Vilsack focused on the USDA's efforts to increase exports of agricultural products to help American farmers, ranchers, and workers.

"USDA's continued work to expand trade opportunities for America's hard-working farmers and ranchers will play an important role in our effort to rebuild rural communities across the country," said Vilsack at the 2010 Commodity Classic event. "Increased trade will not only create important income opportunities for producers, but also the off-farm jobs that are so critical for revitalising rural America."

In the State of the Union address, the President announced a National Export Initiative to coordinate federal efforts to help rebuild the economy by increasing export opportunities. The new roadmap announced will help achieve the President's goal of doubling all US exports in the next 5 years.

While the USDA has traditionally looked at agricultural trading partners by geographic region, under the new trade strategy outlined by Vilsack, the USDA looks at countries based on their position on an agricultural market continuum, which enables tailored strategies to increase exports to each individual market. The continuum goes from fragile markets/food security states, to potential growth markets, to restricted access markets, to rapid growth markets, to developed consumer markets. The new strategy will improve collaboration among USDA agencies and guide priorities for international staffing, foreign assistance, and agricultural research.

For example, in potential growth markets, USDA programs will now emphasise building the institutional and human capacity needed to support increased trade, while in restricted access markets, USDA efforts are designed to remove trade barriers. In rapid growth markets, USDA will now emphasise using a full range of programs to build trade capacity, remove trade barriers and develop new markets for US products.

The annual value of US agricultural exports is rapidly increasing. Ten years ago the annual value was less than $50 bln and this year, even with the sharp global economic downturn, USDA estimates agricultural exports to reach $100 bln, the second highest level ever. USDA will continue to push hard for an open rules-based international trading system that will benefit both consumers and suppliers of agricultural products around the world.

USDA launched a new website and social media tools at www.usda.gov, which are designed to enhance discussions and facilitate innovation for challenges facing rural America.

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Radio Iowa reports that production in the slaughter area of Tyson Fresh Meats was temporarily halted on Tuesday afternoon after a USDA inspector raised some concerns about the way hogs were being handled at the plant.

According to Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson, about 250 workers were affected by the temporary disruption in operations.

He says the concerns were addressed immediately and full operations resumed later on Tuesday afternoon once the concerns were resolved.

Tuesday’s temporary disruption effected pork processing operations at the plant this morning.

Mr Mickelson says first-shift pork processing workers had the day off because there were not enough carcasses to process. Full operations are expected to back to normal this afternoon.

 

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But that changes in January 2013 when the European partial stalls ban is fully implemented.

The rest of the continent will introduce the minimum requirements of European law, which means sows can still spend almost a quarter of their productive lives in stalls.

In the Netherlands, however, producers will be subject to more demanding welfare restrictions.

They must loose-house gilts and sows except for one week before farrowing and for only four days after service, whereas European law will allow up to four weeks in stalls after service.

The new Netherlands model will bring it almost into line with Sweden (sows must always be loose-housed except for the week before farrowing) and the United Kingdom (stalls outlawed altogether).

Some British retailers may claim the new Netherlands welfare model is as near to Britain's as makes no difference, which would give an unwelcome edge to Vion's marketing in this country.

As a major exporter of weaners across the continent, the Netherland's higher welfare stance will be transmitted through the continental supply chain.

It has been suggested a third of Dutch producers could cease production in 2013 in response to unilateral environmental and welfare legislation in Holland. It is a fair bet the survivors will be seeking a premium.

 

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Poultry producers in Zimbabwe are heading for a showdown with banks as they battle to repay loans following the lifting of the Government ban on imports, reports The Herald of Zimbabwe.

A senior banking executive this week said Government's decision to lift the ban on poultry product imports had disastrous consequences.

"Instead of allowing poultry products into Zimbabwe, Government should be promoting imports of hatching eggs and parent chickens. Flooding of poultry into Zimbabwe is dangerous for chicken farmers who had received hefty loans for the industry.

"Banking institutions forwarded loans to several farmers for the development of the industry, but Government has allowed cheaper imports to flood the market to the detriment of the local producers," he said.

The official said the farmers were not making money as they could not compete with cheap imports and they were left "high and dry" with banks recalling their loans.

"There is need for Government to reflect on the decision to lift the ban," the official said.

Prominent chicken farmer, Jonathan Kadzura, urged Government to empower local producers.

He said: "Instead of solving consumption problems, intervention should come at the production level. Poultry imports that are much cheaper are an affront to the land reform programme. Government should shift its policy and work on empowering farmers."

