Extend Milk Supply
With Longer Lactations

By Shelene Costello 

Each year I consider the possibilities of year-round milk production and the varied ways to achieve it, without having a freezer dedicated to just frozen milk. Dairy goat folks are quite inventive and find many ways to get and keep that fresh goat milk year-round.

Some people stagger their breedings so that the does kid at intervals. With a normal lactation, each doe that is milking for 10 months and kidding once each year, there will be milk available all year long, by having does who kid a couple months apart with at least one doe milking at all times. Some will milk a doe past that 10-month mark if she did not breed to freshen at one year later, such as a doe that kidded in April in one year and may not kid until June of the following year. That gives a lactation of 12-13 months. Some will breed for out-of-season kiddings to get fresh milk in the fall and winter months. This may be easier to do with breeds known for year-round breeding such as Nubians and Nigerian Dwarf. Swiss breeds—Alpines, Toggenburgs, Oberhaslis, Saanens, Sables and La Manchas who come from such genetics—are harder to get to breed out of season, though it can be done.

Still others will just leave one doe or more in milk for as long as they choose, and not re-breed that doe. This eliminates the extra kids if one does not want to have more kids, and it also eliminates the risk of pregnancy and kidding problems as well. Often milk production is reduced some over time, and the overall length of lactation makes up for that drop, since the doe is never completely dry.

I have done a few of these things to keep us in fresh milk all year long, and know others who have done the rest. I freshen does over a period of several months in the spring, leaving the does who are kidding later in milk from the previous year's kiddings, while the early ones are kidding. By the time the last does kid several months later, the first ones have kids close to weaning so that we have enough milk available for other uses.

This past year, two of my older does did not breed until late winter for June kids, so both of those does stayed in milk until approximately eight weeks before their due date. That way they milked through the early March, early April and nearly up to the May kiddings, providing extra milk for the La Mancha and Nigerian kids we purchased as bottle kids, as well as table milk. Destiny, a Nigerian Dwarf, milked from early April of last year through mid-April of this year, giving her a 12-plus month lactation. Rachel, also a Nigerian Dwarf, kidded in June of last year so her lactation was simply a normal 10-month lactation. They are the two who freshened in June this year.

Some years ago I bred a Nubian/LaMancha cross doe in April when I bought her and noticed her in season shortly after buying her. I moved her into the pen with one of my LaMancha bucks whom I thought was still acting somewhat in rut, though it wasn't as strong as his fall and winter, full rut. He managed to get her bred and settled, so she kidded in September with twins, and provided some fresh milk throughout the fall and early winter. That year, her extra milk enabled me to have plenty of milk to put in the freezer for spring kiddings, besides the milk we were already using.

Mostly my bucks are seasonal breeders (including my Nigerians), and I haven't utilized the lighting programs or hormones to do out-of-season breeding on a regular basis, though I've heard of others who do, with good success. My Nigerian does tend to cycle seasonally with the LaMancha does. I do have friends who have Nigerians tell me their bucks are in rut year-round and their does cycle all year as well.

My sister has bred for fall kidding, which gave her fresh winter milk in her Nigerian herd over the years. She has milked one doe, Sierra, through without breeding her for a year and a half, milking just once per day as her schedule allowed. Her doe stayed steady in production throughout the lactation. With milking through, there may be seasonal highs and lows. Often the milk production will drop some during the dark cold months of winter and pick back up as spring gives longer days with more light and warmth, I'm told.

It takes a doe with a real will to milk to continually produce without being rebred to freshen periodically. A LaMancha doe named Tibet, from the Quixote herd in California, produced for multiple years on one lactation. I kept up with Tibet's progress as I have one of her daughters and was interested in how it went. Tibet started on her third lactation at three years of age in 2007, and milked through 2008 and 2009, only being rebred to kid for the 2010 season since they decided they wanted more kids out of her.

I've heard from other breeders that, to be successful, a lengthened lactation should be established in a doe's first year of milking, and that skipping breeding seasons may affect fertility. But Tibet proved that a good dairy doe will milk on if asked to, even following normal length lactations, and then coming back afterwards kidding normally with triplets and milking just fine.

At the moment I have a doe, Lucky, a seven-year-old Saanen/LaMancha mix, who never totally dries up. She freshened last at five years of age, was mostly dried off, and when she miscarried at six, her owners just started to milk her and brought her into enough milk for their son to show in 4-H at their local fair. Then she was dried off again, only to either not take her fall breeding, or resorb her fetus(s) when she moved here last fall. When I realized she was not going to kid, I started to milk her regularly, first once a day and then twice a day to bring her back into milk to provide some extra here to help pay for her upkeep. She picked up to just over 1/2 gallon a day after a few weeks and has maintained that production for the last few months. This doe never totally dries up, so I had to empty her udder at least once a week throughout the winter months. Her udder would fill up over time and I wanted to keep her comfortable and to keep her udder in good health. I do notice with this doe that her milk is a bit stronger flavored than the rest of the does in my herd, and I attribute that to her being "stale," that is, not having been freshened for so long. I can't really call that an extended lactation so much as a doe that just wants to milk and has the ability to do so. She has been able to provide me with extra milk when I needed it. I am thinking about extended the lactations on several more of my does however, so I can make cheese through the winter and have plenty of fresh milk as needed.
 

