What's new on National Hog Farmer?
- World
Pork Expo 2008 New Product Tour
- 8
Tips for Tough Times
- Veterinary
Group Raises Issues Over
California Ballot Initiative
- Pork-Soybean
Groups Unite For Research
Collaboration
- Current Issue:
World Pork Expo Product Tour
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Dale Miller, Editor,
National Hog Farmer
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Market Preview
Editor’s Note: Steve Meyer is traveling in
Brazil. Computer problems have prevented him from filing a Market
Preview column this week.
Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.
Sincerely,
Dale Miller
Editor
National Hog Farmer
Make ileitis disappear?
Denagard® (tiamulin) 10 is approved to control ileitis in as little
as 10 days. And with its small dosage – 35 grams tiamulin/ton – and
less medication time, no other feed medication is as cost-effective for
controlling ileitis.
Click
on the Denagard logo to learn more.
Financial Preview
Roller Coaster
Ride Continues
After a client told me about his recent vacation to Las
Vegas, my natural response was: “Why would you go to Vegas when being
in the hog business is like being in Vegas everyday?” Never before in
my agricultural career have I seen the level of volatility we are seeing
today. The grain report on August 11 reported corn below $5/bu. and it
appeared we had more corn than previously thought. Therefore, corn
should continue to go down, right? Well, that logic is out of the
equation with corn now over $1 higher than two and a half weeks ago and
soybean meal is up over $50 a ton. Breakeven costs in a span of 15
workdays have increased by over $15/head! Just two weeks before the
August 11 report, corn was $0.50/bu. higher and meal costs/head were
$25-$30 higher. It seems a dull day when corn goes up only 10¢ and
soybeans are only 20¢ higher. Even the overnight trade is volatile.
Hog Prices are Wild, Too - The cash hog market has been almost
as volatile. Cash hogs hit nearly $90 about 10 days ago; today cash hogs
are trading in the low $70s. Hog revenue has risen nearly $20/head in a
two-week period, then fallen over $30/head in another two-week period.
If you look at the
pork cutout report over the last five reporting days, you can see
the drop in value during this time period.
Volatility Here to Stay? – During this time of volatility, it
is natural to move to a state of shock and freeze because it’s
difficult to react. I have told clients that I think this state will
become the norm. We must all become comfortable handling volatility and
become more aware of all of the factors in the marketplace. I wish I
could believe the market will correct itself, but in agriculture today,
I think volatility is here to stay.
What to do? When I look at successful companies today, I think
there are certain things they do better than anybody else.
- They are a student of the business. They look at all of the
factors in the marketplace and make sound risk management decisions.
They rely on much more information than just a year ago. Agriculture is
a global market, so it is vital to understand all of the factors in the
world that can affect global agricultural production.
- They stick to a sound decision plan and don’t second-guess
themselves. This is probably the hardest thing to do in today’s
market. Your decisions are not going to be right 100% of the time, but
you must have a disciplined approach to making risk management decisions
for your operation.
- You must be good at production. This is like blocking and tackling
in football – you must master the basics to win. Keeping your eye on
production with this level of market volatility is still the most
important factor to pork producers. If production is low, it can put you
farther behind in a very tough environment.
Click to view graph.
Mark Greenwood
Swine Industry Consultant
Contact Greenwood at mgreenw@agstar.com
New to the Team. Veteran of the Game.
Fast-acting Baytril® 100 (enrofloxacin) is approved for treatment
and control of swine respiratory disease. When a proven winner joins an
already great team, the results are phenomenal. So Bayer Animal Health
is proud to offer Baytril 100 for treatment and control of swine
respiratory disease (SRD) in all phases of production. For use by or on
the order of a licensed veterinarian. Swine intended for human
consumption must not be slaughtered within 5 days of receiving a single
injection dose.
Click on the Baytril 100 logo for more information.
Legislative Preview
Renewable Energy
Provisions Meeting Planned
USDA announced that a public meeting would be held on
Sept. 4, 2008, on how to implement the renewable energy programs
authorized under the new Farm Bill. USDA Under Secretary for Rural
Development Tom Dorr said: "Continuing to develop renewable energy is a
key component of President Bush's strategy to reduce America's
dependence on foreign oil. This meeting is an opportunity for business
owners, citizens and agricultural producers to discuss the best ways to
harness the untapped renewable energy resources in rural areas." The
meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) in the Jefferson
Auditorium in the South Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W.,
Washington, DC.
Consumer Use of Food Nutrition Labels Declines — USDA’s
Economic Research Service (ERS) found that from 1995-1996 to 2005-2006,
consumer use of nutrition labels when making food purchased has
declined. The study reported the following declines in nutrition label
use: approximately 3% for the Nutrition Facts panel, 11% for the
ingredient list, and 10% for the panel’s information about calories,
fat, cholesterol and sodium. The only use of information that did not
decline was information about fiber and sugars. Fiber information use
increased 2% and sugar held steady.
Eliminate Freight Rail Antitrust Exemptions — When Congress
returns next month, it may consider legislation that would make obsolete
antitrust exemptions that protect freight railroads from competition and
therefore keep rail rates artificially and unfairly high. The American
Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has written members of the House and
Senate urging them to cosponsor the legislation. AFBF said, “American
agriculture depends on the railroad system, especially given the high
costs of shipping commodities via truck. Like those in several other
industries, agricultural producers are frequently captive rail customers
and experience both unreliable service and exorbitantly high rates from
the railroads.”
U.S. Farmers’ Adoption of Biotech Crops — USDA’s Economic
Research Service’s (ERS) latest report, “Adoption of Genetically
Engineered Crops in the United States,” finds that farmers continue to
adopt biotech crops since their introduction in 1996. The report finds
that in 2008:
- Adoption of genetically engineered (GD) soybeans with HT
(herbicide-tolerant) traits reached 92%.
- Adoption of all biotech corn was at 80%.
- Adoption of all GE cotton reached 86%.
According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), “In 2007,
282 million acres of biotech crops were planted in 23 countries by 12
million farmers. We expect this growing trend to continue, especially
at a time when the United States and the world are looking for
science-based solutions to rising food and fuel costs.”
Leaders of American Agriculture — A reception honoring
American agriculture was held at the Democratic National Convention this
week. Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, members of
Congress, numerous agricultural leaders and producers were in
attendance.
P. Scott Shearer
Vice President
Bockorny Group
Washington, D.C.
Introducing the new PIC Camborough® Family
You asked for greater lifetime reproductive performance and longevity.
You asked for more pounds of pork marketed per sow. You asked for a
higher percentage of market pigs in the full-value pay box.
Take another look at our new Camborough family, we think you will like
what you see--after all, it is just what you asked for.
www.pic.com/usa
Pork Industry Calendar
Sept. 9, 2008: Carthage Veterinary
Service (CVS) 18th Annual Swine Conference, Western Illinois
University, Macomb, IL; contact: CVS by phone (217) 357-2811, fax (217)
357-6665 or visit www.hogvet.com/cvs.
Sept. 9, 2008: Midwest Pork Conference, Hendricks
County Conference Complex, Danville, IN; contact: Indiana Pork at
317-872-7500 or visit www.indianapork.com.
Click
here to get National Hog Farmer's complete pork
industry calendar.
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