Canadian Pork Producers:

[mikey]

Tuesday, August 12, 2008Print This Page
Pork Commentary: US Hog Prices Reach Record Highs
CANADA - This week's North American Pork Commentary from Jim Long.

Jim Long on ThePigSite

Jim Long is President &
CEO of Genesus Genetics.
The Iowa-Minnesota lean price reached 88.89 last Friday (65¢ lb liveweight). Touching the highest price ever reached which was in the summer of 1990. It feels like a miracle. As an industry, we have been getting hammered by high feed prices and large hog supply for months with per head losses reaching $50.00.

Now, as global meat supply declines (as we have been predicting), pork export demand is surging. In the last 6 weeks we have gone from lean hog prices of 68.52 to 88.89, a gain of $40.00 per head. On the cost side, corn has come off $2.00 a bushel and soybean $3.00 a bushel. The cost of raising hogs has dropped $25.00 per head. $40.00 + $25.00 = $65.00 gain per head, all in six weeks.

Thank goodness because, this industry sure needed a break. The real good news is the amount of hogs we are going to market through the first part of 2009 has been biologically put in play. There will be fewer as sow liquidation in Canada, United States and Mexico will mean less hogs in the coming months. Almost 90 cent hogs now mean even higher prices with the smaller supply in 2009 (at current exchange rates).

Other Observations
U.S. sow slaughter was 72 thousand for the last week we have data. It is consistently running 10,000 more then the same weeks a year ago. We believe this indicates an approximate net decrease of 10,000 in the U.S. breeding herd per week.

Last week’s sow prices were 10¢ lb less than a year ago. Market hog prices were 10¢ lb higher than a year ago. A year over year 20¢ lb spread. Some are saying liquidation has stopped. If so, we would expect supply and demand would bring sows higher in price probably close to the 20¢ lb difference year over year. When heavy sows get to 10¢ lb under the market price, we will believe liquidation has stopped.

At the first part of July, feeder pigs were trading for $10.00 per head. Since then, lower feed costs and higher lean hog futures have increased the prices $30.00 per head. We expect feeder pigs to reach $80.00 to $90.00 per head in 2009.

We had some visitors from Russia this past week at Genesus. 110 kg (242 lb) liveweight market hogs are bringing $360 U.S. per head. $3.27 per kilo or $1.48 U.S. liveweight per lb only goes to show where prices can lead. Any wonder pork exports from the U.S. to Russia are strong.

One of our associates is moving feeder pigs 25 kg (55 lb) from Western Europe to Russia. They are costing Russian buyers 80 Euros ($120 U.S.) per head. Bet there is a lot of Canadian – U.S. producers who like to send pigs for that price.

Corn was $4.97 Friday, soy beans $11.97 price continue to come down. The crop has been getting rain and warm weather almost everywhere. We expect corn south of $4.00 a bushel in harvest.

Last week the European Union (E.U.) immediately suspended pig meat export refunds. The program had been subsidizing E.U. pork exports at 31.1 Euros per 100 kg of carcass ($46 U.S.). With E.U. a major global pork exporter, this subsidy cancellation will make U.S. – Canada pork even more competitive globally. This is price supportive for U.S. pork.

Iowa and Minnesota weights a week ago were 4.8 lbs per head – lighter than a year ago. Hogs have been pulled ahead.

The Canadian dollar closed Friday at 93.74¢ to the U.S. dollar – down from par a few weeks ago. This helps Canadian producers’ competitiveness. Canadian producers have not had much good news in the last year or so. Some good news was due.

U.S.chickens placed last week were down 3.5% year over year. Year to date chicken slaughter has been running 4.6% plus year over year; a big swing. High feed prices have cut chicken production. The chicken placed decrease is a 5.5 million per week decline. Lower chicken production cuts feed demand and supports hog prices.

Sure can see the greater competition in the Pig Software business. Once dominant Pig Champ had only 13 farms from Canada in those yearly production analyses. Significantly down and this probably reflects loss of market share to now numerous competitors. U.S. Pig Champs 2007 top 10% herds weaned per female was 24.10. Certainly indicates reaching 25 pigs is still a great accomplishment.