Twelve Ways to Help Animals
Avoid Heat Stress

By Beverly Martin-Smith
Arizona 

It's been a hot summer in many parts of the country, especially in Arizona where I raise La Manchas, and we have had temperatures over 110 degrees for several weeks in a row. Though we are now heading into fall, there will still be some extreme heat to deal with. Non-sweating animals, like dairy goats, often have trouble adjusting to heat, and then when the nights cool down significantly, they again have trouble adjusting adequately to handle the change. I would like to emphasize that heat stress can kill animals. This happens because their immune systems are lowered and pneumonia can set in with deadly speed.

A watchful owner can head off disaster if they know what to look for. Dairy goats that are stressed by heat often just don't look as if they are feeling good. Their ears may droop more than usual, they pant heavily, and they will often go off feed. Last summer I spent quite a lot of time researching this topic. I would like to share what I have found and have put into use, and hopefully it will help others avoid losing precious animals due to heat stress.

Shaving
Some breeds of dairy goats carry genetics to have long hair, especially over their toplines and down the hindquarters. It is important to shave these goats, and all others, when it is hot. They need to get rid of any extra weight from excess hair. Plus this will naturally take care of any exterior parasite problems that can really be stressful to dairy goats during the summer and going into fall.

Create A Shady Sand Pit
Providing a cool, damp place for the goats to rest in really helps pull the heat out of the body. I have heard of people with sprinklers on timers to sprinkle these sand pits during the day to keep these areas damp. It is my experience that dairy goats really don't like water that much, but they do enjoy pawing out a rest hole in a cool sandy area and often pick this type of place to spend the afternoon, rather than in a hot stuffy barn.

Provide A Water Tub
Again, dairy goats don't like water much, but if an animal seems to be suffering from heat stress, a quick way to cool them off is to stand them in a low-edged bathtub, metal sheep water tank, or one of those plastic child's swimming pools. The water cools the blood as it flows through their legs, cooling their internal body temperature.

Shades Or Awnings
Barns can heat up during the day and hold heat in, especially those with metal roofs or sides. Adding a pull-out shade or awning, like that on an RV, can allow the goats to rest and cool off, yet still feel safe near their own barn. Metal shades heat up during the day and hold heat down, not allowing it to escape. Shade screens allow the heat to escape, keeping it cooler under the screens. Of course, large trees are excellent for shade too, but if this is not an option, consider adding a shade to the existing facility.

Misters
Moist air doesn't necessarily have to blow right on the goats for them to benefit from misting. These can be mounted on the frame of the shades to keep the air cooler, or placed on the side where the majority of the breeze comes from. Where I live there usually is a breeze from the southwest. My pens run east/west, and I have placed the misters on the south side running east and west so when the breeze blows, it blows the mist under the shades.

Fans
I have placed fans on the ground, in the corners of my pens, blowing out into the pens. The dairy goats seem to love this air movement and lay in front of these fans. When it's hot I keep the air circulating 24-hours a day. I have one fan per animal blowing all summer long. Not only does it keep them cool, it keeps the flies from biting them as well.

Stalls
Avoid putting the animals in enclosed stalls with little or no ventilation on the ground where they lay. These enclosures hold the heat and humidity in like an oven.

Types Of Feed
It is important to feed low energy feeds such as grass hay (Bermuda, Rye grass) and cool grains such as corn during times of potential heat stress. If possible, try to stay away from oats, barley and alfalfa hay which are hot feeds, they generate more body heat to digest. Better yet feed manufactured feeds. During their manufacturing they are "pre-digested" which means the animals body does not have to break them down to digest them causing less body heat to be generated.

Time Of Feeding
Sometimes with dairy animals it is impossible to stay away from "hot" feeds as they are necessary for milk production. The owner should then make sure that the largest meal is given in the morning. The body heats up while digesting the food. If fed at night the majority of the digestion is done after 3:00 a.m., during the monsoon season this is the highest humidity. This is why, in the southwest, heat stress is often experienced in the early morning hours. In our part of the country, hay should be fed in the morning so the majority of the digestion is done in the afternoon or evenings. This is probably different in other parts of the country, so adjust feed schedules accordingly, aiming for digestion when the day is the coolest.

Electrolytes In Water
To make my herd drink plenty of water in the summer, I water each pen with a five-gallon bucket with electrolytes in the water, mixed per the instructions for the electrolytes. In most cases I only need to replace the bucket once a day. Since these animals like fresh water and monitoring their water intake is needed during the summer heat, I do not use either automatic waterers or large water barrels. The water ponds they stand in usually are too filthy, and they do not drink from them.

Iodized Salt
Believe it or not, iodine in salt helps to regulate the internal body temperature. Offering salt blocks or free choice iodized salt will help the animals drink more water, plus it helps regulate internal body temperature, as stated. Do keep salt blocks and salt feeders in the shade so they will not heat up with the afternoon sun.

Thiamin (B1)
This vitamin helps the body to regulate the internal body temperature also. It may be purchased in manufactured buckets in sizes of two pounds or larger. Brewers yeast, which is high in B1, is also a good food additive when dealing with heat stress. This is a powder or crumbles which can be top-dressed over feed.

I hope that this list of suggestions will help others in their fight to keep their non-sweating animals cool during times of extreme heat. A comfortable dairy goat is a happy dairy goat, a heat-stressed dairy goat often becomes a dead dairy goat. Be sure to look for signs of heat stress in the herd and find ways to make these animals more comfortable.

