Page 488 of articles about news in Swine news

The Government of Canada is cracking down on those who mistreat and improperly transport livestock by more than doubling current fines - the first increase in over 10 years.

During the first semester of 2010 the Belgian pork meat exportations have reached a volume of 372.250 tons, 3,3% more than in the same period last year.

The Argentine Sub-secretary of Agriculture made public the estimated corn harvest and commented that all the conditions have come together to ensure the next harvest reaches 26 million tons, a record figure keeping in mind the surface sowed and the average yield. This harvest will be 15.5% higher than that of the 2009/10 campaign, which came in at 22.5 million tons.

Canadian hog inventories as of October 1 stood at 11.9 million head, down 0.8% from the same date in 2009. There were 7,035 hog farms as of October 1, down 8.3% from the same date one year earlier.

Newly-published census results show the European pig herd was in decline from June 2009 through to June 2010. The total European Union sow herd fell 0.6 percent during this period and is predicted to continue falling through next year.

In comparison with 2009, the number of farms dedicated to swine has decreased by 4.6%.

The Indian Government will issue new laws on food safety in December with the aim to lay down standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and imports.

After several years of preparation and grants from the German government, the Deutsche Raiffeisen Verband (DRV), in collaboration with various German producers’ associations, will soon be launching a certification system for piglets. This certification system is a transparent counterpart of the Danish and Dutch model.

Pig producers and abattoirs are saving time and money with the new BPEX electronic pig movement project, known in short as eAML2. The system is currently being trialled in all assured abattoirs and will go live across the industry in April 2011 for England and Wales. It has combined the Animal Movement Licence (AML2) and Food Chain Information (FCI) forms – required when pigs are moved from farm to slaughter – and made the whole process electronic.

Exports of meat and meat products (exclusive of live animals) are of less importance to the total Danish exports. In 2009 the percentage was 5.5. It is a very strong drop from 1988 where meat and meat products represented 9.8 %.

Vietnam has started a pilot project on genetically modified corn cultivation in a move to reduce dependency on corn imports for local feed manufacturing.

Swine closing inventories for CY 2011 are forecast at 2.5 million head, up on the 2.45 million head estimated for CY 2010. Closing inventory for CY 2009 has been revised upwards from 2.3 million head to 2.302 million head, in line with recently released official ABS statistics.

The Belgian delegation informed the ministers about the organisation of a reflection day on “The pig meat sector towards 2020”, which will take place on 3 December 2010 in the Flemish Parliament in Brussels.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Livestock, Davinio Catbagan and Acting Executive Director of the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) Atty. Jane Bacayo sign a Memorandum of Agreement on the Meat Establishment Improvement Program along with mayors of recipient municipalities on October 18, 2010.

Russia plans to resume exporting flour on January 1, 2011, but a larger ban on exporting wheat, barley, rye and corn has been extended through next June, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported Monday.

Following a request European Commission, the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on safety and efficacy of using recycled hot water as a decontamination technique for meat carcasses. The Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) was asked to assess the abiotic risks.