The U.S. government is not very friendly to U.S. livestock producers. The current administration has rejected the idea of allowing conservation set aside land be released early (15 million acres) to allow cropping. Then this last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected the waiver request to lower mandated ethanol usage. It’s almost like it’s a conspiracy to destroy the livestock industry. The U.S. government is subsidizing ethanol production, protecting with tariffs and then limiting grain production. Not only is it hurting livestock producers, its also affecting the pocket book of every U.S. consumer with higher food prices, all in the pursuit of producing a product (corn ethanol) with little environmental support and little economic logic. The insanity of government. It doesn’t make common sense, but when government is involved, why would that be a consideration. Point is, if the government believed that corn ethanol was the solution for environmental and economic reasons, why would it not allow early release of set-aside land, then produce the largest crops in history? Beyond our comprehension.

Summary
Highest hog prices in history. Domestic and global pork and meat supply is declining. Hog prices have significant upside in 2009. The hole that has been put in everyone’s equity is beginning to be back filled.


Author: Jim Long, President & CEO, Genesus Genetics 

[mikey]

Higher Prices Push Western Hog Producers Closer to Profitability
CANADA - The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture reports significant improvements in lives hog prices have moved western Canadian pork producers closer to profitability than they have been in the last year, 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. 
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture released its monthly Hog Market Update for August earlier this week.

Livestock economist Brad Marceniuk says a strong increase in North American hog prices combined with a very large drop in the value of the Canadian dollar, about six cents over the past three weeks, has pushed Canadian hog prices upward significantly and, for the first time in over a year, western Canadian hog producers are close to break even.

Brad Marceniuk-Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
Hog prices have really improved significantly over the last three weeks with western Canadian hog prices increasing by about 25 to 30 dollars per 100 kilograms or over 20 percent.

Strong demand for North American pork plus a large drop in the value of the Canadian dollar versus the US dollar has significantly increased Canadian hog prices.

Current SPI index 100 hogs for August 14 is ranging from about 163 to 173 dollars per 100 kilograms.

We expect to see continued higher US weekly hog slaughter numbers in the fourth quarter to record levels which will put downward pressure on hog prices.

We expect hog prices will decline.

The factors to significantly look for will be where the Canadian dollar does go in the fourth quarter and where will the new crop of grain go for feed prices.

Weekly US hog slaughter numbers and global demand for North American pork will still be key factors to look for over the coming months, for the rest of '08.

Mr Marceniuk notes total meat in US cold storage has increased from May to June of this year and is also higher than year ago totals.

However, he says, while pork in US cold storage is still higher than year over year numbers, strong demand for North American pork has allowed pork stocks in storage to continue to decline since April which has been very positive for pork prices.

[mikey]

Monday, August 18, 2008Print This Page
Sound Advice for Canadian Swine Producers
CANADA - Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives is advising swine producers to be aware of the risks associated with feeding grains that may have been contaminated by fusarium head blight, 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. 
Fusarium head blight is a fungal infection that mainly affects cereals and there have wide spread reports of infection in Manitoba's red spring wheat crops this year.

Business development specialist swine Robyn Harte notes the species common in Manitoba produces several mycotoxins that are of concern to swine producers including Zearalenone, which primarily affects reproductive performance.

Robyn Harte-Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives
In the case of gilts you're looking at quite low levels of three to five parts per million sometimes, causing things like the onset of an early estrus without any actual estrus.

In sows it can be as low as five to ten parts per million and you'll see reduced litter sizes, you'll see pseudo-pregnancies, so they won't actually be pregnant.

Abortions, you'll see a reduction the number of piglets but you'll also see a reduction in the weight of each piglet so therefore your whole litter rates are going to be lower.

Weak pigs are often born and you see a definite increase in the weaned to mating interval.

When the levels get over 30 to 60 parts per million you'll actually see far more in the way of abortions.

Boars are also negatively affected and that again is in that 30 to 60 parts per million range.

And you'll see a reduction the quality of the sperm, you'll see more abnormal sperm, you'll also see that they're not as aggressive or as eager to breed.