 

Goat Milk Recipes 

Goat Milk Ice Cream
I have a great recipe, although I use half cream and half milk.

2 cups goat cream
2 cups goat milk
Scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place milk, sugar, vanilla and cocoa into a food processor or blender, and blend on high for approximately 3 minutes. The idea is to beat the cocoa into the milk until there are no longer any lumps of dry cocoa left.

Add 2 cups goat cream and pulse twice, just enough to stir the cream into the mixture. Add to ice cream maker.

I can absolutely assure you that you will have a new addiction in life! What's great is that your ingredients of cocoa, milk and cream are all raw and full of antioxidants, vitamins and enzymes. By not cooking your ingredients, you can at least know that there is goodness in what you're eating.

Enjoy! — Pennyanne

Cardamom Goat Cheese Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz goat cheese (chévre), softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Additional confectioner's sugar for rolling baked cookies in (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat the butter, goat cheese and sugars together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg, beating well. Stir in the cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and white pepper until well blended. Mix in the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough gathers together. Add finely chopped pecans. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets (dough will be very sticky. May try dropping by spoonfuls instead).

Bake in preheated oven until bottom of cookies are light tan, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 15 minutes on baking sheets. Roll in confectioner's sugar (optional—they taste good either way).

— Charlotte, Bit of Color Ranch
 

meat quality really depends on breed then health and your management practices.I have never heard anywhere in the world that a light coloured animal means poorer quality meat.Sounds like alot of BS to me.Dairy cattle tend to be lighter in colour coats and with different muscle structure over the true meat breeds.Maybe this is what the buyers are talking about.

Food prices to rise in Asia
[30 September 2010] Urbanisation and the growing wealth in Asia is likely to result in soaring food prices and a strengthening of the region's thirst for commodities. The commodities boom and the growing influence of China featured prominently on a wide-ranging first day at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney on Monday. Jing Ulrich, Managing Director of China equities and commodities at JP Morgan, said the GDP of the emerging BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - were growing at an average of 6.9% compared to the world average of 3.6%. The US and Europe were growing at less than 2% on average. Ms Ulrich said this was an indication the emerging markets - led by China - had switched places with developed nations.

Halt in chicken imports urged
[30 September 2010] Philippine poultry raisers have called on the government to stop chicken imports because the local market is already suffering from oversupply. United Broilers Raisers Association President Gregorio San Diego Jr said that local production can easily cover the current demand so there is no need to bring in chicken from outside. He said that both legal importation and smuggling is further dampening the local industry, and many commercial producers are already suffering from the current glut.

WMC REPORT - Sustainable Production for Global Meat Industry
ARGENTINA - Global meat demand is expected to grow by between one and two per cent during the remainder of this decade, writes TheMeatSite senior editor Chris Harris from the World Meat Congress in Buenos Aires.



Speaking at the opening of the congress, outgoing president of the International Meat Secretariat, Paddy Moore said that the prospects for the global industry are to see international trade in meat grow despite the occasional setbacks through animal diseases, food safety scares and issues surrounding market access.

He said that the industry had to prospect of feeding a growing global population with 80 million extra people to feed each year.

In the meat sectors Mr Moore said that the pig and poultry industries are expected to see the greatest growth outperforming lamb and beef.

He said the growth in trade and demand is going to present challenges to the industry in particular in gearing up in terms of greater efficiencies, higher productivity and innovation.

He said the industry is also going to face growing environmental and sustainability concerns.

"The raising of livestock and the ethical production of meat that is not harmful to the environment are issues that have reached international importance," said Mr Moore.

"Probably the greatest single challenge facing our industry it to reconcile the necessity of supplying high quality protein to an expanding world population with the imperative of ensuring that it is ethically produced, safe, wholesome and in harmony with the environment - the sustainable production of meat."

Mr Moore said the industry is also going to have to face the concerns about climate change and greenhouse gas emission produced inn the production of meat.

"The livestock industry has large potential to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation," he added.

He said that the industry needs to find more precise methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions.

He said the IMS will be playing its part and has established a committee for sustainable meat.

The IMS is also building on its links with organisations such as the FAO, OECD and the OIE.

The concerns about the effect livestock production has on the environment were echoed by the Argentine vice minister for agriculture Lorenzo Basso

Pork Commentary: USDA Confirms No Expansion
CANADA - This week's North American Pork Commentary from Jim Long.

Jim Long is President &
CEO of Genesus Genetics.
The USDA released the 1 September Hogs and Pigs Report last Friday. It confirmed what most rational people would have surmised – NO EXPANSION! There are fewer sows, fewer market hogs, fewer sows farrowing, and a smaller pig crop. The relentless financial losses that producers had over thirty months have not been replenished by four months of profits. Only the Ag – economists who never owned a pig, but are experts on the market have been predicting expansion. News flash – Wrong Again. The same Ag – economists who predicted summer markets of 68 cents lean last January (out by up to $40 per hog), were the same wizards saw expansion. Have any of them ever talked to a real producer on banks general attitude on swine? There will be no expansion without bank support. Right or wrong bank support is next to non - existent. Why would there be if sow farms are valued currently a fraction of what they cost to build. The only interest of anyone to buy one is at around 20 cents on the dollar. Sow barns, are a lot of work – staffing, pig health concerns, proper size of the facility, etc... These all play into the no expansion scenario.

