Spain and EU: Hog Markets
26 October 2012

 

EU - After a long period (seven months) of stable price or with light raises, the last two weeks the price of the hog has suffered a light decreases in Spain and in the European Union.

 In any case the typical fall of autumn price has not taken place. The decreases in prices have been really reasonable that in other autumns. The reasons of this new situation is due probably to a reduced offer of pork as a consequence of the imminent application of welfare rules, discouragement of the producers who have left the activity and decrease of those who continues for little profitability like last years and an unknowing increases on the cost of production. Seemingly it is a situation that it affects equally to the principal countries of the European Union.
 
In any case the change of trend is clear and pointing out toward negative figures. The principal reasons have been the recovery of the weight of the animals. Much heavier hogs are going to slaughter house and the fall of the French market that is dragging all. Despite the fact that the pigs look heavier this season it is important to emphasize that the weight continues being under normal records when we compare it with previous years.




The situation is different in other regions of the country like in the North-East of Spain with a larger shortage of animals that in the rest of Spain.
 
In France the situation continues to be a nasty one with prices plummeting in about five cents of Euro at week. This situation is due to a over offer of pork and little demand at the packing plants level. The slaughter houses are putting pressure to reduce pork prices in order to be competitive in international markets. Hams and legs are getting their lowest prices in the market right now.
 
In Germany the price situation is much steadier, with a stable demand and 1,05 million of slaughtered pigs/week that is 3,000 pigs more than in previous week but less that in the same week in 2011. In Denmark the price situation also continues firm with an even price.
 
In Italy the pork industry is suffering from deterioration of tits prices. Last week has been the worse with regard to the last few weeks where the price was held in reserve without apparent problems. The price of the pork has gone down and the packing plants that start to see red numbers have decided to reduce the number of pigs to slaughter. The trend is negative like in the rest of Europe and probably and the decrease in price could be even stronger.
 
The costs of production, in spite of the decreases on cost of the soybean, have gone up to 15 per cent (soybean price went from 530 €/ton to 470 €/ton). The grains are still very strong with feed at 252 €/ton and wheat around 270 €/ton and only the reduced prices on corn in about 10 per cent.
 
The pig producers have improved their bank accounts and their debts look cleaner at this moment, which is a good thing. They are doing their last investments to adapt their barns to the animal welfare regulations and they are doing it with moderate optimism.




 

British Semen to Mexico
30 October 2012

 UK - British pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd, has been singled out to supply genetically-advanced semen to Mexico.

Initially, vet and entrepreneur, Angel Francos-Tapia, will be importing 300 doses a week for distribution to farms throughout the country to upgrade the quality of slaughter pigs. Semen will also be used for the production of improved female-line breeding stock.
 
Licensing arrangements, overseen by the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, have taken eight months and ACMC is the only UK company that has a permit for the export of semen to Mexico. It will be supplied from ACMC's Yorkshire high-health stud. The agreement, Angel says, is in response to repeated requests from Mexican pork producers to source top-quality genetics, world-wide, to improve production.
 
Around 160,000 slaughter pigs will benefit from the deal, worth over £50,000 annually. "We have Mexican companies already waiting for ACMC semen and feel very confident that numbers will rise fast as soon as the industry becomes aware of the consistent quality," said Angel.
 
Mexico has around one million commercial sows producing some 20 million slaughter pigs which are taken to finishing weights of 105-120 kg liveweight. Most of the industry is concentrated into the hands of large companies, many of which have more than 5,000 breeding sows.
 







Angel Francos-Tapia, who will be importing semen to improve the quality of slaughter pigs in Mexico
 

EUROTIER: China Growing in Importance to Pig Sector
13 November 2012


GERMANY - Pig production is becoming more and more an international business and the Chinese market is emerging as an important outlet for pig meat - especially the fifth quarter products, writes Chris Harris.

Speaking at the International Pig Event and Third Chinese -European Pig Summit at EuroTier in Hanover, Erik Thijssen, president of the European Pig Producers said the importance of the Chinese market is growing and pig production is expanding but the country is also facing numerous challenges.
 