They just sort of lose their libido so there's a number of negative reproductive issues.

Harte recommends feed testing and avoiding contaminated grain or, in cases where toxins might be present, to mix the infected grain with clean grain to lower the toxin levels.

[mikey]

Wednesday, August 20, 2008Print This Page
CME: Canadian Hog Statistics - Some Highlights
US - CME's Daily Livestock Report for 19th August 2008.



Statistics Canada released on Tuesday its quarterly estimates of livestock numbers in Canada and the numbers, not surprisingly, were lower across the board. The graph below shows year-over-year comparisons of hog numbers in various weight classes and the breeding herd. It is somewhat of a surprise that the July declines were not larger than those found in April, especially for the breeding herd. Some highlights of the Hog Statistics report are:

Total hog inventories on July 1 were 12.965 million head, 11.6% lower than last year’s 14.69 million head. This year’s July inventory is the smallest in Canada since 2000. The largest portion of that decline was in the number of market animals, which declined 12.4% to 11.492 million head. As can be seen in the graph below, the inventory of pigs weighing 20 kg and more accounted for the largest percentage of this drop, a reflection of higher weaned pig and feeder pig exports to the U.S. in 2007 and through the first half of 2008

Canada’s swine breeding herd on July 1 numbered 1.493 million head, only 4.6% smaller than the level on July 1, 2007. That decline is a bit of a surprise given the government-sponsored buyout program and economic conditions that have led many observers to believe that the Canadian herd was headed for 1.1 to 1.2 million, roughly 25% below its peak in April 2005. These numbers suggest that the Canadian sow herd declined only 5,400 head in the second quarter when a program to remove 120,000 consigned sows was in full swing. The sow herd reduction program was retroactive to November so we don’t know exactly how many sows slaughtered through normal channels since November will be counted as part of the 120,000 head. Stats Canada reports that, as of August 9, just over 29,000 head had been slaughtered and sent to rendering instead of entering Canada’s food chain.
Some curious farrowing estimates. Keep in mind the change in the Canadian breeding herd (-4.6%) and then consider that April-June farrowings were estimated at 801,700 litters, down only 1% from last year and July-Sept farrowing intentions are for 800,800 litters to be farrowed — 0.8% MORE than last year. While we know that Canadian producers are efficient and that the exodus of 2010 farms (19% of the total) since last year has enhanced that efficiency, that many litters from so few sows does not seem probable.
An April-June pig crop of 8.65 million head. That number is 28,000 head or 0.3% lower than one year ago. It fits with April-June farrowings but, like the farrowings data cited above, does not fit well with the breeding herd data.
Hog farm numbers fell the most in Saskatchwan (-30%) and Alberta (- 24%), two provinces especially hard hit by high feed and transportation costs.

[mikey]

Monday, August 25, 2008Print This Page
Reason for Maple Leaf's Product Recall Confirmed
OTTAWA - The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have received laboratory results from Health Canada that establish a link between meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods from their plant in Toronto and an outbreak of listeriosis in four provinces.



To date, 21 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed, and the same strain has been detected in four people who have died. A further 30 cases remain under investigation.

The investigation into the cause of the outbreak is complex. Results of genetic testing from three samples of the products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods show that two tested positive for the outbreak strain of listeria. Test results for the third product were a close match to the outbreak strain, but showed a slight variance. While these results are highly significant, and indicate that the investigation is on the right path, the investigation is not complete. Test results on additional food samples expected next week will advance the investigation further.

It would not have been possible to establish the link between the food samples and outbreak cases of listeriosis without the full cooperation of all parties involved, including provincial, territorial and local health units, federal departments and agencies, and Maple Leaf Foods. All parties are continuing to work together on the investigation.

Officials from the Public Health Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and health Canada held a technical briefing for members of the media on Sunday August 24, at 7:00 pm at the National Press Theatre, 150 Wellington, in Ottawa, to provide further details of the continuing investigation into further possible sources of the outbreak.