Until sow units that sit empty start to be bought or refilled there will be no expansion. New sow units? Not until next year, but only if feed prices allow a profit margin. In the meantime small pigs will bring strong prices.

USDA Hogs and Pigs Report
1 September 2010
- 2009 2010 Per cent of 2009
KEPT FOR BREEDING 5875 5770 97
MARKET 60842 59221 97
PIG CROP JUNE – AUGUST 28718 28507 -
SOWS FARROWING JUNE – AUGUST 2959 2905 -
PROJECTION September - November 2915 2881 -

The reality of the Hogs and Pigs Report is that the production base in place on September 1st means that it will be biologically impossible to increase production before the end of next summer. Throw in $5.00 a bushel corn combined with bankers sentiments we are not aware of any scenario that will not have lean hogs above 80 cents for the next year. 90 cents lean plus next summer is a strong possibility. What we see globally is high feed prices, tight credit, and no sow herd expansion. Next year we see a finite pork supply with an ongoing global clamor for meat protein. All triggers for continuing strong prices.

We have been criticized in the past for being “Jim Long Optimistic” by our economist friends. Maybe we are but when we see the reality of production and demand in the countries we do business with and travel to – Brazil, Mexico, Russia, China, USA, Canada, etc… we see nothing but strong prices for the next twelve months.

This coming week we will be in Mexico. We will report our Market Observations.


Author: Jim Long, President & CEO, Genesus Genetics 

September Quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report Analysis
US - USDA's September hogs and pigs report was right on pre-release trade forecasts, writes Ron Plain.

 
Ron Plain
USDA said the market inventory was down 2.7 per cent. The average of the pre-release trade estimates was for a 2.8 per cent decline. Kept for breeding was down 1.8 per cent according to USDA. The trade estimate was for a 1.1 per cent decline. USDA's estimate of the total number of hogs and pigs on US farms at the start of September was down 2.6 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. The average of the trade estimates was for a 2.7 per cent decline. (See Table 1 below)

USDA made some downward revisions to past inventory estimates to bring them more in line with spring hog slaughter. USDA lowered their previous estimate of the June market hog inventory by 250,000 head (0.4 per cent), decreased the reported number of sows farrowed during December-February 2009 by 1.0 per cent and decreased the December-February pig crop by 281,000 head (1.0 per cent). The revisions helped, but I do not think they were quite large enough.

The September swine breeding herd was 7.4 per cent lower than at the last cycle peak in December 2007. On average, the breeding herd is 37 thousand head smaller on 1 September than on 1 June. This year it was 18,000 head (0.3 per cent) smaller than in June but 10,000 head (0.2 per cent) larger than in March. The lack of steady growth is encouraging. It will be very helpful for producers' balance sheets if rebuilding the sow herd occurs slowly.

In 2009 the September breeding herd inventory was 93,000 head smaller than on 1 June. This year it was 18,000 head smaller. Thus, USDA says the breeding herd declined by 75,000 fewer head this summer than last. June-August sow slaughter was down by 123,500 compared to a year ago. About 60,000 of the drop was due to reduced imports of Canadian sows for slaughter, leaving 63,500 fewer US sows slaughtered this summer than last. The USDA data implies 11,500 more gilts were added to the breeding herd this summer than last.

USDA said summer (June-August) farrowings were down 1.8 per cent and forecast fall farrowings to be down 1.2 per cent with winter 2010-11 farrowings up 0.5 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. (See Table 3) Summer farrowings were 0.7 per cent higher than trade expectations and the forecast of fall farrowings is 0.4 per cent lower than expected.

USDA said June-August pigs per litter tied the record of 9.81 head set the previous quarter and were 1.1 per cent more than the same months last year. Much of the benefit of reduced farrowings was offset by increases in the number of pigs weaned per litter. Summer farrowings were down 1.8 per cent; but with 1.1 per cent more pigs per litter, the summer pig crop was down only 0.7 per cent.

USDA's survey indicated the number of market hogs weighing 180 pounds or more on 1 September was down 5.6 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. (See Table 2) This is in line with barrow and gilt slaughter since September 1. The 120-179 pound market hog group was down 3.4 per cent; the 50-179 pound inventory was down 2.0 per cent; and the inventory of pigs weighing less than 50 pounds was down 1.1 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Canadian hog imports during the June-August quarter showed feeder pigs down nearly 7 per cent and slaughter hogs imports down 20 per cent. In 2007, 10.0 million live hogs were imported from Canada. Last year, 6.4 million head came south. We are expecting 5.5 to 5.7 million live hogs to be imported in 2010.

Based on the 50-179 pound market hog inventory and the expectation of a continuing decline in live hog imports, our forecast is for a decline of 3.1 per cent in fourth quarter 2010 hog slaughter compared to October-December 2009. With this level of pork production, we expect 51-52 per cent lean hogs to average in the mid $50s live and Iowa-Minnesota negotiated sales to average in the low to mid $70s on a carcass weight basis.