Another chicken farmer accused retailers of misleading consumers by repackaging the imports.

He alleged: "The retailers know that people do not like the imports and some shops are packing the chickens in Zimbabwean wrapping to dupe customers. This is serious fraud."

There has also been a general outcry that while Government has banned GMO foods, the products were coming in through 'the back door'.

Zimbabwe Poultry Association chairman, Solomon Zawe, was recently quoted by the local media as saying: "We incur huge costs in rearing our chickens, on equipment and infrastructure. Therefore, our prices are justified, as they include these factors."

Major retail shops sell a two-kilo packet of imported chicken cutlets at around US$4 compared to the US$7.30 for the local birds.

In August, the Government early this month lifted the ban on imports saying it would thoroughly inspect the products to guard against poor quality, according to The Nation. Poultry imports had been suspended since March.

 

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Northern Ireland's Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, has approved plans for a biomass power plant at Glenavy, County Antrim, which will incinerate poultry bedding and meat and bone meal.

According to Inside Ireland, Minister Poots says the move will create 300-400 construction jobs in the region and approximately 30 permanent jobs in the operation of the facility.

The power plant will be fuelled by poultry bedding and meat and bone meal, producing approximately 30MW of electricity as an output of the incineration process.

The Department of Environment (DOE) said the poultry industry generates an income of more than £2 million to Belfast Port and the main poultry producers.

It imports 680,000 tonnes of feed annually, which generates significant haulage work to enable distribution across the region, the Department added.

A DOE-appointed Expert Group on Alternative Uses of Manure technical report said that combustion is the only technology for processing poultry litter that is currently proven on a commercial scale and that significantly reduces the volume of material to be disposed off.

The Department has received considerable number of complaints from the local residents regarding the proposal. Pressure group CALNI (Communities Against the Lough Neagh Incinerator) has objected to the incinerator due to its visual impact on 'an area of high scenic value'.

They also claim that the incinerator is not in the best interests of NI poultry farmers and have raised concerns about possible dioxins emissions.

Minister Poots said he was "fully aware of both the opposition and support for the power plant, and that I have a judgement to make between the benefits of the proposal to the poultry industry and the Northern Ireland economy and the potential adverse impacts on residential amenity and the landscape setting.

"Having given the proposal careful consideration, including visiting the site and viewing it from Lough Neagh, I am satisfied that on balance it should be approved," he told Inside Ireland.

 

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"Today's reports are encouraging news. They show that while American agriculture has struggled through difficult economic times, the 2008 Farm Bill, the efforts of the Obama Administration – such as the Recovery Act – and the hard work and resilience of America's farmers and ranchers have helped put American agriculture on the road to recovery.

"After declining more than 20% in 2009, all three measures of farm sector earnings experienced a rapid rebound and are forecast to rise in 2010:

• Net cash income is expected to rise more than 23% to $85.3 billion – the second highest on record and above its previous 10-year average;
• Net farm income has rebounded, up 24% from 2009, when demand for agricultural products fell worldwide due to the global recession;
• Net value added, at $127.3 billion, is expected to be up $15.2 billion from 2009, and remain 17.7% above its 10-year average.

"Other indicators also point to a sustainable recovery: farm asset values are projected to increase by 2.5% in 2010, as are equity values. And average farm family household income is projected to reach more than $81,000 in 2010 – up 5.8% from 2009.

"And this recovery is sector-wide. While an increase in the value of livestock production accounted for much of the upward movement, the value of dairy production rose by 26.2%; the value of meat animal production is up 14.6%, and the value of poultry and egg production rose 8.4%. And commercial farms and intermediate farms are all expected to have higher average net cash income in 2010 than they did in either 2009 or 2008. Rural residence farms will have lower net cash losses.

"A host of factors contributed to this strong and rapid recovery. Successful implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill passed by the US Congress as well as the Obama Administration's Recovery Act have provided strong support for American agriculture:

• We have maintained a strong safety net for the agricultural economy by providing farmers and ranchers across America with direct support, disaster assistance, technical assistance, support to struggling industries, and access to credit. At the same time, we worked to build a stronger agricultural economy for future generations of Americans by investing in research, maintaining fair markets, and promoting marketing policies that will keep American agriculture the most productive and successful in the world.

"Another factor driving this recovery is an increase in income from exports. Today, USDA is excited to announce that we are raising our forecast for agricultural exports for Fiscal Year 2010 to $107.5 billion – the second highest year on record. This a $3 billion increase from the May forecast, and an $11 billion increase over last year. And Agriculture is one of the only major sectors of the American economy with a trade surplus – expected to be $30.5 billion this year.
"What's more we expect to sustain this important progress. The outlook going forward into Fiscal Year 2011 is even more promising, showing $113 billion in agricultural exports.