"The Chinese market is important to create value for the fifth quarter," Mr Thijssen said.
 
"The developments in the Chinese market are tremendous at this time. China has shown years of double digit growth figures in their economy, the increase of the disposable income is creating the possibility for more and more people to favour more meat and especially more pork in their diet.

"The development creates great opportunities for pig production."
 
However, Mr Thijssen said that the growth in popularity in pork and the growth in demand can only be met in China with a change in production methods.
 
He said that where the back yard system of production is the most prevalent at present, Chinese pig production needs to change to a modern integrated and controlled system to meet consumer demands.
 
He said that the modern consumer will not only demand guaranteed availability of pig meat but also that it is safe to eat "without antibiotics or other health threatening substances".
 
Mr Thijssen said that on the global market the countries that will lead the way in pig production with be those that have a good feed supply.
 
"The developments on the market for feedstuffs have shown some remarkable changes in the last few years," he said.
 
Lower production due to weather extremities in different parts of the world, the introduction of bio-based energy, such as bioethanol and biogas and a higher demand of feedstuffs have all had their impact on the pig market.
 
However, he added that the introduction of venture capital into the feedstuff market particularly as the financial crises in the US and Europe have developed have had an even greater effect on the pig market.
 
"The result is that prices are driven up by speculation and ships with soya or corn on their way to their destination are sold more than 10 times during that trip," he said.
 
He said that producers have to deal with the higher feed prices in the short term.
 
He said it is impractical to end the speculation but it could be possible for producers to options and futures to keep a grip on production costs.
 
Mr Thijssen added that pig producers are also having to meet the challenges presented by lobbying groups on issues such as animal welfare and the environment.
 
"To meet society requirements, farmers have to invest and grow to keep a profitable business," he said.






Chris Harris, Editor-in-Chief

EU Pig Meat Export, Import Volumes Fall
29 November 2012


EU - The latest figures for the first nine months of this year show a slight decline in pig meat exports from the EU of two per cent in volume, while imports were down by seven per cent, while the values of both totals have increased.

The latest EU pig meat trade figures from Comext were presented at the 'Single CMO' Management Committee meeting last week.
 
Total exports for the first three quarters of this year were 2,326,699 tonnes (two per cent lower than the same period in 2011) while imports were 26,488 tonnes - down seven per cent from last year.
 
By far the biggest exporter of 'selected pig products' to the EU was Switzerland, which accounted for 14,237 tonnes or 54 per cent of the total volume, six per cent more than last year. Chile exported 5,241 tonnes (20 per cent of the total), which was nine per cent than for the same period of 2011. Other countries exporting to the EU were Serbia (1,810 tonnes, 7 per cent), US (917 tonnes, 3%) Croatia (752 tonnes, 3 per cent), Canada (47 tonnes) and Other countries (3,484 tonnes).
 
While imports of pig products into the EU have followed a downward trend since early 2008, the value of those products for the first nine months of the year increased from €46.531 million in 2011 to €47.949 million this year.
 
For exports, the Comext figures show that for the period January to September 2012, Russia was the top destination for EU pig met products with a volume of 579,528 tonnes, which was a 24.9 per cent share of the total but nine per cent below the corresponding period last year. China took 413,643 tonnes, which was 17.8 per cent of the total and 54 per cent more than in 2011. Other destinations were: Hong Kong (280,366 tonnes; 12.0 per cent; -31 per cent), Japan (172,049 tonnes; 7.4 per cent -1 per cent); South Korea (107,491 tonnes; 4.6 per cent; -30 per cent), Ukraine (124,270 tonnes; 5.3 per cent: +53 per cent), Belarus (93,089 tonnes; 4.0 per cent; + 18 per cent), Philippines (55,279 tonnes; 2.4 per cent; -25 per cent), Croatia (55,140 tonnes; 2.4 per cent; +8 per cent), US (46,054 tonnes; 2.0 per cent; +1 per cent), Angola (41,397 tonnes; 1.8 per cent; -8 per cent), Australia (33,039 tonnes; 1.4 per cent; -4 per cent), other countries (325,354 tonnes; 14.0 per cent).
 