For the first quarter of 2011 we expect daily hog slaughter to be down 1.2 per cent from January-March 2010 (with one extra slaughter day, total first quarter slaughter should be up 0.4 per cent) with 51-52 per cent lean hogs averaging in the mid to upper $50s live, and Iowa hogs averaging close to $76/cwt on a carcass basis.

With the number of litters farrowed expected to be down 1.2 per cent this fall and pigs per litter increasing by 1 per cent or so, the fall pig crop is likely to be close to a year earlier. We are forecasting second quarter 2011 slaughter to be down 0.3 per cent compared to a year ago. Look for carcass prices of barrows and gilts to be mostly in the high $70 to low $80s.

The forecast 0.5 per cent increase in winter farrowings should be supplemented by an increase in litter size and yield a winter pig crop 1.6 per cent or so larger than a year-earlier.

Our estimates of slaughter and prices for the next six quarters are in Table 4.

Table 1.  Hog Inventories September 1, U.S.
______________________________________________________________
 
                                           2010 as % of 2009
       Market                                     97.3
       Kept for breeding                          98.2
       All hogs and pigs                          97.4
______________________________________________________________
 
Table 2.  Market Hogs on Farms September 1, U.S.
______________________________________________________________
 
     Weight Category                       2010 as % of 2009
        Under 50 pounds                           98.9
        50 - 119 pounds                           98.0
        120 - 179 pounds                          96.6
        180 pounds and over                       94.4
     Pig Crop
        June-August                               99.3
______________________________________________________________
 
Table 3.  Sows Farrowed and Farrowing Intentions, U.S.
______________________________________________________________
 
                                            2009 as % of 2008
       March-May 2009                              98.9
       June-August 2009                            96.2
       September-November 2009                     96.3
                                            2010 as % of 2009
       December-February                           95.4
       March-May 2010                              95.3
       June-August 2010                            98.2
       September-November 2010                     98.8
                                            2011 as % of 2010
       December-February                          100.5
______________________________________________________________
 
 
Table 4.  Commercial Hog Slaughter and Barrow and Gilt Price by Quarter
_________________________________________________________________________
 
           --Comm. Slaughter--   ------Barrows & Gilts, price/cwt------
                     Change        51-52%    Iowa-Minn   Non-packer-sold
Year &     Million    from         Lean         Base            Net
Quarter      Head   Year ago       Live        Carcass        Carcass
_________________________________________________________________________
 
2005 1       25.538   - 0.7%       $51.92       $69.79         $69.33
     2       25.030   + 1.2         52.09        70.21          70.25
     3       25.528   - 1.1         50.51        67.50          68.37
     4       27.486   + 1.1         45.54        60.22          61.68
     Year   103.582   + 0.1         50.02        66.96          67.43
 
2006 1       26.208   + 2.6%       $42.63       $56.38         $58.37
     2       24.839   - 0.8         48.45        65.27          65.96
     3       25.810   + 1.1         51.83        68.04          69.13
     4       27.880   + 1.4         46.13        60.53          62.04
     Year   104.737   + 1.1         47.26        62.54          63.86
 
2007 1       26.684   + 1.8%       $46.04       $59.90         $62.69
     2       25.526   + 2.8         52.55        69.45          71.39
     3       26.566   + 2.9         50.34        66.14          69.17
     4       30.396   + 9.0         39.44        52.08          56.83
     Year   109.172   + 4.2         47.09        61.91          65.04
 
2008 1       29.601   +10.9%       $39.64       $52.49         $57.41
     2       27.941   + 9.5         52.51        70.43          72.24
     3       28.696   + 8.0         57.27        75.67          78.05
     4       30.214   - 0.6         41.92        55.60          61.38
     Year   116.452   + 6.7         47.83        63.58          67.27
 
2009 1       28.503   - 3.7%       $42.11       $57.23         $60.43
     2       27.072   - 3.1         42.74        57.32          61.76
     3       28.428   - 0.9         38.90        51.43          56.68
     4       29.615   - 2.0         41.20        54.98          57.64
     Year   113.618   - 2.4         41.24        55.23          59.11
 
2010 1       27.631   - 3.1%       $50.41       $66.81         $68.32
     2       26.069   - 3.7         59.60        79.04          79.42
     3*      26.972   - 5.1         59.90        79.50          80.65
     4**     28.700   - 3.1        55 - 57      72 - 76        74 - 78
     Year** 109.372   - 3.7        56 - 57      74 - 75        75 - 77
 
2011 1**     27.750   + 0.4       $56 - 59     $74 - 78       $76 - 80
     2**     26.000   - 0.3        59 - 62      79 - 83        81 - 85
     3**     27.400   + 1.6        56 - 59      74 - 78        76 - 80
     4**     29.000   + 1.1        49 - 52      65 - 69        67 - 71
     Year** 110.150   + 0.7        55 - 58      73 - 76        75 - 78
 *estimated
 **forecast

 Jim Sutter appointed as CEO of USSEC
[29 September 2010] Jim Sutter has been appointed CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). He will will lead USSEC’s efforts on behalf of U.S. soybean farmers to expand international markets for U.S. soybeans and soy products. Mr Sutter joins USSEC from Cargill, where he currently serves as Vice-President of Cargill’s Grain and Oilseed Supply Chain Business Unit.