"Increased agricultural exports – especially of grains and meat – have helped drive this rebound. It helps create important income opportunities for producers as well as the off-farm jobs that are so critical for strengthening economies in rural America. In fact, every billion dollars in agricultural exports supports over 8,000 jobs and generates an additional $1.4 billion in economic activity.

"And USDA – as part of President Obama's National Export Initiative - has helped support these export numbers:

• The President's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal for USDA makes an additional financial request to enhance USDA export promotion activities.
• And USDA has made strong progress to help increase exports. Under a new trade strategy, we are looking at countries based on their position on an agricultural market continuum.
• As we pursue this new approach, we have maintained our commitment to an open rules-based international trading system that will benefit both consumers and suppliers of agricultural products around the world. We have continued to work through negotiations to remove barriers that prevent U.S. agricultural producers from getting open and fair access to foreign markets. And because we have full confidence in their quality and competitiveness, we will continue to push U.S. products to foreign markets.

"And we can't forget the importance of the underlying values of rural America and its farmers and ranchers to the resilience of the agriculture sector:

• American agriculture entered the recession with very little debt relative to the rest of the economy – and farm sector debt is expected to decrease in 2010;
• A strong belief in the value of hard work positioned our famers capitalize on the economic recovery; and
• American agriculture has improved on its incredible productivity and adaptability – embracing new research and innovation like few other sectors of the American economy.

"From day one, the Obama administration has focused on reversing nearly a decade's worth of failed economic policies that helped to cause the worst recession since the Great Depression. We've taken steps to move the economy forward and get our people back to work while rebuilding a strong economic foundation to ensure future prosperity.

"As the rest of the American economy climbs out of the recession, American agriculture is helping lead the charge. As they have time and time again, American farmers and ranchers are stayed resilient and working to support a foundation of economic prosperity for the rest of the nation."

 

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Organised by Poultry CRC Program Manager, Dr Tim Walker, the workshop included presentations by several nutritionists. Being a nutritionist myself and Poultry CRC CEO, I talked about the basics of the net energy system, highlighting the practical challenges and potential opportunities for the poultry industry if a net energy system is implemented.

When asked why it has taken seventy years since the work of G.S. Fraps in the 1940s, I countered that today, more than ever, every gram of feed saved counts, as we are looking to produce more from less, sustainably. Energy is the most expensive part of poultry feed and a net energy system will be a step forward from the current default system of feed energy measurement, i.e., the metabolisable energy system.
 
Another presentation was given by Dr David Cadogan from Feedworks, who spoke about his experience in using a net energy system in formulating pig diets. In many parts of the world, the pork industry uses a net energy system for feed formulation. “It does not give you an advantage every time, but overall it gives real benefit in cost of production most of the time, which is good enough for me”, said Dr Cadogan.
 
The final presentation was given by Mr Greg Hargreave of Baiada Poultry, a highly respected industry nutritionist who demonstrated the use of modelling (the EFG Model) in the poultry industry.
 
The attendees of the workshop were wowed by the rigour of the model in predicting broiler feed intake and growth under various scenarios, and the potential of combining a modelling approach with actual measurements of net energy values of feedstuffs. “I have been using the EFG (Emmans, Fisher and Gous) Model for some years to help me determine practical challenges and devise strategies to improve production efficiency”, said Mr Hargreave.
 
The Australian Egg Corporation's Program Manager for R&D, Dr Angus Crossan, commended the positive, collaborative nature of the workshop. "With this momentum surrounding net energy, AECL sees a strong opportunity for the egg industry to invest in, develop and integrate net energy into diet formulation. The benefits for egg producers will include better use of resources, meaning increased profit and improved ability to manage growing demands in grain and issues of feed availability," said Dr Crossan.
 
A collaborative project between the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and the Poultry CRC will commence in early 2011 to determine the net energy values of common feed ingredients used in Australia using 24 closed-circuit calorimeters, which are being constructed at the University of New England, Australia.

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That was, until a few months ago, when government stepped in to develop the country’s livestock farming industry. “The government cannot accept that (the) Congolese live on a meager diet composed mainly of frozen chicken imported under questionable conditions while the country has a tremendous food production potential,” says Norbert Bashengezi Katintima, minister of agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

 
In December 2009 with financial support from the African Development Bank (ADB), the government launched a large poultry project in N’Sele, a rural town in the western outskirts of Kinshasa, the country’s capital. The project, which is entirely government-run, received funding to the tune of eight million dollars.