Because the onset of symptoms of listeriosis can occur up to 70 days after contaminated food is consumed, it is expected that the number of confirmed and suspected cases will continue to increase over the next several weeks. Up-to-date information on the number of cases in the outbreak is available on the website of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

[mikey]

Tuesday, August 26, 2008Print This Page
Hog Industry Turnaround Sooner Than Expected
MANITOBA - Manitoba hog producers are getting closer to and some are even past the point of profitability.



Tyler Fulton, director of risk management with Manitoba Pork Marketing, says that this may be attributed to soaring U.S. exports.

He notes these record prices are being set at a time when North American supplies are as high as they've ever been.

American exports are being driven by the decreased value of their dollar, reports Pembinavalley Online.

Mr Fullton also says it will be interesting to see how the industry acts when North American production numbers peak in October and November.

The turnaround has come much sooner than most analysts anticipated.

[mikey]

Low birth weight – no effect on pork quality
// 26 aug 2008

It has been reported that despite a low birth weight in piglets, the final pork quality is unaffected.


Research conducted by the Prairie Swine Centre in Canada suggests that while small birth weight piglets will grow slower than larger litter mates, the quality of the meat they produce will be the same.As litter size has become larger, average birth weight has become smaller and the number of small birth weight piglets has been on the increase.

Hundreds of piglets monitored
According to reports, to assess the impact of litter size and birth weight on the eating quality of the pork, scientists at the Prairie Swine Centre recorded the order of birth and the birth weights of about 12 hundred piglets.

Eating quality
The scientists monitored the piglets’ performance through to slaughter and had the meat from a representative sample tested for eating quality. Dr Denise Beaulieu, research scientist, has stated that work done in Germany has displayed that very small birth weight piglets have a different kind of muscle fibre at birth. Because of this scientists wanted to determine what effect that difference would have on the eating quality of the pork.

Related link:
Prairie Swine Centre   

[mikey]

Saturday, September 27, 2008Print This Page
Pork Producers Disappointed by Passage of Bill 17
CANADA - Despite the passage of legislation that will ban swine industry development in much of Manitoba, the province’s pork producers continue to hold out hope for some measure of flexibility.





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. 
On Wednesday (September 25), although both the Manitoba Conservatives and the Manitoba Liberals voted against it, Bill 17 passed third reading in the Manitoba legislature, the last step before receiving royal assent, by a count of 36 for, 19 against.

The Environment Amendment Act establishes permanent moratoriums on the construction of new or the expansion of existing hog barns in three regions of the province, including southeastern Manitoba, the Red River Valley Special Management Area, including the Capital Region and the Interlake.


Rally Fails to Sway Vote
About 150 pork producers and their supporters turned out Wednesday afternoon to take part in a rally on the front steps of the legislature to protest the bill and to express support for the “Zero Percent Solution,” a proposed compromise amendment intended to ease the anticipated impact of the bill, one of several proposed amendments that had already been rejected earlier in the debate. Ultimately the bill was passed without amendments.

“That is a real tough situation that producers find themselves in,” says James Hofer, the chairman of Manitoba Pork Council’s research and environment committee and the barn manager with Starlite Colony at Starbuck, one of the operations within the designated area.

He describes the bill as another nail in the coffin and, for a lot of them, it might be the last one.


Failure to Recognize Farmers’ Efforts Frustrating
Starlite Colony has been a leader in terms of environmental responsibility.

“We have 400 day manure storage capacity, we file manure management plans and the advancements we’ve been able to make in terms of manure application and manure management are huge,” says Hofer.

He is bothered by the fact that the government fails to recognize the efforts that farmers are putting into what they are doing.


Small Family Farms Most at Risk
Manitoba Pork Council Chair Karl Kynoch fears Bill 17 is going to destroy a lot of the smaller farms.

“A lot of the smaller farms have lost their life savings out of this. A lot of the small ones will disappear.”

Although Kynoch doesn’t expect a huge shift in hog numbers, he believes the bill will push farms larger to justify meeting the new demands.

He expects the loss of a lot of family farms, which will eliminate opportunities for young people to start up.

“They need to be able to start small and that ability has now been taken away from those young producers.”

He concedes, damage from the bill has already been done.

He says he has already heard from producers who have said they will either have to shut down or move out of the province.