 
US sbm exports to Southeast Asia escalate
[29 September 2010] US soybean meal exports to Southeast Asia jumped more than threefold to a record 2.4 million tonnes in the market year to September, according to the the American Soybean Association International Marketing (ASAIM). Driving the growth was growing imports from Vietnam that bought 500,000 tonnes in the year. For soybeans, the US shipped 2.3 million tonnes to Southeast Asia in the market year to August or a 27% increase year-on-year. Increase crushing in Thailand principally contributed to the rise in exports. 
 
 
 

Philippine government looks to export chicken
[29 September 2010] The Philippine government is negotiating with South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore for the export of chicken to these countries, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan said during the opening ceremony of the Philippine Poultry Show 2010. Exporting chicken is one way the government can address the current production glut that the local poultry industry is facing. Dr Catbagan also said that talks with Hong Kong for the entry of Philippine chicken products into the area will resume after the Philippines has resolved the antibiotic residue issue raised by Hong Kong two years ago.

Alaminos Goat Farm has done a great job with their management and the results are starting to shine through now.Genetics with a sound management plan shows what can be accomplished.They believed the saanen would be the backbone of Dairy Goat framing in the Philippines and so far have proven themselves to be correct.

this is the top producing nubians from 2010 from the ADGA,shows that nubians can milk to 305 days from the chart.

                         ADGA PERFORMANCE LEADERS

                                                                                  Alpine     LaMancha   Nigerian Dwarf   Oberhasli     Saanen   Sable   Toggenburg     Experimental

 

       NUBIAN                              Volume #56

 

All-Time NUBIAN Milk Record Holder

SG SKYHILL’S ELISHA 7*M PN0904515 1996 02-09 302 5940-303/5.1-216/3.6

Bred by:  Skyhill Farms, California
 

All-Time Nubian Butterfat Record Holder & All-Time Breed Butterfat Record Holder

PACEM FAUN’S FOLLY 2*M PN0324844 1984 4-02 304-5160-384/7.4

Bred by: Mr. & Mrs. Max C. Prinsen, Washington

 

 

 
 REG#
 DOE
 AGE
 DIM
 MILK
 F
 P
 OWNER
 BREEDER
 
MILK PRODUCTION
 
1
 PN1366912*
 SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M --- means 3 star milker
 2-11-mean age 2 years 11 months old
 304-milked for 304 days
 3790-pounds of milk
 175-pounds of milk fat
 140-pounds of protein
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA-breeders name
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA-owners name
 
2
 PN1361043*
 SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M
 3-00
 284
 3740
 170
 125
 COOPER, JANET L
 HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
 
3
 PN1188453
 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M
 8-00
 275
 3580
 174
 134
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 GUCK, TANYA M
 
4
 PN1401928
 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M
 1-09
 305
 3540
 166
 132
 COOPER, JANET L
 COOPER, JANET L
 
5
 PN1218919
 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M
 6-11
 305
 3440
 169
 133
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
 
6
 PN1335449
 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M
 3-11
 305
 3400
 161
 127
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 
7
 PN1269846
 GODDARD FARM BAMBI 2*M
 5-10
 300
 3310
 123
 117
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 
8
 PN1415308
 GCH BLISSBERRY FM VERA CRUZ 11*M
 1-10
 305
 3210
 149
 122
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
9
 PN1411160
 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M
 2-00
 293
 3190
 147
 123
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
10
 PN1379515
 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M
 2-11
 276
 3180
 154
 129
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
10
 PN1279602
 SG SIX M GALAXY NOVA'S SONIA NOEL 10*M
 7-00
 263
 3180
 110
 113
 MCCLURE, MARTIN & LOUISE
 MCCLURE, MARTIN & LOUISE
 
10
 PN1257674
 JUST FAITHFUL RBH HALEY 3*M
 5-10
 305
 3180
 124
 107
 VAUGHN, VERNA J & ROGER E
 KOEHL, ROBERT & KIMBERLY
 
RECORDED GRADE-means nubian percentage, sire was a nubian mother unknown
 
1
 GN1265939
 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M
 6-01
 305
 1860
 84
 69
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 
BUTTERFAT PRODUCTION
 
1
 PN1366912
 SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M
 2-11
 304
 3790
 175
 4.6
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
2
 PN1188453
 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M
 8-00
 275
 3580
 174
 4.9
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 GUCK, TANYA M
 
3
 PN1361043
 SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M
 3-00
 284
 3740
 170
 4.5
 COOPER, JANET L
 HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
 
4
 PN1218919
 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M
 6-11
 305
 3440
 169
 4.9
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
 
5
 PN1401928
 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M
 1-09
 305
 3540
 166
 4.7
 COOPER, JANET L
 COOPER, JANET L
 
6
 PN1335449
 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M
 3-11
 305
 3400
 161
 4.7
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 
7
 PN1379515
 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M
 2-11
 276
 3180
 154
 4.8
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
8
 PN1415308
 GCH BLISSBERRY FM VERA CRUZ 11*M
 1-10
 305
 3210
 149
 4.6
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
9
 PN1410730
 GCH BLISSBERRY SM VICTORIOUS 3*M
 1-11
 283
 3050
 148
 4.9
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
10
 PN1411160
 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M
 2-00
 293
 3190
 147
 4.6
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
RECORDED GRADE
 
1
 GN1265939
 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M
 6-01
 305
 1860
 84
 4.5
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 
PROTEIN PRODUCTION
 