In terms of value, exports for the first nine months of 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been rising steadily at €3.081 billion, €4.050 billion and €4.587 billion, respectively.



Jackie Linden - Senior Editor

EU Pig Prices: Further Price Decreases Inevitable, Bottom Reached?
05 December 2012

 

EU - Pressure still continues to be exerted on the EU quotations this current week of slaughter. One of the reasons, which discomforts all European countries in a direct or indirect way, are the exports which seem to be going very slowly from the EU point of view.

As regards Russia, the booming trend has cooled off noticeably most recently, after accession to the WTO. Brazilian, US American and Canadian importers are much more in demand at present, because they can offer a more favourable price level. At the same time, sufficient quantities are on offer throughout Europe at partially clearly increased slaughter weights.

In Germany, one could not stand the pressure exerted by the slaughter companies this week. Therefore, the concerted price was lowered towards the major slaughter companies’ price ideas after two weeks of internal prices. In Austria as well the prices had to be corrected downwards by –5 cents. Similar to what was observed in Germany the slaughter weights there have gone up over the past weeks.
 
Price decreases were slightly more moderate in the South European member countries over the past weeks. Yet, the quotations there still are under pressure as well. In France, the prices went down by a corrected -4 cents last Thursday, in Spain the prices were lowered by a converted -2 cents.
 
And again, the Danish pig keepers do not have to cope with the price cuttings. There the quantities on offer still remain quite scarce, so the price was quoted on an unchanged level.
 
Trend for the German market: The quantities on offer are sold without problems at present. From today’s point of view, steady producer prices may be expected for the coming week of slaughter.
 


Week

D

NL

DK

B

F

PL

CZ

IT

ESP

AUT

GB

IR



Week 43

1.796

1.743

1.825

1.779

1.777

1.824

1.890

2.190

1.923

1.735

1.929

1.671



Week 44

1.776

1.714

1.799

1.729

1.724

1.761

1.857

2.119

1.873

1.694

1.957

1.671



Week 45

1.776

1.714

1.758

1.729

1.701

1.782

1.828

2.057

1.837

1.694

1.956

1.671



Week 46

1.776

1.714

1.758

1.729

1.706

1.764

1.810

2.038

1.807

1.694

1.955

1.671



Week 47

1.776

1.704

1.758

1.717

1.739

1.777

1.804

2.006

1.793

1.694

1.954

1.671



Week 48

1.726

1.637

1.799

1.667

1.703

 

1.818

1.975

1.774

1.643

1.936

1.671



Week 49

1.676

1.618

1.798

1.630

1.659

 

 

1.975

1.756

1.591

1.934

1.671



Prices in Euros (€)

 




Explanation
 1corrected quotation: The official Quotations of the different countries are corrected, so that each quotation has the same base (conditions).
base: 56 per cent lean meat; farm-gate-price; 79 per cent killing out percentage, without value-added-tax (VAT)

Weekly Overview: EU Sow Stall Ban: Now Just Three Weeks Away
11 December 2012


ANALYSIS - The ban on the use of sow stalls within the European Union is just three weeks away, writes ThePigSite Senior Editor Jackie Linden.

A topic of some discussion within the pork industry is the expected level of slaughter and output for various players on the world stage in the coming year, according to industry experts, Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. They highlight particularly EU-27 pig numbers, given the 1 January deadline for eliminating sow gestation stalls. The EU ban applies to the period from four weeks post-breeding to one week pre-farrowing. They say that no-one has a very good idea of just how this major change in allowable production technology is going to play out.
 
First, there is the question of just how widespread compliance will be on 1 January. They refer to reports that some countries will be 100 per cent compliant while others may have no more than 40 per cent of their production in compliance. Regardless of the numbers, it is clear that not nearly all of the farms in the EU will have sows in some sort of group housing by 1 January.
 
This begs their second question. What happens to the pigs from farms that are not compliant?, Meyer and Steiner ask.
 
