17, 2008Print This Page
Increased Ingredient Costs Threaten Manufacture of Food Products in Canada
CANADA - The Manitoba Food Processors Association warns the increasing cost of ingredients for processed food products threatens to drive the production of many of these products out of Canada, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
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Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Prices for most of the crops used to manufacture food products have seen some dramatic increases recently.

Manitoba Food Processors Association executive director Dave Shambrook says, while it's good to see higher returns coming back to producers, the higher ingredient costs are making it difficult for some of the small and medium sized processors.


Dave Shambrook-Manitoba Food Processors Association
In some cases companies will not be able to adjust and in some cases, the worst case scenario, they're closing the doors and getting out of the industry althogher.

That's always a part of the natural progression of things.

There's always evolution in all industries but what is also happening right now for many companies, they're saying we manufacture 10 or 20 or 30 or in some cases 50 and 100 different product lines.

There's some that aren't as profitable for us or there's some that with this new price structure we can't produce them here anymore profitably.

We let them go.

We shut down those production lines.

What's happening, you and I as a consumers again we still want those products and the grocery retailers need to have them on the shelf so where they're going is offshore and that's why we're seeing many more products coming into Canada and the United States that are manufactured in China or in India and it is a global society for sure but the long term implications are a little bit frightening for me, in terms of once these production capabilities are to move off shore, how likely are they to come back to Canada if pricing and such changes in the future.

Shambrook notes the quality of Canadian products are as high as anything in the world but, once the manufacture of these products move offshore, the ability to deal with food safety issues is much reduced, as evidenced by several food safety incidents that have been traced back to offshore products or ingredients over the past year.


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« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2008, 08:16:46 AM »

Wednesday, April 16, 2008Print This Page
Tough Decisions Needed to Recover Increasing Costs
CANADA - Faced with uncertain future and the inability to recover record-high feed bills, Canadian hog farmers have no option but to slaughtering breeding stock and even young piglets to cut their losses and lift market prices.



Reports in the Vancouver Sun says that in Manitoba, farmers are working out contingency plans for the "extreme option" of euthanizing their piglets, said Karl Kynoch, a farmer and the chairman of the Manitoba Pork Council.

"It really goes against everything that a producer stands for," Kynoch said. "His mind-set for his whole life has been to raise food to supply people around the world ... and to care for animals in the best way possible."

Some have estimated that 25,000 piglets a week may have to be killed, but Kynoch said farmers are seeking alternatives.

"We're just making sure that we're prepared so that things don't get out of hand," he said, noting that some farmers may need a humane option if they are unable to pay for feed.

Meanwhile, Ottawa will pay hog farmers $50 million to shrink their adult breeding herd by about 10 per cent, or 150,000 animals.

But the president of the Canadian Pork Council warned the program may not be large enough to handle the rush for the exit.

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« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2008, 08:18:26 AM »

Wednesday, April 16, 2008Print This Page
Study Identifies International Marketing Opportunities for Canadian Pork
CANADA - A study conducted by Canada Pork International has identified a range of opportunities for Canada to promote and expand the sale of its pork products on the international market, writes Bruce Cochrane.





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Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
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To identify potential international marketing opportunities Canada Pork International conducted a quality perception audit in its top markets.

The study focused on attributes that drive the decision to purchase meat, such as who has the best food safety system, the best meat color, the best marbling, the best price.

Technical programs and marketing services director Michael Young says distributors were asked about their perception of quality and where they get and profiles of the systems in each country were established to determine how well Canada is doing compared to its competitors.


Michael Young-Canada Pork International
It comes down to individual product attributes but it also comes down to food safety systems that go beyond the price so it's a combination of functional and emotional attributes that you can associate with the product.

For instance, Canada's world class food safety systems, Canada's on farm food safety systems, Canada's selection process, our genetics, our history, our ability to deliver what the customer wants.

These are all important but again, consumer selection changes.

It's a moving target from country to country.

If you're talking about Asia, they're looking for very thinly sliced meat that is a little darker than what we might see here and has a little more marbling because they appreciate the texture and the mouth feel of that.

If you go to a market like Australia, they're looking for further processed products that's turned into hams and bacon and things like that so they're looking for a whole different set of attributes so again it's a moving target and you have to look at it from market to market.