1
 PN1366912
 SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M
 2-11
 304
 3790
 140
 3.7
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
2
 PN1188453
 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M
 8-00
 275
 3580
 134
 3.7
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 GUCK, TANYA M
 
3
 PN1218919
 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M
 6-11
 305
 3440
 133
 3.9
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
 
4
 PN1401928
 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M
 1-09
 305
 3540
 132
 3.7
 COOPER, JANET L
 COOPER, JANET L
 
5
 PN1379515
 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M
 2-11
 276
 3180
 129
 4.1
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
6
 PN1335449
 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M
 3-11
 305
 3400
 127
 3.7
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
 
6
 PN1410729
 GCH BLISSBERRY SM NOTORIOUS 3*M
 1-11
 304
 2980
 127
 4.3
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
8
 PN1361043
 SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M
 3-00
 284
 3740
 125
 3.3
 COOPER, JANET L
 HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
 
9
 PN1410730
 GCH BLISSBERRY SM VICTORIOUS 3*M
 1-11
 283
 3050
 124
 4.1
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
10
 PN1411160
 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M
 2-00
 293
 3190
 123
 3.9
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
10
 PN1363617
 GCH BLISSBERRY WILD TOPAZ 3*M
 3-01
 284
 2950
 123
 4.2
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
 
RECORDED GRADE
 
1
 GN1265939
 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M
 6-01
 305
 1860
 69
 3.7
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 ROBERTS, YVONNE
 

 

A * indicates extreme test day values within the category

the chart maybe hard to read as printed out like this but on the first line I printed the meaning like 3 star milker,days in milk,pounds of milk,fat and protein and breeder and owners name.Proves nubians and percentages will milk to 305 days of lactation.

 

How Geneticists Will Help Feed Nine Billion People
The theme of the 21st JSR Genetics Technical Conference earlier this month was Science – the Key to Feeding the World. Jackie Linden, reports on some of the event highlights, focussing in this article on the contribution of genetics and breeders.

 

The focus of this year's JSR Genetics Technical Conference was on some of the ways in which science can feed the world. As the company's chairman, Tim Rymer, explained in his introduction: "As a science-based business, it is obvious to us that scientific solutions have the potential to ensure we are able to feed a world population of nine billion people by 2050. There are already another 200,000 mouths to feed since we awoke yesterday morning."

Benefits from Breeding in the Next Decade


Frédéric GrimaudFrédéric Grimaud, president of breeding company, Groupe Grimaud, opened his presentation by the organisation of his company. It is the second biggest multi-species animal genetics company in the world, he said and is 80 per cent owned by the Grimaud family and 20 per cent by a number of financial partners. Annual turnover is around €200 million and there are 1,450 employees worldwide.

The company has two main business branches. The Animal Genetic Selection division comprises four groups: ducks and geese, guinea fowl and pigeons (Grimaud Frèrer); broilers (Hubbard); layers (Novogen) and pigs (Newsham Choice Genetics). The Biopharmacy division is split into two main groups: Vivalis, which covers vaccines, proteins and pharma molecules, and Filavie for vaccines, bacterial flora and analysis. A further group, Hypharm, has links to both divisions and covers serum, pharma proteins, rabbits and SPF animal breeding.

Mr Grimaud said that feeding a growing world population will become increasingly challenging, and that population growth exerts strong pressure on the environment. "If we break the balance, we won't be able to produce sufficient food," he said.

He went on to outline 10 keys for a better understanding of the situation.

"A quick look in the mirror shows tremendous progress in the last decade, mainly thanks to genetics," he said, showing the improvements in the annual output of meat from parent stock in the last 20 years from pigs, rabbits and poultry, as well as the improvements in feed conversion ratio. Breeding is a fixed-cost, long term business, he emphasised, saying that the current genetics 'pipeline' will produce the commercial generation of animals in 2013-2014.

There are great opportunities for a multi-species approach, Mr Grimaud believes, seeing many synergies in his company is terms of breeding programmes for different species such as chickens, pigs and rabbits.

"Animal welfare is becoming a main challenge," he said. He sees great importance in breeding for commercial conditions, taking into account their natural and social behaviour to develop less aggressive and more robust animals.

The integration of the Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) in the BLUP is improving the accuracy of the selection, Mr Grimaud said, showing the spurt in estimated breeding value (EBV) since the introduction of MAS. Meat water-holding capacity and marbling/tenderness are traits that have been especially responsive to the technique, and it could prove to be the first effective technique for increased resistance to pathogens.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
"If we break the balance, we won't be able to produce sufficient food" 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
On a related theme, he believes that biotech tools have the potential to permit the revolution of the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Work on an experimental scale has proved the concept and the technique may, in future, be used to improve disease resistance.

However, quantitative selection remains the basis of breeding programmes, said Mr Grimaud, showing the improvements in broiler 42-day weight and feed conversion over the last decade.

He stressed the need to maintain genetic diversity in order to satisfy different market segments.

At the breeding level, health status and risk mitigation are key factors to secure the industry in Mr Grimaud's opinion. His company has developed separate R&D centres, continuous monitoring of health status in internal labs and multiplication centres near to commercial zones to both secure local customers and offer multi-source supply in case of a ban resulting from a case of a major disease outbreak in one area.