Based on the experience of the egg industry following the ban on conventional battery cages, which came in across the EU on 1 January 2012, considerable market disruption may be expected immediately after the ban was introduced - but not in all countries and the market may settle again within a few months. Overall, a cut of five to 10 per cent in EU pig meat volume has been forecast; the resulting likely boost in producer prices would be welcomed, of course, by those farmers whose facilities comply with the new rules. This includes the UK, where sow stalls have been banned for more than a decade.
 
As for pigs from farms that do not comply with the new regulations after 1st January, they will likely continue to be marketed in the country of origin. The rules prohibit their meat from being sold to other EU countries but presumably, it could be exported to third countries. Again, based on the experience of the egg industry after the battery cage ban, no major breaches of this rule have been reported.
 
The impacts on the pig meat markets may depend on the commitment and regulatory ability of the individual countries to inspect facilities, to hold to account those that are not compliant and to trace pork product on the market.
 
The sow stall ban is an reachable goal - but only time will tell if it will be achieved in practice.






Jackie Linden - Senior Editor

Spanish Hog Markets
07 December 2012

 

SPAIN - Traditionally, the end of the year heralds a decrease in pork prices in the Spanish Market, writes Javier Santamartina - Spain, Italy & Portugal Genesus Representative.

After exceptional summer prices, the market has seen a decrease in prices from 1,49 to 1,28 €/kg ($0.89 to $0.75 USD/lb) live weight and it not clear as of yet how far it will fall. The last two years has a decrease of 17 Cents €/kg & 23 Cents €/kg ($0.10 USD & $0.14 USD/lb) respectively, with a decrease of 17 Cents €/kg ($0.10 USD/lb) in 2009. One thing to keep in mind is the Autumn start price was 20 Cents €/kg ($0.12 USD/lb)higher than previous years.
 



Genesus Global Market Report
Prices for the week of July 16, 2012
 


Country

Domestic price
(own currency)

US dollars
(Liveweight a lb)
 


USA (Iowa-Minnesota)

77.03¢ USD/lb carcass

62.66¢
 


Canada (Ontario)

1.41¢ CAD/kg carcass

51.99¢
 


Mexico (DF)

22.70 MXN/kg liveweight

81.59¢
 


Brazil (South Region)

3.28 BRL/kg liveweight

71.32¢
 


Russia

78 RUB/kg liveweight

$1.13
 


China

15.35 RMB/kg liveweight

$1.15
 


Spain

1.34 EUR/kg liveweight

78.72¢
 


Vietnam

39,500 VND/kg liveweight

80.58¢
 


South Korea

3,900 KRW/kg liveweight

$1.68
 

After a good summer of pig prices, the offer of pigs grows and carcass weight increases. The autumn temperature has allowed good pig growth thereby increasing the pig offer, however on the other side the demand has decreased for 2 main reasons:
 1.The exports to countries like Russia and China have not managed to support the expected levels. There are several factors impacting the exports. Import prices are low in these two countries and there is a difficulty in competing with other export countries like the US who have lower prices and with better exchange rates. Import levels in these two countries are lower this year as compared to the same two month period in 2011.
 

2.Excess pork production must be sent to other countries in the EU and the general crisis atmosphere of the European Union has put more pressure on the pricing. Generally speaking there is a decrease in all meat consumption with vegetable protein derivatives being cheaper. Slaughter houses can sell their pork but they must lower the price in order to remain competitive. In Germany the price must be lowered 5 cent € /kg ($0.03/lbUSD/lb) to make it attractive to the market.
 

Pig Price Evolution
 
Other factors such as the high price of raw materials, soya (record high prices) and grains.
 



Soya 480 €/ton
($17.06 USD/Bushel)

Corn 260 €/ton
($8.63 USD / Bushel)

Wheat 270 €/ton
($9.61 USD / Bushel)
 

These prices will remain high until the next harvest. This global situation will have consequences, mainly in the reduction of margins. This situation is more critical in market with less financial capacity like the South of Europe. Producers have more difficulty accessing bank credit. At the beginning of the year farms must adopt welfare rules in order to survive. The result of all these factors combining are a reduction in the number of farms and hence a reduction in total sows in production. Some farms are reducing the number of sows while others are changing from sow production to fattening.
 