Bill Expected to Harm Rather than Help the Environment
“This Bill 17 is just misguided and wrong headed,” says Manitoba Liberal leader Dr. Jon Gerrard.

When you put a moratorium on the industry, you freeze the industry where it is instead of allowing it to grow, to innovate, to expand and to improve the way it addresses environmental issues and hog management issues, he says.

“What hog producers need is the ability to expand because, at the same time you expand you introduce new technology, you improve the way you look after the environment. By freezing things for much of the province, what’s going to happen is we’re going to have less ability to address environmental and animal husbandry issues. The reality is we should be moving forward instead of being frozen.”


Adopters of New Technology Offered Flexibility
“There will be some flexibility on the side of technology,” says Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk.

“If an individual is implementing a bio-digester or a separator then that will be considered as environmentally friendly and those kind of facilities will be able to proceed. They’ll still have to get a license to operate. We are also looking at other areas where there are small operators who might be able to join their operations together.”

Wowchuk adds, a transition fund that will be announced very shortly will help people adapt to this new law and meet the environmental requirements that will be required for them to continue operating.

Kynoch remains skeptical. He is puzzled by the government’s drive to promote anaerobic digestion.

“An anaerobic digester does nothing to remove phosphorus out of the end product. It actually makes it more concentrated,” he points out.

He remains convinced that Bill 17 is the wrong approach, which is why his organization developed the Zero Percent Solution, an alternative that would have imposed limits on the amount of manure nutrients that could be applied, banned winter spreading and required incorporation of manure within 48 hours of application, instead of a broad moratorium.

He believes the option of consolidating smaller farms will be especially challenging, particularly for those producers who are used to running their own operations and the different sizes of those operations will further complicate things.

“When they talk about operations joining, they’re talking about hauling manure to one central pit and this kind of thing. You start having to do extra handing of the manure. So, again, that’s an added cost. A lot of these operations, the smaller ones, have more than enough land base to deal with that nutrient already.”


Progress Being Made
Dr. Gerrard observes pork producers have made some very significant progress.

“It’s not perfect but, for example, almost all producers have moved to inject the manure into the land so it doesn’t run off into the waterways, we’ve got changes in looking after animals. There’s much less in the way of bacteria using so we have less problem with resistant strains and there’s changes coming in terms of how we house the animals.”

Wowchuk acknowledges, “If you look at the research that is being done, here at the Glenlea Centre, if you look at projects like anaerobic digesters, if you look at other projects such as separating the dry material from the liquid material there have been successful projects.”

However, she stresses, “Ultimately what we have to look at is the land base we have, how much nutrient can be put on it and how much can be sustainable. It has to be sustainable. The Clean Environment Commission has made recommendations on how we should be doing those things and those recommendations are being implemented.”

Kynoch points out, “The CEC did not recommend putting a moratorium on the hog industry. The government spent $750,000 doing a Clean Environment Commission review of our industry and has gone outside of those recommendations.”


Bill 17 Viewed as Anti-Farm Anti-Rural
Manitoba Conservative agriculture critic Ralph Eichler believes, “A very clear message has been sent by this government, they’re anti-farm.”

“They’re wanting to phase in regulations that are certainly detrimental to farming and the farming community and, as a result of that, send a message out to rural Manitoba that they don’t really care about rural Manitoba.”

Eichler stresses, “We all want clean water. Everybody agrees on that. How we get there is the real answer.”

He believes we need to rely on those people that have the expertise, the scientists the university people, the people that study this. He notes the experts made it clear during the public hearings, there is no need for a moratorium.


Producers Question Further Investment in Research
Hofer considers it unfortunate that it comes down to where a government essentially shuts down the industry without justifications behind it.

“As chair of research and environment committee on pork council the members are saying to me, what’s the use in spending another dollar on research when government does not listen to science any way.”

He finds it frustrating that a government which professes to have an open door policy would proceed with such legislation without due consultation with the industry that it will affect.


News Regulations Offer Room for Additional Flexibility
The process of developing regulations for the new act does offer some hope.

