Pork Prices Going Up by 35 Cents a Kilo in Cyprus
CYPRUS - Pork will cost 35 cents more per kilo from 10 January, pig farmers and pork managers’ group Cypork Public announced yesterday.


Cypork, which covers around three quarters of pork production in Cyprus, said the new hikes were down to the 5.0 per cent VAT on foodstuff that comes into effect on Monday, as well as new increases in grain prices.

Cypork Director George Neophytou yesterday explained that the farmers would in fact be selling the pork five cents dearer, but the price on the market would increase by 10 cents a kilo.

“The increase is necessary due to the increase in grain prices and covers just a small part of the damage suffered by farmers,” said Mr Neophytou.

He added that consumers would be buying pork from their butchers from Monday onwards, at 35 cents more per kilo – 10 cents for the grain increase and 25 cents from the VAT hike.

The new wave of increases in grain prices was inevitable and due to international factors, Cy pork said.

Cyprus Mail reports that the biggest grain suppliers – Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary – were affected by a severe drought last summer, which destroyed millions of hectares of grain crops and led to an increase in prices on the international market.

On 12 December 2009, the price of soybean meal was €360 per tonne, while on 23 December 2010, this had increased to €372 per tonne. Maize cost €163 per tonne in November 2009 and €232 in December 2010. And the price of barley shot up to €246 per tonne last December, from €133 just a month earlier.

“Cypork acts in a completely responsible manner and has imposed the least possible price increase,” the group announced. “We are expecting all those involved in the supply chain – meat traders and butchers – to act with the same social responsibility at a time of economic crisis so that consumers suffer only the minimum increases in meat prices.”

Farm Produce Prices Rise on Holiday Demand
CHINA - The prices of Chinese farm produce edged higher last week, boosted by New Year holiday demand, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.


Low temperatures and freezing rain in some parts of China also pushed up prices, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

During the week of 27 December to 2 January, the wholesale prices of 18 staple vegetables rose, with the price of balsam pear, cucumber and beans up 8.2 per cent, 6 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.

The price of meat rose slightly, with pork prices up 0.8 per cent. Mutton prices rose 0.8 per cent and chicken prices rose 0.4 per cent.

Peanut and soybean oil prices increased 0.3 per cent. Colza oil prices edged 0.2 per cent higher.

Bucking the trend, the price of producer goods fell slightly last week, after rising for three consecutive weeks. The prices of iron ore and copper ore fell 1.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Food prices have a one-third weighting in the calculation of China's consumer price index (CPI), the major gauge of inflation. China's CPI hit a 28-month high of 5.1 per cent in the year to November.

Many More Pig Farms Closed over Dioxin Scare
GERMANY - The agricultural ministry has announced that over 4,700 farms have been closed as a precaution after fears of dioxin contamination in animal feed. Many of these are pig farms, closed as a precaution. Egg products from contaminated eggs have been exported to the UK.


The German agriculture ministry has said that 4,709 farms are being closed as a precaution until it can be determined whether they are free from contamination from dioxin, reports Deutsche Welle.

Nearly all of the farm closures are pig farms in the north-western state of Lower Saxony.

This number is more than four times the previous number of farms that were being shut down after it was revealed earlier this week that an additive found in animal feed was tainted with dioxin in several German states.

Tougher EU regulation
Late yesterday, 6 January, German Agricultural Minister Ilse Aigner called for stricter, EU-wide regulation on animal feed to better protect consumers and farmers.

She also spoke with European Union Health Commissioner, John Dalli ,on the telephone.

"In the coming weeks, I will explore with our EU partners and stakeholders ways to further strengthen our monitoring processes of dioxin in feed," Mr Dalli said in a statement after the conversation.

Eggs spread beyond Germany
Deutsche Welle reports that the scare began when a German firm in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein allegedly supplied up to 3,000 tons of contaminated fatty acids – which are only meant for industrial use – to animal feed-makers.

The feed was delivered mostly to pig and poultry farms, and eggs from some of the suspect farms were exported to the Netherlands. As a result, around 8,000 chickens from German farms were culled.

Earlier in the day, it was revealed that some of the suspected eggs made it to the UK. But European Commission health spokesman, Frederic Vincent, said in Brussels that it was still unclear if those eggs contained dioxin.

However, tests of other eggs from suspected farms were found to contain up to five times the EU's limit for dioxin.