In summary, decreases in pork prices are according to expectations based on last year’s prices, with high production costs impacting the market here as well as in the rest of the world.
 

Pork and Beef Christmas Market Boost
27 December 2012

UK - Beef and pig producers have seen strength in the Christmas market with beef, in particular, proving to be markedly resilient to the economic climate.

 Prices have risen to 10 p/kg dwt (2.7 per cent) since the beginning of November while the pig price has improved 1 per cent over this period.

 However, Stuart Ashworth, Quality Meat Scotland’s Head of Economics Services, pointed out that despite this improvement in price, prime cattle supplies have remained below last year’s levels as cattle are proving slow to finish.

“Latest slaughter statistics from across the UK show the extent to which cattle supplies are being squeezed. The prime kill is 5 per cent down during November and 7.5 per cent down over the year to the end of November.

“This level of decline across the UK, when set against the slightly higher volume of calf registrations in 2010 (compared to 2009), and the average age at slaughter continuing to be 21 to 22 months, suggests some backlog of cattle on farms going into 2013.

“Almost half of the decline in slaughtering is accounted for by heifers some of which may have been retained for breeding. Nevertheless, there remains a strong likelihood that there are more cattle to come onto the market over the next few months than has recently been the case,” added Mr Ashworth.

 "The number of young bulls reaching abattoirs has started to increase almost exactly twelve months after the number of pure bred dairy bull calves registered with BCMS (British Cattle Movement Service) began increasing.”

While there is some possibility of an increased supply of cattle, it must still be recognised that on the basis of calf registrations, the current supply is likely to remain some 10 per cent below the levels seen before the introduction of de-coupled support payments in 2005.

EU Pig Prices: Market is Steady
09 January 2013

 

EU - The European pig slaughter market appears in quite steady this week.

The pig slaughter prices are moving sideways. At the beginning of the New Year, decisive influence was exerted by the German leading quotation, with an unchanged price level for the European pig market.

All over Europe, the last part of the backlog in supply that remained from the reduced slaughter numbers over the Christmas holidays are being sold.
 
According to reports, the need for fresh meat is not covered completely in France at present, so the trend is said to be steady to firm.

The slaughter companies in Germany are benefiting from the high capacity use of the slaughter lines. Food retailers are filling their shelves again and the processing industry is also buying ahead again.
 
Trend for the German market: The aftermath of the Christmas holidays with the related backlog supply is slowly subsiding. By the middle of the week, the last remaining backlog supply should be sold, so that the new week of slaughter can be started without any backlog. From today’s point of view the price level will most probably remain unchanged next week.



Week

D

NL

DK

B

F

PL

CZ

IT

ESP

AUT

GB

IR



Week 47

1.776

1.704

1.751

1.717

1.739

1.777

1.804

2.006

1.793

1.694

1.954

1.671



Week 48

1.726

1.637

1.791

1.667

1.703

1.731

1.818

1.975

1.774

1.643

1.936

1.671



Week 49

1.676

1.618

1.791

1.630

1.659

1.679

1.788

1.975

1.756

1.591

1.934

1.671



Week 50

1.676

1.618

1.764

1.630

1.611

1.677

1.765

1.975

1.740

1.591

1.945

1.671



Week 51

1.626

1.570

1.737

1.581

1.605

1.658

1.762

1.829

1.733

1.540

1.897

1.671



Week 52

1.626

1.570

1.683

1.581

1.603

 

1.753

1.833

1.727

1.540

1.883

1.671



Week 1

1.626

1.570

1.683

1.556

1.603

 



1.835

1.725

1.540

1.886

1.671



Week 47

1.626

1.570

1.683

1.556

1.604

 



1.861

1.725

1.540

1.837

1.671



Prices in Euros (€)

 


Corrected Quotations 2012/ 2013
 


Explanation
 1) corrected quotation: The official Quotations of the different countries are corrected, so that each quotation has the same base (conditions).
 2) These quotations are based on the correction formulas applied since 01.08.2010.
 base: 56 % lean-meat-percentage; farm-gate-price; 79% killing-out-percentage, without value-added-tax

Food Manufacturers Challenged over Illegal Imports
24 January 2013



 
UK - British pig farmers are challenging food manufacturers, retailers and caterers to give a public commitment that they are not selling illegally-produced meat from farms that are flouting new European welfare legislation outlawing the prolonged confinement of sows in individual cages, known as “stalls”.

