Page 561 of articles about news in Swine news

The United States and Russia have reached an agreement to reopen the Russian market to U.S. pork and pork products, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

To meet a state requirement that power companies must use swine waste to produce electricity in North Carolina, the state’s electric suppliers have issued a joint request for proposals (RFP) for electricity generated from swine waste facilities in the state.

The European Commission has authorised today a Slovak scheme with a budget of approximately €3.32 million which aims at supporting farmers in Slovakia who encounter difficulties as a result of the current economic crisis. Aid under this scheme can be granted until 31 December 2010 and will take the form of a direct grant.

The European breeding herd continues to contract in response to poor returns — although Holland and Denmark have seen an increase, as weaner producers send more animals to Germany.

Australian pig meat production will increase slightly over the next five years in response to better prices and more palatable feed grain costs.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack launched USDA's Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program to help American agricultural producers adjust to the current, challenging economic environment.

The European Commission announced today its intention to come up with a proposal by the summer to allow more choice to Member States in deciding whether to cultivate GMO's. Under the current legal framework, as decided by the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission adopted today two decisions concerning the Genetically Modified Amflora potato: the first authorises the cultivation of Amflora in the EU for industrial use, and the second relates to the use of Amflora's starch by-products as feed.

The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) will be dissolved and its staff and functions will form part of a new Food Standards Agency (FSA) Operations Group from April 1, it has been confirmed.

The effect of economic growth on demand for livestock products depends on the rate of growth and where it occurs. Demand for livestock products is more responsive to income growth in low-income countries than in higher-income countries.

The total number of pigs in December 2009 saw an increase of 1.3% from the previous year to 3.8 million. The breeding herd increased by 3.3% from 354 thousand in December 2008 to 365 thousand in December 2009.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) has completed a review of the Animal Welfare (Pigs) Code of Welfare 2005 and a draft code has been released for public consultation.

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, or GIPSA, is taking a closer look at swine production contracts to ensure their compliance with the Farm Bill requirements. The 2008 Farm Bill established new requirements for swine contracts under the Packers and Stockyards Act. These requirements went into effect on June 18, 2008, upon passage of the Farm Bill.

Danish exports of fresh and frozen meat fell by 13% for the first three quarters of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has reported a new outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in pigs in China.

As reported by Statistics Austria the swine stock remains nearly unchanged (-0.5% to 3 137 000 pigs compared to June 2009) while the number of sheep and goats (sheep: +3.5% to 345 000 animals, goats: +9.1% to 68 200 animals compared to December 2008) shows significant growth.

Since the wild boar was domesticated 9000 years ago, its genetic make up has undergone favourable and less favourable changes. In a project financed by the European Research Council (ERC) researchers of Wageningen UR will compare the genetic characteristics of twelve pig species.