Dioxin is a by-product of burning rubbish and other industrial processes. It can cause health problems in humans, including cancer, and miscarriages, concludes the Deutsche Welle report.

Statement by EU Commissioner in charge of Health and Consumer Policy
John Dalli, Commissioner in charge of Health and Consumer Policy, has commented on the dioxin incident in Germany today.

He said: "The proper management of the dioxin incident in Germany is of utmost importance for the Commission and must be pursued with urgency and effectiveness.

"I have contacted yesterday afternoon Mrs Ilse Aigner, German Federal minister for Food, Agriculture & Consumer Protection and was given the latest state of play of the situation. My services and the German authorities are in permanent contact and the level of cooperation is very good. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed as well as the traceability mechanisms in place at EU level have shown their effectiveness.

"In the coming weeks, I will explore with our EU partners and stakeholders ways to further strengthen our monitoring processes of dioxin in feed."

According to a friend of mine from Panay,seems there is alot of questions being asked about the import order of PL480 and to who and what farm these goats have been sent to.Seems some have gone to members of the goat federation and to some others but the total numbers have not been accounted for.Also called into question is why some areas have not received any of these goats.This whole program is clouded in mystery.

As a person with years of breeding experience and owner of some fine breeding/show investment stock I can tell you one thing forsure.Placing top bloodlines in the hands of unknown breeders with unproven track records is a disaster in the making.I have seen fine bloodlines here in N.America in the hands of unexperienced breeders with poor management practices and the yearlings (12 months old) never reached the 40-45 kg weight that they should be at for that age.Here in N.America the average yearling for a nubian is 40-45kg. in 12 months for the purposes of breeding.I doubt if the RP has reached this weight class so far for a dairy breed.It will be interesting to see how these blodlines pan out,my gut feeling tells me many of these goats will never reach their full potential.I believe even the Govt. has very little experience when it comes to breeding and what it takes to breed superior animals from scratch.

I wonder if these farms will be held accountable for any deaths why under their management or will the taxpayer have to pay for any losses.Will the goat federation hold its members accountable for any losses under their care???Many,many unanswered questions and so much money to be repaid back to the US Govt. with interest.And can the RP compete with the Chinese goat market.China is the largest goat producer in Asia.So many questions and so little time.

Pork Commentary: Lean Hogs Hit Life of Contract Highs!!
CANADA - This week's North American Pork Commentary from Jim Long.


Jim Long is President &
CEO of Genesus Genetics.
Last week’s USDA December Hogs and Pigs Report were definitely interpreted as bullish. Life of contract highs was reached in all the summer months in 2011 with all four months in the 90’s. The formula for stronger prices is many.

Our Observations
The USDA December report showed there was about 70,000 fewer sows, and 500,000 fewer pigs than a year ago. Less is not more!


Global meat consumption is expected to increase 2 per cent in 2011


US cattle futures hit record highs this past week when the lead month peaked at 107.475. Texas cash cattle also hit $1.07 per pound – the highest in seven years. Drivers in the cattle market are strong domestic and export beef sales, optimism China will buy beef and expected fewer cattle in 2011. April live cattle futures closed at $112.20 per pound last Friday up over 20 cents per pound from April future lows. That would be $260 per head higher on a 1300 pound steer. Record beef prices are going to do nothing but enhance hog prices and the lean hog future market pushing higher is a reflection of that reality.


This past week a pork powerhouse leader expressed to us his greatest fear for 2011 – it is not pork demand; the fear is feed price acceleration and the large packer margins that packers have enjoyed since last spring. The just of his premise that packer margins that have reached above $30 per head at times are unhealthy for a robust production base. Especially the last three months when producers were losing $20 per head.
Of note: Pork plant margins for last Thursday, on average, were forecast at $3.90 per head down from $16.70 a week ago, this as hog prices surged in the past week. Over the next while we expect to see an interesting dynamic of lower hog numbers and the dilemma of packers to try to hold margins and or market share.

In our opinion, one of the greatest indicators of market psychology is the USDA cash early wean and feeder pig market. Last week cash early weans averaged $56.75(high $65.00), cash 40 pound feeder pigs averaged $67.77(high $73.00). Very strong prices in the face of $6.00 corn. This is a real indication of lack of supply and strong demand.