They have set up a website Wall-of-Fame-and-Shame which will list companies that have pledged to source imported pork products only from farms that are operating legally.
 
All companies selling imported pork and pork products are being urged by Britain’s National Pig Association (NPA) to check their sources of supply very carefully. “They must be absolutely certain the bacon, sausages, ham, pizzas and other processed pork they sell do not come from farms that are flouting European animal welfare law,” says NPA.
 
Most European Union countries have failed to comply with the European Union’s animal welfare directive which from January 2013 bans the prolonged confinement of sows in stalls. Individual sow stalls have been outlawed on British pig units for 14 years. They are so narrow, pigs cannot turn around — all they can do is sit, stand, and lie down.
 
As many as 40,000 pigs an hour are being delivered to continental processing plants from illegally-operated pig farms, according to NPA calculations. “As Britain imports around 60 per cent of its processed pork it is inevitable that many consumers are unwittingly supporting this unacceptable European trade in illegally-farmed pigs,” said NPA general manager Dr Zoe Davies. “Shoppers must be told which British retailers and food companies they can trust not to take part in this trade.”
 
Yorkshire pig farmer John Rowbottom, a member of NPA’s policy-making Producer Group, said: "If Brussels cannot police its own rules, then British pig farmers will have to do the job for them. British consumers are being sold pork products from continental farms that are operating illegally. It’s a gross breach of animal welfare, it is unfair on consumers and it is unfair on British farmers, because it distorts fair trade.”
 
The NPA Wall-of-Name-and-Shame is at www.npa-uk.org.uk.

UK Awaits Aussie Approval for Pork; Denmark Raises Piglet Exports
13 February 2013

GLOBAL - The British pork industry is waiting for a letter of approval from Australia's veterinary authorities so exports can begin. A small BPEX mission will soon be visiting Australia for political and commercial discussions.

Following an exploratory mission to India in December, the UK is aiming to exploit the potential for livestock genetics, for which there is a clear demand. A follow up visit is planned this month; Canada and US competitors have also shown a strong interest, according to BPEX's Export Bulletin for week 6 of 2013.
 
French processing company Aoste is about to close down its site located in central France due to difficulties in passing on price increases to the retail sector.
 
Meanwhile, Denmark plans on increasing exports of piglets. Danish piglet exports have risen 40 per cent compared to those of Holland. While Dutch exports remained unchanged, Danish piglet exports increased by approximately 15 per cent during 2012.
 
Tönnies’, Europe's largest pork producer, slaughtered 1.5 million boars during 2012. The company now slaughters 150,000 pigs per week in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 70,000 per week in Sögel, 80,000 in Weissenfels and 24,000 in Brørup (Denmark). This amounts a total of 16m pigs per year.
 
In Italy, slaughterhouses are running at a loss. They are caught between strong demand and limited supplies and are hit by current high pig prices.
 
Thai company Betagro recently opened it ninth feedmill in Lopburi province, with an investment of £22 million. The factory is to produce 36,000 tonnes of additive-free feed per month for pork, poultry and cattle. This is the second additive-free feedmill for the company. It is also coming up with a petfood and fish meal plant worth £.30 million.

Wean More Pigs to Be More Profitable
22 February 2013

 


UK - BPEX is re-focusing its efforts on the pig breeding herd with a ‘Breed +3’ initiative to help each herd wean an extra three pigs per sow year.
 
BPEX must help pig producers wean more pigs, if the industry is to manage its output and costs to reach its Two-Tonne Sow (2TS) target.
 
British pig producers are efficient at finishing pigs but are not producing enough pigs in the first place. Although progress has made in physical performance, a big gap remains between Britain and the rest of Europe.
 