In an interview with IPS, Juvenal Bahun, livestock advisor to minister Katintima, said that “the ministry has adopted a roadmap laying the groundwork for a serious country-wide fight against the food crisis and food insecurity.” For now, he added, the ADB-funded pig and poultry farming pilot project will only cover Kinshasa, Katanga (South Eastern Congo) and West Kasai (in the South West).
 
“This project also aims to improve food quality for the Congolese and support small farmers with technical and practical advice in agricultural production,” he said.
The challenge for the ministry will be to “get 15 percent of the national budget funded by poultry farming profits”; one of the goals within government’s strategic policy document released in November 2009.

Freddy Nkongolo, project coordinator on the N’Sele site – about 4,000 hectares – told IPS that the project is off to a promising start. “After three months of work, we’ve reached a weekly output of four batches of 12,000 chickens sold throughout the city of Kinshasa,” he said. “I think there is hope that within two years, poultry farming can actually contribute to funding the national budget. But I can’t estimate to what proportion.”

As a result, the project initially planned to last six months has been extended for an additional eight months by government due to its positive outcomes, according to Nkongolo.

“There’s been an obvious improvement of food quality. Approximately 1,800 chickens are sold every day across eight sites scattered around Kinshasa. “Besides the quality aspect, the project also creates jobs.

Germaine Kitungwa, a chicken seller, says “she does good business with N’Sele chickens.” Indeed, while “an imported 160 gram frozen chicken is more or less five dollars, an N’Sele chicken of same weight costs only 3,000 Congolese francs, or about 3.5 dollars. Most mothers now prefer to buy those chicken to save money but also because it its fresher.”

According to Nkongolo, the low price of N’Sele chicken is a reflection of ADB policy to provide poor people access to food. The price is fixed by agreement between the ADB and the ministry and aims to stop imports of frozen meat, discourage importers and help them redirect their food industry investments with a focus on quality.

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The bright outlook for Thailand's food exports has drawn substantial new investments in the livestock industry, with expansion in meat products driving the country closer to its ambition of becoming a major world food supplier.

Bangkok Post reports that the country's food exports in the first half of this year grew a robust 15.9 per cent year-on-year to 411.63 billion baht (THB). Estimates for the entire year are THB830.16 billion, which would be a 10 per cent increase from 2009.

Favourable prospects have raised the confidence of investors looking to expand as applications seeking incentives from the Board of Investment (BoI) have increased.

The BoI reported that 17 livestock and aquatic breeding and processing projects received investment promotion during the first seven months this year. The projects, ranging from farms to processing units, have a combined investment value of more than THB4.2 billion.

Prominent projects include a THB1.03-billion ready-to-eat meal venture from Songkla Canning Plc, and poultry and animal feed production expansion programmes by two major chicken producers and exporters, Betagro Group and GFPT Plc.

A Betagro subsidiary, B Foods Products International, received incentives for its broiler chicken farming site in Nakhon Ratchasima. The THB528-million project aims to farm 17.36 million chicks a year to feed its production plants in the area.

Krung Thai Farm Co received investment perks for three projects in chicken farming and animal feed with a combined investment capital of THB845 million, according to Bangkok Post.

Sukhum Panyakorn, an investment analyst for GFPT, said the Krung Thai projects, to be completed by 2012, would add 150,000 chicks a day to the GFPT production lines, increasing its capacity to 250,000 chickens per day.

The expansion aims to support GFPT Nichirei (Thailand), a THB1.56-billion joint venture between GFPT and Japan's leading food company, Nichirei Food Inc, to make frozen and processed chicken for export.

The venture started operations on a small scale earlier this year and will become fully operational in December with the capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of cooked products for export to Japan.

Mr Sukhum said the group was also increasing animal feed capacity by establishing a new feed plant in Chon Buri with the capacity to produce up to 500,000 tonnes, increasing its animal feed production to one million tonnes a year.

The expansion is intended to cash in on the increased import quota the European Union allocated to Thailand this year of 160,000 tonnes.

The move helped increase Thailand's chicken exports to the EU to 93,000 tonnes in the first half this year, a 7.5 per cent rise year-on-year.

Strong demand from Japan and Asian countries drove chicken meat exports in the first half to increase by 8.66 per cent year-on-year to 200,560 tonnes and experts expect exports will reach 400,000 tonnes this year worth 53.3 billion baht, up from 397,069 tonnes worth THB52.7 billion in 2009.