High corn prices, soybean and feed prices will only push hog prices higher over the coming months. With North American pork producers as least cost as any in the world, high feed prices will result in a greater market share gain as pork production is further limited in grain importing countries. Countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico will need to have substantially higher hog prices to cover their cost of production significantly higher than North America. The high domestic prices in these countries will continue to pull pork from North America enhancing prices.


In the next while there will be increased interest in improving feed conversions due to high feed costs. There will be ongoing pressure on Genetic companies to show improvement and results. Some Genetics can, some can’t. We are glad that Genesus spent significant money eight years ago to measure individual feed conversions and growth rates. Currently some boars are 2.1 to 1. We all have to become increasingly more efficient.
Summary
Watching NBC national news last week the increasing cost of food and pork was a news item, a National story. Wait until the Einstein’s that have subsidized the insanity of putting billions of bushels of corn into ethanol production begin to see the economic, social, and political implications of higher feed costs. This will become a bigger story in 2011. We suspect that more land will be coming out of set aside while the battle of continued corn ethanol subsidies will be engaged.

The good news for hog producers in 2011 is pork prices will be strong which will support higher feed prices. We expect hogs will reach $1.00 lean this season.


Author: Jim Long, President & CEO, Genesus Genetics

The coming hunger: Record food prices put world 'in danger', says UN

Perfect storm of climate and oil puts world into 'danger territory'

By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor


Thursday, 6 January 2011


Record food prices put world 'in danger', says UN

Food riots, geopolitical tensions, global inflation and increasing hunger among the planet's poorest people are the likely effects of a new surge in world food prices, which have hit an all-time high according to the United Nations.


The UN's index of food prices – an international basket comprising wheat, corn, dairy produce, meat and sugar – stands at its highest since the index started in 1990, surpassing even the peaks seen during the 2008 food crisis, which prompted civil disturbances from Mexico to Indonesia.

"We are entering danger territory," said the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's chief economist, Abdolreza Abbassian.



The trends have already affected the UK where the jump in food prices in November was the highest since 1976. Meat and poultry were up 1 per cent and fruit by 7.5 per cent in one month.

Food producers have been told to expect the wheat price to jump again this month, hitting bakers and the makers of everything from pasta to biscuits.

More is sure to follow and that in turn will add to pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates to control rising prices. Higher mortgage bills by the end of the year will add to the unpleasantness facing "middle England" from a year of tax hikes and below-inflation pay rises.

However, the biggest impact of the food price shock will be felt in countries in the developing world where staple items command a much larger share of household incomes.

Economists warn that "soft commodity" food prices show little sign of stabilising, and that cereals and sugar in particular may surge even higher in coming months. In addition, long-term trends associated with growth in population and climate change may mean higher food costs become a permanent feature of economic life, even though the current spike may end in due course. Speculation, too, may be part of the crisis, as investors climb on to the rising food-price bandwagon.

Mr Abbassian said the UN agency is concerned by the unpredictability of weather activity, which many experts link to climate change. He said: "There is still room for prices to go up much higher, if for example the dry conditions in Argentina tend to become a drought, and if we start having problems with winterkill in the northern hemisphere for the wheat crops."

One concern, especially in Ukraine and Russia, is that the cold winter, following disastrous droughts and summer fires, will have damaged the seeds for next year's crops, leading to an even more acute crisis than seen last year. Government policies, especially the export bans imposed by nervous Indian and Russian governments, have exacerbated such problems in world markets.

Meanwhile, burgeoning consumption in the booming economies of east Asia and the pressure exerted by the demand for crops for biofuels rather than food, especially in the US, is adding to the unprecedented squeeze on world food supplies.

The latest surge in crude oil prices adds to the risk of turmoil. Many experts say oil prices show few signs of abating, and the price of a barrel is set to breach the $100 barrier again soon. Opec officials yesterday said they were happy with such a level. Oil peaked at just under $150 a barrel in 2008; any sign of renewed tension in Iran would see the price exceed that. Higher oil prices add to food price inflation by increasing transportation costs.

The interplay of rising fuel prices, the growing use of biofuels, bad weather and soaring futures markets drove up the price of food dramatically in 2008, prompting violent protests in Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Cameroon and Haiti. Last year's spike was provoked mainly by the freakish weather conditions in Russia and Ukraine, but one of the underlying trends is the growing and changing appetites of east Asia.