It should be acknowledged that, with 40 per cent of the British breeding herd outdoors, the industry average is not perfectly comparable with other EU countries. But the numbers of pigs born and weaned have still only increased by around half a pig per sow per year on British units since 2006. Meanwhile, other countries have continued to increase their performance by at least two pigs.
 
BPEX knowledge transfer manager Lis Ravn said: "The aim is to help every producer move towards an extra three pigs per sow per year weaned, whether they’re currently about average at 23 pigs weaned or if they’re already at 27 and want to get to 30.
 
"We have identified some priorities to help achieve this. Keeping performance records and, importantly, spending time understanding the data is something that high-performing businesses have in common. As is doing all the ‘small’ daily things to a high standard, which is where training and skills development help too.
 
"All businesses, including the top performers, need to keep monitoring how they are doing and keep their finger on the pulse."
 
Local knowledge transfer meetings for pig producers this year will follow the Breed +3 theme, covering topics including: performance recording, gilt management, litter management and staff communication. BPEX will also be exploring new knowledge, innovations and technologies, offering producers the chance to see them first hand on farms in the UK and abroad.
 
There is already a wealth of practical information on the BPEX website and the knowledge transfer managers can be contacted directly for help at any time [click here]

Slaughter Pigs to be Improved by Genomic Selection
21 March 2013

DENMARK - Genomic selection has been successfully implemented in the breeding programme for sows. Now it is time for slaughter pigs to undergo breeding improvements.

Improvement of animal welfare and farm income as well as a reduction in nutrient losses from pig production are some of the results that can be expected from a five-year research project on genomic selection. The project has just passed its halfway stage.
 



A genomic selection project aiming to achieve annual breeding improvements in pigs of 50 percent involves scientists from Aarhus University. [Photo: AU]
 
Scientists at Aarhus University collaborate with the Pig Research Centre on selecting pigs that can constitute the basis for breeding improvements which should ultimately benefit the pig industry. One of the methods used is genomic selection.
 
The project has so far focused on sows and genomic selection has already been implemented in the breeding programme for the three pig breeds Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc. This is expected to increase the genetic gain in the traits under selection by about 15 to 25 per cent. The scientists are now focusing on the slaughter pigs, which are a three-way cross between the three breeds.
 
"Genomic selection will help improve the traits in finishing pigs that are directly related to production and meat quality. There will be focus on improving meat quality through measurements of pH and boar taint in the carcass. Genetic improvements of these traits will increase the value of the carcass and result in less food wastage due to higher slaughter yield and less fat waste," explained Ole Fredslund Christensen, who is the project leader and senior scientist at Aarhus University.
 
The scientists will, among other things, develop methods that embody the so-called non-additive effects, such as hybrid vigour, that result in superior traits in the crossbred offspring compared with the average of the purebred offspring. If successful, genomic selection will therefore result in further benefits.
 
Systematic crossings of the three pig races are undertaken and genomic and phenotypic data are collected. This includes data on mortality, growth and slaughter quality – the quality being meat content, pH and boar taint. Development of models that combine the genomic and phenotypic data is the next step in the project in order to develop a number of strategies.
 
"We will develop strategies for the use of genomic selection which maximises the marginal genomic improvement in the breeding programmes for purebreds and for crossbreds while minimising inbreeding in the populations as well as the implementation costs. The genetic gain is evaluated both in terms of financial profit and reductions in emissions of nutrients and CO2-equivalents," said Dr Christensen, who also discloses that the project will culminate in the practical implementation and testing of a prototype for genomic selection in pigs.
 
Lower piglet mortality
 
In addition to an expected reduction in nutrient emissions, due to an improvement in feed efficiency of 0.02 feed units per kilogram weight gained, the scientists also hope that the project will help reduce piglet mortality.
 
"The improvement in animal welfare is achieved through the incorporation of the maternal traits in the breeding programme, which will result in better piglet survival in the nursing period. The effect is expected to increase survivability by five per cent per year. With a mortality of 12 per cent, this corresponds to an annual reduction in mortality of roughly 0.6 percentage in the first years," explained Dr Christensen.
 