Environmental friendly production is becoming another new challenge, said Mr Grimaud. Citing examples from the broiler sector, he explained that a better FCR and drier litter mean less manure, and new developments in nutrition both improve nutrient digestibility and offer protection against pathogens.

Mr Grimaud closed his presentation by saying that with so many risks and so many variables, the future is not yet written but these unknowns offer many opportunities for breeding companies to make a difference.

The Science of Feeding the World


Dr Grant WallingDr Grant Walling, director of Research and Genetics for JSR Genetics, outlined the challenges by saying, "Today's 6.5 billion people in the world today is forecast to rise to nine billion by 2050. And further, due to changing eating patterns, those nine billion people are likely to eat enough food for 11 billion people due to the increasing demands of the middle classes in more populous countries such as China and India."

One solution could be to farm more land, Dr Walling suggested. We currently farm 1.4 billion hectares; the FAO has identified more than 1.6 billion hectares that could be used for farming (mainly in Latin America and Africa). However, the Royal Society is concerned over the damage to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Another solution would be to eat less meat, he said. However, this fails to address the use of marginal land (especially for beef and lamb production), that farm animals eat large amounts of agricultural and food by-products as well as the need of wool and leather. And who should reduce their meat intake, asked Dr Walling? Should it be those in countries that already eat a lot of meat or those in developing countries where meat intake is increasing along with growing income?

The best solution, he proposed, is for agriculture to produce more with less resource (water, fertiliser, pesticides). This can only be achieved through improved science and technology and investment in agricultural research, which only currently makes up five per cent of world R&D spend, Dr Walling said.

Genetic technologies will be an important part of the improvement in efficiency and output, he predicted.

"Quantitative genetics works," he said, showing the continuing upward trend in oil content of maize selected over many generations, as well as the increasing gap between maize lines selected for low- or high protein content.

Going on to show the performance of today's pig compared to one of the 1960s, Dr Walling presented his estimate of the likely performance of pigs in 2050, when the human population is expected to reach the nine-billion mark, assuming linear improvements in each parameter.

However, the improvements take a great forward leap if molecular genetics is employed. Using marker chips in market assisted (MA) selection with BLUP, the progress is much faster (see table).

Quantitative selection success: performance of the modern pig compared to one in the 1960s and the potential of new techniques 
  1960s 2010 2050
(linear improvement) 2050
(with MA-BLUP)
Pigs weaned per sow 14 21 28 31.5
Lean % 40 55 70 70
FCR 3.0 2.2 1.4 1.28
Lean meat per tonne feed (kg) 85 170 255 268
Data for 1960s and modern pigs from Van der Steen et al., 2005

Progress in producing more with fewer resources could also be achieved by making changes, either to indices or to traits, said Dr Walling. He gave the example of dairy breeding, where three different traits are used: profitability, low-carbon and welfare, where the focus is on production traits, efficiency and longevity, respectively. For pigs, the focus generally remains mainly on profitability but JSR is increasingly paying attention to lifetime performance, which takes into account sow mortality and thus impacts replacement rate. Meanwhile, a greater emphasis on feed efficiency may detract somewhat from growth rate but it is more relevant with rising feed costs and reduces environmental benefits.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
"We need to take the public with us" 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Dr Walling also highlighted the potential benefits of other production changes, including the use of split-sex feeding. Work from Harper Adams University College sponsored by JSR shows that the best overall performance was achieved by boars on a much higher level of lysine (1.12g/kg) than gilts (0.89g/kg).

So far, the breeding index has not been influence by welfare because of insufficient financial reward and conflicts with climate change goals, he said.

New embryonic technologies would also help the industry to produce more with less, Dr Walling said, as he described semen freezing, and embryo transfer.

"These technologies will become more common by 2050 but we need to take the public with us," he said.

Summing up, Dr Walling said: "Genetic improvement will continue to deliver annual benefits. However difficult challenges need to be addressed with breeding goals for production, profitability, climate change and animal welfare.

"Other genetic technologies must be allowed to penetrate the market without excessive bureaucratic legislation (GM and cloning) but scientists must be realistic with the claims and allow the consumer to make informed choices."

Producers profit with rising price
[28 September 2010] Prices for food and other soft commodities have been climbing and analysts say that producers in Asia are poised to profit as demand from emerging markets continues to grow. A strategist at Nomura said: “We believe that soft commodities will outperform base and precious metals in the future.” Wheat and corn futures prices in Chicago recently jumped to multi-month highs, with wheat futures trading at a high of USD 8 per bushel and corn futures climbing past USD 5 per bushel, both for the first time since the second half of 2008. In this scenario producers will reap the benefit but food companies, those that sell to consumers, will have profits squeezed. Higher feed prices may also show increases in future meat and poultry prices.

China to be net importer of corn
[28 September 2010] China will turn from a net exporter of corn to a net importer of the crop this year, said Fei Zhonghai, assistant to the general manager of the COFCO at the Fourth International Corn Industry Conference 2010 last week. China imported 600,000 metric tonnes of corn in January to August, and the ports are expected to see arrivals of 700,000 tonnes more, he said. The annual imports may come to 1.5 million tonnes in 2010, far higher than the country's exports, making China a net importer of corn, he added. An earlier report by the Ministry of Agriculture showed China exported 93,000 tonnes of corn in January to July, up 30.7%. It imported 282,000 tonnes of corn, a 56-fold surge.