Kynoch says pork producers will want to be talking to government and hopefully have some input into these regulations.

“There are some good recommendations that have come out of the Clean Environment Commission report I think that we can deal with. There’s some that probably need some adjustment so we’re going to have to try and get talking with government and see what we can do moving forward to make sure the producers that are left can meet the new regulations that are coming down.”

[mikey]

Friday, November 14, 2008Print This Page
Factors Determining Hog Prices
CANADA - The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture expects North American hog slaughter numbers, volumes of meat in cold storage and the value of the Canadian dollars to be key factors determining the value of Canadian live hogs heading toward the first quarter of 2009, 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. 
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture's November Hog Market Update indicates North American hog prices have continued to decline through the fourth quarter of 2008.

Livestock economist Brad Marceniuk says, while Canadian hog prices have been declining this fall, the lower value of the Canadian dollar has tempered the declines so Canadian producers probably haven't felt the impact as much as American producers.

He says the key factors affecting price continue to be U.S. weekly hog slaughter numbers and meat in cold storage.

Brad Marceniuk-Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
U.S. weekly hog slaughter numbers over the last eight weeks continue to be higher than over the same period a year ago and this has led to increased pork production.

While slaughter numbers were higher, we have actually started to see some signs in recent weeks that U.S. slaughter numbers may be leveling off and could start to decline later in the fourth quarter.

In Canada weekly hog slaughter numbers have been increasing over the last few weeks compared to the same period a year ago.

A combination of more hogs staying at home due to COOL and a decline in the value of the Canadian dollar making Canadian processors more competitive have helped increase slaughter numbers in Canada.

This trend should really continue to increase into 2009 depending on changes in the Canadian dollar and further changes around COOL.

Marceniuk notes, with increasing U.S. meat production in 2008 and a decline in U.S. demand for meat, meat in cold storage has increased, almost one percent month over month and almost nine percent year over year.

He says U.S. weekly hog slaughter numbers, demand for pork and U.S. storage stocks will be key factors to watch in the United States while in Canada producers will need to keep an eye on the value of the Canadian dollar and the effects of COOL on their marketings.

[mikey]

Monday, November 17, 2008Print This Page
Canadian Swine Industry Outlook Improved
CANADA - An agriculture consultant with Credit Union Central of Manitoba says the lower value of the Canadian dollar and reduced feed costs have been key to improving the situation for western Canadian swine producers, 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. 
Live hog prices are projected to bottom out in western Canada during the fourth quarter of 2008 and start to rebound near the end of the quarter and into the first quarter of 2009.

Brad Magnusson, with Credit Union Central in Winnipeg, says the combination of rising feed costs, a par Canadian dollar, the fallout from U.S. Country of Origin Labelling and record U.S. weekly hog slaughter numbers has squeezed cash flows and caused a huge cash crunch for the swine industry.

Brad Magnusson-Credit Union Central of Manitoba
The drop of the Canadian dollar is tremendously important as we export a tremendous amount of both live and meat products to the United States.

Anytime that the dollar is going to be falling is going to be positive.

We are conscious of the fact though that we are an oil producing nation and we could ultimately see that Canadian dollar move back up slightly over time.

That's something to consider but it's absolutely paramount that the dollar stays as low as possible as an exporting meat nation.

From a feed perspective absolutely incredibly important as well.

The feed costs doubling essentially in a very short period of time absolutely was devastating to individual producers, particularly if they were buying corn out of the United States or even barley.

You can't make profitability when corn is at eight dollars and barley is at 4.50 or five dollars.

Magnusson stresses Credit Union Central of Manitoba believes the hog industry is still very stable in Manitoba.

He notes we have a tremendous number of producers with equity in their operations and in western Canada we have some of the best producers in the world a fact demonstrated by our productivity numbers, our pigs per sow sold per year, our weights and the demand from U.S. producers and the consumers wanting to buy our pork.

[mikey]

Thursday, November 27, 2008Print This Page
Producers Spurred to Re-Think Feeding Programs
CANADA - Researchers with the Prairie Swine Centre are encouraging swine producers to take a second look at their feeding programs in order to find additional cost savings, 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. 
Feed is the single largest component of the cost of raising a pig to market weight, accounting for anywhere from 55 to 60 percent of the total cost of production.