Young says the audit concluded that Canada is well represented in the markets but there is more to be done.

For example, he says, we know we have a world class food safety system and suggests we need to connect with the end users so they understand what they're getting.



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« Reply #23 on: April 22, 2008, 10:21:46 AM »


News for Monday, April 21st, 2008

Hog producers getting out
Written by Jim Birchard


As the crisis in the Hog Industry worsens, a lot of producers are considering getting out of the business.

President of the Canadian Port Council, Clare Schlegel says there is a lot of interest in a 50 million dollar federal  Cull Breeding Swine Program that began last Monday.

The program will pay farmers 225 dollars per head to cull their breeding herds and empty their barns for three years.

Schlegel says with the high value of the Canadian Dollar, high price for feed and low prices for Hogs many producers want out and this government program is the chance for them to exit the business.

He says the high dollar means U.S. pork is cheaper and a lot of that is flooding the Canadian Market, hurting local producers.

Schlegel says the cull should reduce the hog population in Canada by about 10 per cent and hopefully that will help drive up the price of pork.

He also would like to see better labeling of meat so Canadians know they are supporting local farmers when they buy pork and not product from the U.S.

Schlegel says with the industry in such dire straits, this restructuring initiative is a good place to start on the road to a healthier competitive Canadian swine industry.


 
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« Reply #24 on: April 23, 2008, 08:11:09 AM »

Tuesday, April 22, 2008Print This Page
Sow Liquidation-Weekly Slaughter-Storage Stocks to Determine Live Hog Prices
CANADA - A Saskatchewan livestock economist expects North American sow liquidation, weekly US hog slaughter numbers and global demand for North American pork to drive live hog prices heading into the summer and the fall, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
North American live hog prices started to rebound over the past two weeks but they remain below average. Friday's SPI price for index 100 hogs ranged from 110 to 120 dollars per 100 kilograms.

Brad Marceniuk, with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, says key factors affecting hog prices include weekly US slaughter numbers and pork in cold storage.
Clip-Brad Marceniuk-Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
US weekly hog slaughter numbers continue to be significantly higher year over year which has led to increased pork production.

Looking at the March USDA hogs and pigs report, US hog production has been increasing and year over year market and breeding herd inventory numbers are actually up.

Based on these numbers, without liquidation, US hog slaughter numbers could increase by about seven and a half million hogs in 2008 which is up almost seven percent from 2007.

Fourth quarter US hog slaughter numbers could also reach about 31 million head which is a new US record.

So the rate of North American sow liquidation resulting in lower pork production will be key in increasing hog prices.

While the demand for pork continues to remain strong, increased US hog production has resulted in more pork in cold storage.

US pork in cold storage has increased by about 30 percent since December and is actually 25 percent higher year over year.

Likewise we have also seen significant increases in poultry production and poultry in cold storage.

These combined increases have actually resulted in higher total meat in cold storage.

Marceniuk says, based on the lean hog futures, western Canadian index 100 hog prices could average in the mid 120s in the second quarter and the low 130s in the third quarter.

He suggests, before we get any big increases, we're going to need to see a big increase in demand for North American pork, primarily through the export market, or a large reduction in North American production.

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« Reply #25 on: April 25, 2008, 07:40:02 AM »

Man. to process cull pork for food banks
FBC staff 4/23/2008 3:08:00 PM 
 
 

Related ItemsMore News by TopicLivestock   The Manitoba government will put up $500,000 to process ground pork from animals slaughtered through the new federal cull breeding swine program, for use by the province's food banks.

The pork will be distributed to Manitoba food banks through Winnipeg Harvest, the city food bank which also distributes to 50 rural food banks and two rural soup kitchens in the province.

Provincial funds could make available over 150,000 kg of pork products to the food banks and should support processing of approximately 5,000 surplus sows available through the federal cull program, Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk said Wednesday.

"The significance of this donation will have impact for many low-income people in Manitoba," Winnipeg Harvest executive co-ordinator David Northcott said in the province's release.

Northcott said Winnipeg's soup kitchens currently provide about 2,400 hot meals per day and the organization distributes over 5,000 food hampers per week. Winnipeg Harvest, he predicted, could distribute 15.5 tons of pork sausage per month.