Kukrit Arepagorn, manager of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association, said Thailand ranks at the top for exports of cooked and semi-cooked products, thanks to high production skills in cutting and the ability to produce various products to meet market demand.

He said that of the 397,069 tonnes of chicken meat exported last year, 378,809 tonnes were cooked and semi-cooked items.

But for raw meat exports, Thailand lags behind Brazil and the US, which ship more than two million tonnes of mostly raw chicken meat a year.

Thailand's large-scale production facilities and product quality have raised the profile of the chicken industry to become a significant global food source and attract foreign investors, concludes the Bangkok Post report.

 

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Following this, researchers at Teagasc, Dublin Institute of Technology and University College Cork decided to investigate the views of Irish agri-food stakeholders’ on the topic of animal cloning. The researchers carried out in-depth interviews with expert Irish stakeholders with the aim of framing the likely policy debate and assess the prospects for the future commercialisation of animal cloning. The results feature in an article in the autumn edition of TResearch, the Teagasc research and innovation magazine.

“Cloned animals intended for use within the agri-food system do not have approval in Europe, and how the technology will be legislated is currently under discussion. The European Food Safety Authority deems that food products from healthy clones do not present any additional risk to consumers, but the European Group for Ethics has objected to the use of cloning because of the current animal welfare implications, including the low survival rate for cloned animals, and the potential for welfare problems with the surrogate dams,” explains Dr Maeve Henchion, Head of the Food Market Research Unit, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown.

“The acceptability of these welfare standards from a European Union (EU) perspective can be linked to their utility; for example, the European Medicines Agency approved the production of human anti-thrombin from cloned transgenic animals in 2006. The protein produced treats a hereditary anti-thrombin deficiency that increases the risk of pulmonary embolisms or deep vein thrombosis,” said Dr Henchion. “However, the views of European citizens and consumers must also be factored into the risk process. Early indications from the European public are that they are wary of the technology and that it poses an ethical dilemma. This research provides an opportunity to examine animal cloning in terms of barriers and opportunities, specifically pertaining to its potential role within the Irish agri-food system.”

“The views of Irish stakeholders in the discourse on animal cloning for the agri-food sector are of particular interest because, unlike the GM debate in relation to crops, Ireland is a significant producer and exporter of meat and livestock. For this reason the exploitation of cloning in other trading blocs looks set to pose a challenge for Irish and EU policy makers, industry and citizens,” Dr Henchion said.

Interview findings
Overall, animal cloning for food purposes was not viewed as a likely commercial prospect by any of the interviewees. Awareness of the recent commercial development of such technology in the US appeared to be low, with only a single interviewee identifying it as an impending regulatory dilemma for the EU. Knowledge about the role of assisted reproductive technologies in animal breeding varied, with artificial insemination being the primary reference point for most interviewees. Respondents with a technology background, and who demonstrated knowledge of assisted reproductive technologies, differed in opinion on the commercial viability of techniques such as embryo transfer/splitting. This cohort was quick to differentiate cloning from other reproductive techniques, a trend that was not repeated among other stakeholders. The main reason for the differentiation was that cloning was not seen to assist reproduction, but instead to supersede the fertilisation process and be more closely aligned to a sort of genetic modification process (though no genetic modification actually occurs).

The data from the in-depth interviews highlighted that, as yet, there has been little debate on the topic, and the commercialisation of cloning elsewhere has gained little attention. Regardless of when the debate does occur, the animal welfare and consumer acceptability perspectives are likely to have a central role in how the technology is regulated. Further research in this project will focus on examining Irish citizens’ perspectives on cloning technology and the issues raised by the expert stakeholders during the current study.

 

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While still considering options for the sale of a substantial minority in its food and beverage unit, SMC is continues to streamline the operations of the subsidiary by consolidating its meat and poultry businesses.

Manila Bulletin reports that documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show, SMC is seeking to fold mean business Monterey Foods Corporation into poultry and feeds unit San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI).

SMFI operates the poultry and feeds businesses, the San Miguel Food Shop franchising operations, and the conglomerate's integrated selling and distribution activities.

On the other hand, Monterey is into livestock farming, processing and selling of meat products mainly pork and cattle. Founded in 1969, the company was formerly known as Monterey Farms Corporation.

The merger will involve the transfer of the assets and liabilities of Monterey as of 31 March 2010, in favour of SMFI. Monterey has total assets of 5.4 billion pesos (PHP) and liabilities amounting to PHP5.32 billion while SMFI has assets worth PHP18.95 billion and liabilities of PHP10.67 billion.

 

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