As more Chinese enter the middle classes they tend to consume more poultry and meat, just as Westerners did at a similar stage in their economic progress. However, meat and poultry husbandry consumes at least three times the resources that grains do, while the drift towards the cities in China is reducing the yields of its farms. Similar trends are visible in the other fast-growing, populous nations such as Brazil, India and Indonesia.

Countries that are poor and produce relatively little of their own food are most vulnerable to the food price shock – Bangladesh, Morocco and Nigeria top the "at risk" list, according to research by Nomura economists, who also identify growing shortages of water as a critical factor restraining any growth in agricultural productivity.

Owen Job, strategist at Nomura, said: "The economists' model of increasing supply as demand grows may be breaking down. Supply cannot keep up with factors such as biofuels and the urbanisation of China. Some 30 per cent of all water used in agriculture comes from unsustainable sources."

* David Cameron has disclosed that the Treasury was considering introducing a "fuel stabiliser". Under the move, tax paid
 by motorists would be cut when the cost of oil surged worldwide and rise when it dropped. He said: "We are looking at it. It's not simple but I would like to try and find some way of sharing the risk of higher fuel prices with the consumer."

A-I timing,when to breed
life of deposited sperm is approx. 15-20 hours and the life of the egg is 6-12 hours.In general it comes down to hours of heat.Some will tell you the very best timing for A-I is between 22-30 hours when the doe is in her heat cycle.Before 22 hours might be too early and later than 30 hours might be too late.This is not always a given as a doe might take before 22 hours and she might take a little later than 30 hours but the thought is between 22-30 hours is the best in terms of timing.

Pork Producers Consider First MBM Plant
PHILIPPINES - The country’s pork producers are weighing up the establishment of a meat and bone meal (MBM) processing plant to reduce dependence on imported feed ingredients.


Bonemeal refers to crushed or ground bones used as animal feed or soil fertilizer.

“We’re asking the government to render assistance in drafting a roadmap for the swine sector which is an important aspect in the creation of an MBM plant," Pork Producers Federation of the Phils. Inc. President Edwin Chen said in an interview yesterday.

He noted that the Philippines imports a lot of meat and bonemeal from Europe and the US but the Bureau of Animal Industry said it has no ready data on the volume of imported MBM for 2009 and 2010 although prices range between $350 (P15,320) to $400 (P17,508) per metric ton.

The Federation is looking at a timeframe of 4 to 5 years to construct the first plant, reports GMA News.

“We’re still on the planning stage. We need to get the roadmap drafted and going before we implement the programme that requires massive logistics like the MBM plant," said Mr Chen.

For hog feed, the Federation will formulate a poultry-based MBM and vice versa for poultry feed.

“This is to prevent diseases from spreading and mutating. The practice of feeding porcine MBM to hogs or swine can be categorized as cannibalism. Take the case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) or ‘mad-cow’ disease, where cows eat their own kind via bovine MBM," Chen explained.

MBM is a by-product of the rendering of animal carcasses and animal waste material from slaughterhouses. It is usually sold as high-protein meal additive or animal stockfeed and pet food.

Meanwhile, the federation will also try to enforce a multi-site system in raising hogs. The multi-site system will have separate locations for breeding, nurseries and grow-out stages.

“We can arrange with the backyard hog-raisers what stage they would want to go into. I suggest they can produce piglets and then we, the commercial raisers, will produce the finishers," said Mr Chen.

He added that the system will be self-sustaining for designated pork zones in the three major islands of the country.

It will also help keep tabs on parasites and viral infections that afflict hogs through the all-in, all-out system.

“This means that, we grow the pigs all at the same time and sell them all at the same time. So there will come a time that the building will be left with no occupants. There’s no host, so the parasites will die a natural death, leaving the structure clean and fit for the next season," Mr Chen explained.

Earlier, hog raisers raised alarm over the proliferation of imported frozen and 'botcha' or “double-dead’ meat in the wet markets.

Hog raisers alleged that frozen meat are being sold as fresh meat in wet markets and can be easily mistaken for 'botcha'.

here in N.America we have been seeing boar sires crossed with saanens and other milk breeds going to the meat market.Also there is a small demand for day old kids for the meat market  as some ethnic groups perfer this type of young meat.

the 3 way cross has been ongoing in the Philippines for some time now.

mustang sally farm is mikey and all future postings will now be under mustang sally farm.