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Measuring the color of loin samples.

Understanding Improvest

Branded as Improvest in the United States, the generic name for the active ingredient is gonadotropin releasing factor analog-diphtheria toxoid conjugate. Its mode of action is to temporarily and immunologically block gonadotropin releasing factor (GnRF), which reduces the levels of androstenone and skatole in mature male pigs — the primary source of “off odors” in pork.

Read and Discuss

  • Lower Feed Costs Drive Pork Production Higher.
    May 17, 2013
    News

    Lower Feed Costs Drive Pork Production Higher

    U.S. pork production in 2014 is forecast to increase by 2.3%, driven primarily by lower feed costs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook released Thursday. USDA projects that commercial pork production will climb to 24 billion pounds in 2014. Farrowings are expected to rise modestly (almost 1% compared to 2013), accompanied by about a 1% increase in litter rates and higher average dressed weights (about 1% higher than 2013), which altogether are expected to set another pork production record in 2014....More
  • Smithfield will take 50% of its pigs off of ractopamine.
    May 15, 2013
    News

    Smithfield Removes 50% Hogs off Ractopamine

    Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets 2013 Farm to Market Conference Tuesday, Smithfield Foods CEO and President C. Larry Pope confirmed the company’s intent to take half its hogs off the feed additive ractopamine. “We have two of our plants, which represent 43,000 hogs a day, a little over 10% of the industry, that we can ship into China and are shipping into China every day. On June 1, we will convert our third plant, and over 50% of our operations will have no ractopamine as part of their feed rations,” Pope says....More
  • Apr. 29, 2013
    Article

    New Mandatory Reporting is Good, but not without Pain

    The “big change” has been made and the pork industry is now trying to figure out just how to use it. The newly-minted mandatory reporting data for wholesale cuts will take some getting used to. Some are saying the change is huge; others think it is something that will just take time. To some degree, both are correct....More
  • Apr. 22, 2013
    News

    Expanding Pork Exports Remains a Priority

      New opportunities and issues are emerging for U.S. pork exports, and producers have prioritized key tactics to put more U.S. pork on the world’s table. “In challenging economic times, pork producers have had to become more efficient and find creative solutions,” says Tim Bierman, a wean-to-finish pork producer from Larrabee, IA, who chairs the National Pork Board’s International Trade Committee. “This is especially important in our international marketing.”...More
  • Apr. 15, 2013
    News

    TPP Agreement Would Boost U.S. Pork Exports

    Increased pork exports resulting from a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement would create more than 20,000 direct and indirect U.S. pork-related jobs, with the vast majority generated by Japan alone, theNational Pork Producers Council (NPPC) said at a press conference held today....More
  • Apr. 15, 2013
    News

    Comments Criticize USDA’s COOL Proposal

    The American Meat Institute (AMI) has filed comments criticizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed amendment to mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL). The deadline for filing is today on the proposed rule of March 12, 2013 issued by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. In its letter of April 9, AMI suggests its member companies will be “significantly and adversely affected by the proposal” in that it would “force every supplier and every retailer to change its labeling information and systems.”...More
  • Apr. 11, 2013
    News

    NPPC Calls for Compliance with Trade Rules

    In comments filed this week, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) expressed concern that Canada and Mexico could retaliate against the United States because proposed regulations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture may not make a meat labeling law compliant with U.S. international trade obligations. The World Trade Organization (WTO) last year ruled that the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law violates U.S. trade obligations under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Canada and Mexico brought cases on COOL to the WTO in 2011....More
  • Apr. 11, 2013
    News

    Pork Production Estimates Increase for 2013

    In issuing its latest forecasts for beef and pork production for the remainder of 2013, Daily Livestock Report or DLR (www.dailylivestockreport.com) reported that the U. S.  Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicts commercial U.S. beef production will be down 0.9% to 24.976 billion pounds, reflecting a notable reduction in cattle slaughter especially in the second half of the year....More
  • Apr. 4, 2013
    Article

    Meat Industry Renames Cuts 1

    The pork and beef industries are retooling more than 350 names of meat cuts....More
  • Apr. 4, 2013
    News

    Export Losses Contribute to Livestock Price Dip

      Export challenges are indeed one of the factors affecting pork and beef prices this spring, according to today’s Daily Livestock Report (www.dailylivestockreport.com). And the challenges are indeed serious and involve two important markets, Russia and China, amid concerns over residues of ractopamine, a beta agonist used in pork, beef and turkey production. The product is sold under the trade name Paylean for pigs and Optiflexx for cattle....More
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