Research scientist Dr. Denise Beaulieu says each change, for example looking at feeding budgets, looking at the energy concentration in the diets, looking at reducing the crude protein of the diet, may not appear significant but added up each incremental change can make a large difference.

Dr. Denise Beaulieu-Prairie Swine Centre
Producers for the last at least 24 months have been looking at their feeding programs to reduce costs so certainly they have implemented many of the practices that we would recommended.

However there are still opportunities out there.

For example we've done studies a few years ago that looked at current prices and it would still save to look at the energy content of your diet.

It would typically not pay to feed high energy diets that may maximize performance.

Overall producers need to re-evaluate their objectives.

Maximizing performance, maximizing growth of the pig is probably no longer the most economic objective.

They need to look at some way of maximizing net income from their entire farm.

For example reducing phosphorus in the diet or the use of a phytase enzyme may lower feed costs only slightly.

But, if that producer is paying extra to have phosphorous output in the manure spread onto fields, the cost savings then can be significant so the effect on diet alone is not the only thing to look at.

They have to look at it in terms of the total farm, in terms of the total net income of that farm.

Dr. Beaulieu stresses each feeding program needs to be evaluated in terms of the individual producers objectives and total farm system.

She says just looking at cost of feed alone is no longer enough to measure the change.

[mikey]

Friday, November 28, 2008Print This Page
Improved Hog Outlook Expected by Mid-2009
CANADA - Informa Economics says dramatic cuts in North American hog production combined with lower feed prices are improving the outlook for western Canadian pork producers, 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. 
Low hog prices, high feed costs and the negative impact of a high value Canadian dollar have pressured Canadian pork producers.

Negative margins over the past 18 months in Saskatchewan have ranged from an estimated break even to 50 dollars per head resulting in about 100 million dollars in losses within the Saskatchewan swine industry.

Informa Economics vice president Dave Reimann says the middle half of 2009 looks much more promising.

Dave Reimann-Informa Economics
Assuming that the global economy doesn't go into a total free fall, I think that we should see a little more stability simply because the industry has done some pretty serious contracting here in the last 12 months and continues to do so.

It usually takes at least six to nine months for any of those sorts of moves to start to show up in markets so the middle of next year does look a little more promising.

Again, because of the more severe cutbacks on the Canadian production side, we hope that actually the recovery will be a little more dramatic here.

Going all the way to BSE on the cattle side, I think so far, Canadians over the last few years seem to be reacting faster.

I think ultimately that is a good thing because, in the long run, if we go on the faith that the economies in China, India and such, are still on a growth phase, there is some light at the end of this tunnel and regardless of how ugly things get here in the short term, looking forward down the road a couple years there is some reason to be optimistic.

If that's the case and we've repaired our situation here in Canada a little bit better I do think at least we're able to take advantage of it somewhat quicker.

Reimann suggests, long term, western Canada is in good shape because of the diversity of its feed grain supplies.

He notes high prices have prompted grain and oilseed producers to dramatically increase their production and that is resulting in lower feed costs.

[mikey]

TOPIGS Canada Purchases Maple Leaf Agri-Farms
CANADA - TOPIGS Canada Inc. has announced that it has completed the purchase of the swine genetics business operations and assets from Maple Leaf Agri-Farms.


"The swine genetics of Maple Leaf Agri-Farms combined with the existing activities of TOPIGS in Canada form a perfect basis for the future developments of our business in Canada," said Martin Bijl, CEO of Pigture Group. "With the purchase we expand our market share and acquire market knowledge that make it possible to grow further."

Under the terms of the sale agreement, TOPIGS Canada acquired Maple Leaf Agri-Farms' genetics business, including the assets of Lean Team International, a marketing arm of the genetics business, along with a nucleus farm located in Manitoba, Canada. The two companies have also formalized an agreement where TOPIGS Canada will supply genetics to Maple Leaf Agri Farms hog production operations.

