National Hog Farmer

U.S.-Korean Trade Pact Greatly Expands U.S. Pork’s Potential

lberg — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:13:08 +0000

The U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement that will go into full effect on March 15, 2012 will potentially more than double the value of U.S. pork exports to South Korea. In 2010, the value of U.S. pork exports and variety meats to that country was $190 million. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) projects that total could more than double to $400 million by 2016 when all product duties are phased out.

Efforts Expand to Gag Farm Undercover Videos

lberg — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:50:11 +0000

Lawmakers in eight states are expanding efforts to thwart secret videos of alleged animal welfare abuse in farming operations.

The so-called “ag gag” laws have been passed in Montana, North Dakota and Kansas, and similar legislation is proposed in Iowa, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Utah.

Animal rights groups such as the Humane Society of the United States contend food safety will be compromised if abusive and unsanitary practices go unexposed.

Veterinarian at Iowa State Honored As Distinguished Alumni

lberg — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:12:16 +0000

Locke Karriker, DVM, associate professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State University, was honored recently with the 2012 Alumnus of the Year Award from Mississippi State University.

Karriker received his award during a special university banquet Feb. 10. The award recognizes achievements of alumni whose personal and professional achievements reflect the veterinary school’s mission at Mississippi State.

Center for Food Integrity Creates Review Panel to Address Videos

lberg — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:44:14 +0000

Undercover video investigations at livestock farms have heightened public attention on animal care issues, resulting in creation of an animal care review panel by the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) to foster a more balanced conversation and to provide credible feedback to promote continuous improvement in farm animal care.

Year-End Consumption Data is Good News for Pork

djohnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:40:05 +0000

The export data highlighted in last week’s report was the last piece of data needed to compute actual domestic per capita consumption and, thus, the demand indexes for December and for 2011

Supply Driven Pork and Beef Markets Hold Promise

djohnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:04:24 +0000

By Kent Bang, AgStar Financial Services, Mankato, MN

Supply Driven Pork and Beef Markets Hold Promise– By all expectations, 2012 is shaping up to be a very good year for U.S. pork producers, following a two-year recovery period. Many are still rebuilding. Even with historically high cost of production, we seem to be in a demand market scenario, which is giving producers an opportunity to lock in some very good returns for the remainder of the year.

Meat Companies and Restaurants Asked to Release Antibiotic Policies

djohnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:57:56 +0000

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter to over 60 fastfood companies, producers, processors and grocery chains asking them to disclose their policies on antibiotic use in meat and poultry production. Slaughter is also asking that the companies release the percentage of meat produced with and without antibiotics and information on any restrictions on antibiotic use.

NPPC Opposes Canada’s Inclusion in Trade Group

lberg — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:03:27 +0000

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) met with Canada this past week to discuss the inclusion of Canada in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations.

Spring Producer Meetings To Be Held Across Canada

djohnson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:39:46 +0000

Prairie Swine Centre will be hosting a series of pork producers throughout Canada. The six day-long meetings will focus on helping pork producers improve profitability, as well as address the long-term sustainability of the pork industry

Missouri Ag Economist Debunks Meat Demand Myths

lberg — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:21:09 +0000

Recent data reporting U.S. meat and poultry consumption has created a false and overly-simplistic impression that meat demand is declining, says Ron Plain, University of Missouri agricultural economist.

He says that is simply not the case. In a recent background report he explains that data from recent years shows that U.S. per capita meat and poultry consumption has declined. But he says that doesn’t mean that consumer interest or demand has declined.