Winnipeg Harvest also pledged in-kind funding to haul the processed sausage to its distribution facility and has pledged to try to match some of the funds from the province through its various charitable organizations. That process could increase the amount of meat available, the agency said.

"The pig industry is currently experiencing serious financial pressures with the high cost of feed, large supplies of pork and the strong Canadian dollar," said Wowchuk. "While this is a short-term aid program, it does move prime pork from the farm to the tables of hungry Manitobans."

"We are very pleased that the provincial government has put forward the funds to help turn some of this meat into food for hungry Manitobans instead of going to rendering plants," Karl Kynoch, chairman of the Manitoba Pork Council, said in a separate release.

Hog producers have donated over 15,000 pounds of pork to rural and urban charities over the last two years, Kynoch noted, including sausages and roasts as well as about 65 carcasses per year from the annual Pork Quality Competition during Manitoba Hog and Poultry Days.

Manitoba's announcement Wednesday follows a similar pledge last week by the Saskatchewan government of $440,000 to process animals from the federal cull swine program for that province's food banks.

The $50 million federal cull program is meant to help the hog industry restructure by helping cut Canada's swine breeding herd (sows, boars and pregnant gilts) by about 10 per cent. The program opened April 14 for applications from hog farmers.

Qualifying producers, subject to application approval, will get $225 per breeding swine culled after April 14, and will get reimbursement for costs of slaughter and carcass disposal.

A payment of $225 per breeding swine less the selling price will be available for producers who sold animals from Nov. 1, 2007 until April 13 this year and can produce receipts and supporting documents.


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« Reply #26 on: April 26, 2008, 07:51:35 AM »

Friday, April 25, 2008Print This Page
US and Canadian Hog Inventory Up Three Percent
US - This publication is a result of a joint effort by Statistics Canada and NASS to release the total hogs, breeding, market hogs, sows farrowed, and pig crop for both countries within one publication.

 

This information was requested by the US hog industry to provide producers additional information about potential hog supplies. U.S. inventory numbers were previously released on March 28, 2008.

US and Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs for March 2008 was 78.9 million head. This was up 3 percent from March 2007 and up 5 percent from March 2006. The breeding inventory, at 7.64 million head, was down less than 1 percent from a year ago and last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 71.3 million head, was up 3 percent from last year but down 2 percent from last quarter. The pig crop, at 36.0 million head, was up 5 percent from 2007 and up 6 percent from 2006. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 3.86 million head, up 4 percent from last year.

US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2008 was 65.9 million head. This was up 7 percent from March 1, 2007, but down 2 percent from December 1, 2007. The breeding inventory, at 6.14 million head, was up less than 1 percent from last year, but down slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 59.8 million head, was up 7 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from last quarter. The pig crop, at 28.1 million head, was up 6 percent from 2007 and up 9 percent from 2006. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 3.05 million head, up 5 percent from last year.

Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs on April 1, 2008 was 13.0 million head. This was down 12 percent from April 1, 2007 and down 14 percent from April 1, 2006. The breeding inventory, at 1.50 million head, was down 5 percent from last year and down 2 percent from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 11.5 million head, was down 13 percent from last year and down 6 percent from last quarter. The pig crop, at 7.95 million head, was down 1 percent from 2007 and down 4 percent from 2006. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 809,000 head, down 2 percent from last year.


 
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« Reply #27 on: April 26, 2008, 07:53:55 AM »

Friday, April 25, 2008Print This Page
Producers Speak Out on Industry Crisis
CANADA - Times are tough and not likely to get better in the near-term. The crisis in the livestock industry is drawing together farmers to discuss and debate their future options and 250+ independent pork producers from the Midwest and Canada recently met in Mankato.



Speaking to Farmsnews-Iowa, Mitch Truebenbach, a hog producer and owner of Agri Swine Alliance Inc. organized the meeting and said he knows firsthand the troubles facing the livestock industry.

“As I talked and listened to people outside our industry I realized people don’t know of the high losses we are facing with no end in sight,” he said. “Everyone that is in the livestock industry is struggling with record high production costs, with feed costs at prices that we have never experienced — so collectively I am hoping we can come up with ideas that may help us through these trying times.”