"TOPIGS has a strong reputation as a world leader in swine genetics and we are pleased that the company recognized the value in our genetics business and our people," said Glen Gratton, VP MLAF Genetics. "Maple Leaf Agri-Farms is looking forward to drawing on TOPIGS global expertise and to building a strong working relationship as our genetics supplier for our hog production operations in Manitoba."

TOPIGS is world leader in pig genetics and with its subsidiaries, agents and distributors active in more than 30 countries. TOPIGS stands for superior genetics, knowledge, and reproduction technology in the field of pig genetics. Turn over of TOPIGS is more than one million gilts per year and over six million doses of semen. TOPIGS is part of Pigture Group and headquartered in Vught, the Netherlands. TOPIGS employs about 500 people worldwide and had sales of €73 million in 2007. TOPIGS exports world wide from its High Health SPF Nucleus farms in Saskatchwan, Canada.

Maple Leaf Agri-Farms is an independent operating company of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., a leading food processing company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Maple Leaf Foods employs approximately 23,500 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. The Company had sales of $5.2 billion in 2007.

[mikey]

Monday, December 08, 2008Print This Page
Canada-US Pork Industry Relations Strong
CANADA - The chairman of Manitoba Pork Council says, despite the problems being created by Country of Origin Labelling, the relationship between Canadian and American hog producers remains strong, writes Bruce Cochrane.

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Last week the federal government officially requested formal consultations with the United States under the World Trade Organization dispute settling process over Country of Origin Labelling.

As a result of the new US food labelling laws, several American pork processors have stopped accepting Canadian origin pigs.

Manitoba Pork Council Chairman Karl Kynoch says a great deal of effort has gone into building an integrated Canadian and US pork industry and Country of Origin Labelling threatens to undermine that effort.

Karl Kynoch-Manitoba Pork Council
The relationship between the producers on both sides of the border, this hasn't strained that at all.

I think it's probably brought out more of the importance of needing to continue to work together and some producers have probably found out some of the benefits that were there that maybe they didn't realize before.

Again, I think when we have to go through these battles it probably brings the producers even closer together.

There's a lot of producers in the US that have always been opposed to COOL.

It's restricted their access to a very high health weanling and pigs that they had access to and again it's restricted the packer access to a lot of the animals direct for slaughter and that.

I would say industry, it's brought us a lot closer together and hopefully going forward that governments will try to work together to resolve some of this.

Kynoch considers Ottawa's request for formal consultations over the issue through the WTO dispute setting process to be significant.

He says Country of Origin Labelling has created problems on both sides of the border forcing the closure of barns in Canada and the US.

He believes the American government needs to recognize it's new labelling laws are trade restrictive and look at changes that will make the legislation more workable.

[mikey]

Tuesday, December 09, 2008Print This Page
Straw Based Sow Housing Increases Longevity
CANADA - Research conducted by the University of Manitoba indicates, from an animal welfare perspective, sows housed in groups on straw tend to out perform those housed in conventional slatted floor systems, writes Bruce Cochrane.


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Research at the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Livestock and the Environment is comparing sows housed in conventional slated floor facilities to those housed in groups on straw. The two groups use the same genetics and are managed similarly.

Animal science professor Dr. Laurie Connor says scientists are tracking longevity, joint health, lameness and body condition scores as well culling rates, litter sizes, born alives, deads and weaning weights.

Dr. Laurie Connor-University of Manitoba
We do tend to get a slightly larger litter size, similar born alives but slightly different in weaning numbers, weaning weights, slightly more from the group that have been from sows that have been on straw throughout all of gestation.

In terms of culling of the sows, in the conventional system more sows are culled within the same period of time, most often associated with leg problems, joint problems, not so much in terms of things like body condition.

We're able to keep the animals in very similar condition in the two facilities.

One of the problems, the most obvious from an economic standpoint, aside from having to replace more in the conventional barn is that we have to medicate more of those animals, the sows in particular, very often again associated with leg injuries, things associated with the complete slat floors in groups.

Dr. Connor says the straw based system requires straw and additional labour but those costs may be offset by reduced medication and culling costs.

She notes it is too early to make specific recommendations but further details of the work will be made public by early 2009.