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Producer
Retirement Program Unveiled at Expo
This week’s World Pork Expo was far from a celebration
of, or by, the nation’s pork industry. Old friendships were renewed,
some business was transacted and knowledge was shared just as in the
past. But the specter of a summer that will quite possibly bring no
profits to already beleaguered producers hung heavy over the normally
festive occasion. And there was little news to change the moods or the
outlook.
The hottest topic in most conversations was the Producer Retirement
Program (PRP) officially unveiled at Expo. PRP is an Iowa corporation
with a one-member, one-vote structure like a cooperative. Organizers
hope to raise $50 million that would then be parceled out on a bid basis
to PRP members willing to remove sows from production for two years.
The program is patterned after the Cooperatives Working Together (CWT)
milk production buyouts of the past few years. All producers with sows
are eligible to be members. Organizers have been talking to the
nation’s largest sow owners for several weeks, but no membership or
participation announcements have been made.
Legality
The first question regarding PRP is: “Is it legal?” The
Sherman Anti-Trust Act prohibits sellers of products from colluding to
increase prices – whether by price agreements or by restricting
output. And it does not matter whether the sought-after price levels are
reasonable. Price fixing is a per se (read that as “every time”)
violation of the Sherman Act.
FULL ARTICLE
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Mycotoxin
Testing Can Be Perplexing
The 2008 corn harvest was complicated by a wet growing
season and wet harvest. Some corn was not adequately dried for long-term
storage because of the cost of fuel to dry the corn. As a result, some
corn was damaged in the field and some corn has continued to deteriorate
in the bin.
Eleven of 94 (11%) cases submitted to the Iowa State Veterinary
Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU VDL) from August 2008 through May 2009 had
corn that contained a mycotoxin. Aflatoxin ranged from trace amounts up
to 640 ppb (parts per billion), vomitoxin varied from 0.5 ppm (parts per
million) up to 17 ppm, zearalenone varied from 1-38 ppm, zearalenol from
0-2 ppm, and T2 toxin varied from 0-0.6 ppm.
Vomitoxin (DON) and zearalenone are mycotoxins that are poorly tolerated
by swine. DON can cause nearly complete feed refusal at high
concentrations (> 5 ppm), and zearalenone is a hormonal toxin similar to
the effects of estrogen, causing infertility in sows when fed at high
concentrations (3-10 ppm or more). DON, T2 and DAS (diacetoxyscripenol)
are all in the trichothecene class of mycotoxins and the effects can be
additive.
FULL ARTICLE
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MCOOL and
Processed Meats
Mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) would be
required for processed foods, including meats, that are inspected by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under proposed FDA food safety
reform legislation by Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and John Dingell
(D-MI). The “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” would require
food manufacturers to identify the country in which final processing
occurred. The legislation would also require food manufacturers to
identify the country-of-origin for all ingredients on their website.
Mandatory COOL would also cover all produce.
FDA Food Safety Reform — The House Energy and Commerce
Committee plans to consider the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of
2009,” a major Food & Drug Administration (FDA) food safety reform
bill, this month. The legislation would grant FDA new authority and
resources. The committee provided these highlights of the
bill:
FULL ARTICLE
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Pork
Board Asks Industry for Pork Quality Program Support
The
National Pork Board has adopted a resolution asking all U.S. pork
producers to become certified in the Pork Quality Assurance
(PQA) Plus program by June 30, 2010 and to achieve PQA Plus site
status by Dec. 31, 2010.
The board is also requesting producers adopt the ethical principles
the industry developed in 2008.
National Pork Board President Steve Weaver announced the board’s
action at World Pork Expo (WPX) last week in Des Moines, IA.
FULL ARTICLE
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