Bob Taubert, a producer from Minnesota, spoke about the impact of biofuels on the livestock industry. The consensus, he said, is that we have a failed policy with ethanol. The livestock industry is in crisis because of several factors including worldwide economic impacts such as growth in China and India and their demands for goods and commodities, he said. Additionally, the weak U.S. dollar makes commodities more attractive worldwide.


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« Reply #28 on: April 26, 2008, 07:56:16 AM »

Friday, April 25, 2008Print This Page
High Grain Costs Hit Maple Leaf
CANADA - Maple Leaf Foods has reported significant losses in hog production as grain prices increase in its report of the financial results for the first quarter of 2008.



The company said that eEarnings increased in core processed meat and meals business but margins declined in the bakery operations due to rising wheat prices.

Earnings from continuing operations before restructuring and other related costs ("Adjusted Operating Earnings") fell by 34 per cent to C$33.1 million for the quarter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
"Our underlying operations, in particular the value-added meats and bakery businesses, are very well positioned and early successes in the Company's protein restructuring is building a solid base for higher earnings." 
Michael H. McCain, President and CEO, Maple Leaf Foods.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Rapid wheat cost increases compressed margins in the Bakery Products group as price increases have not yet offset rising input costs.

Hog production losses also increased sharply as feed prices increased at a faster rate than hog prices, the company said.

It added that partly offsetting these effects, margins increased in the value-added meats business due to price increases and favorable markets, and early benefits of the Company's strategic repositioning of the Protein Group were realised.

Additional Support
Also included in earnings for the quarter were certain other items of note, including government support payments of C$8.4 million received as part of programs to assist the hog production industry, and initial costs of C$6.0 million related to consulting and systems conversions initiatives. Also during the quarter, the average Canadian dollar exchange rates were higher than last year as the Canadian dollar traded above parity before returning to current levels, negatively impacting earnings by approximately C$5.5 million.

Earnings per share from continuing operations before restructuring and other related costs ("Adjusted EPS") for the quarter was C$0.04, compared to C$0.12 last year.

"Operating earnings for the quarter were substantially impacted by continued increases in worldwide prices for wheat, grains and other commodities", said Michael H. McCain, President and CEO.

"These effects, while material, are temporary and are expected to reverse as markets stabilise; through a combination of price increases, some reduction in wheat prices as new crops come to market and livestock price increases as hog supplies tighten. We fully expect these to be difficult but transitory market conditions.
Well Positioned
"Our underlying operations, in particular the value-added meats and bakery businesses, are very well positioned and early successes in the Company's protein restructuring is building a solid base for higher earnings.

"We remain on track to realize our incremental earnings targets from these initiatives and continue to be very positive regarding the re-positioning and growth in our core business."
 



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« Reply #29 on: April 29, 2008, 08:28:47 AM »

Monday, April 28, 2008Print This Page
Greater Attention Must be Paid to Animal Biosecurity
CANADA - The extension veterinarian for the state of North Dakota is calling for greater cross border dialogue to address issues related to animal biosecurity, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
Beyond Borders, a regional animal agrosecurity conference slated for early June at Fargo, will bring together international experts to discuss wide ranging issues related to animal disease.

North Dakota State University extension veterinarian Dr. Charlie Stoltenow observes both countries have good systems but there can be lapses and disease outbreaks can occur.


Dr. Charlie Stoltenow-North Dakota State University
Each respective country, the United States and Canada have some pretty good response plans in place.

In the United States we deal with these every so often and so our government agencies, our federal and state agencies, our producer groups, they do understand.

However once you involve an international border things become very murky and things that we've learn from the United Kingdom and others is, to coin a football phrase, speed kills.

You have to deal with these incidents very quickly and very strong.

Diseases don't know international borders and our concern here is have there been discussions on what would happen, what type of capabilities are present, how do we respond to something on the international border because we will have to be united or we will fall together.

We know that, for instance, the Canadians have some certain capabilities that in the United States we are not as developed and the other is true also.

In the United States we have some capabilities and some assets available that the Canadians really don't have access to and we'd like to start these discussions.

Dr. Stoltenow warns, if we don't deal with an animal agrosecurity event on the international border it will be catastrophic to both countries.



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