It will take about five years for the changes in the breeding programme to be reflected in the total pig production system. The production herds will see improvements within a year after improvements are observed in the breeding herds.

Pig Wasting Syndrome Costs Farmers Millions
27 March 2013




UK - Stark new figures show that a common pig virus - post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) - present on 99 per cent of pig farms has major economic implications for individual farmers and the pig industry as a whole, costing British farmers as much as £84 per pig (if the pig dies from the syndrome) and during epidemic periods, such as 2008, costing the pig industry £88 million per year.

PMWS, a serious syndrome which results in emaciation and death in up to 30 per cent of cases. As part of a BBSRC-led initiative into combating endemic diseases of farmed animals, researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) have spent the past five years working to understand the factors that lead to farms developing high rates of PMWS and creating models to work out the cost of the disease as well as the potential savings for farmers by tackling the disease in different ways.
 
Professor Dirk Werling, from RVC, who led the project, explained: "We've known for many years that this is a serious disease in pigs. It is now endemic globally and will haunt the pig industry for years to come; therefore it is crucial that we understand the biological basis of the virus as well as the cost implications. Knowing the financial impact of the illness can help farmers decide how best to improve the welfare and profitability of their herds. These figures are shocking, but are an important step in enabling farmers and the industry as a whole to look at feasible and sustainable intervention strategies."
 
Dr Pablo Alarcon, Professor Jonathan Rushton and Dr Barbara Wieland, all from RVC, produced a series of mathematical models, factoring in different scenarios such as the size of the pig herds, the proportion affected by PMWS and the severity of the infection. In the most severe cases where the infected pig dies from PMWS, this costs the farmer an estimated £84, with the least severe case - where a pig is carrying the virus but displays no clinical symptoms - cost £8.
 
Models were then created to look at the cost implications of employing different control measures at individual farm level, ranging from vaccination of piglets through to total repopulation of a farm's pig stocks. Their model suggests that on farms with moderate to high rates of PMWS the most cost effective strategy is to vaccinate all piglets and increase biosecurity measures, such as a two day quarantine period for people who had come into contact with other pig herds and treating pigs with PMWS in isolation. Savings from this dual approach were worked out to be between £2,947 to £11,500 per year.
 
BBSRC Chief Executive Professor Douglas Kell said: "Food security and the sustainability of UK farming are seriously undermined by endemic diseases of farmed animals. This important new research shows the significant economic impact that diseases such as PMWS can cause, and highlights the vital role researchers play in working with farmers and industry to improve food security and animal welfare"
 
Professor Werling was one of ten projects which received funding as part of Combating Endemic Diseases of Farmed Animals for Sustainability (CEDFAS) initiative launched in 2007, with £11.5M funding from BBSRC, the Scottish Government and Defra.
 
This modelling project was further supported by the BPEX division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Pfizer Animal Health, and BioBest Ltd.

European Pig Meat Industry Facing Its Challenges
04 April 2013
 

EU - The European pig meat industry is facing its challenges with issues such as regulations on sow pens impacting production, according to Frederique Clusel, group director of Swine Business for Zoetis for EU Africa and Middle East.

Speaking at the recent launch of the new company, which emerged from the divestment of the animal health sector from Pfizer, Mme Clusel said that with 7 billion people now demanding protein and the EU having 16 per cent of global meat consumption, the pig meat industry in the region was well placed to meet the growing demand.
 
At present, pig meat consumption in the EU is 41.6 kg per person a year and in meeting the challenges presented to the sector, pig producers are using fewer antibiotics and those that are used are being used more and more responsibly.
 
She said there has been a 47 per cent drop in the use of injectable anti-infectives since 2009 and a 23 per cent drop in the use of oral anti-infectives in the same period. At the same time there has been a 20 per cent increase in the use of vaccinations to prevent disease.
 
"Through prevention there has been an increase in the pig health level and with healthy pigs you get healthy meat," said Mme Clusel.
 
"We will still need anti-infectives, because there will still be disease on the farm, but we need to use them in the right way.