NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property June 15, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/401 MARKET PREVIEW --Defining Demand for Pork as Prices Languish We all know demand is not what it should be, right? But which demand are we talking about? Specifying just where any demand problems may lie is a point upon which even I have not been clear enough lately. In addition, what I am seeing in hog prices is not squaring with information I'm hearing about consumer attitudes and behavior. So I did a little number crunching last week. First, a bit of background. Hog prices have languished far below last year's level and levels where virtually everyone expected them to be this summer. But does that mean pork demand is bad? Well, sort of, if you are talking about wholesale demand, which is closely correlated with hog demand since wholesale prices and by-product values are the major determinants of hog bids. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0615-defining-demand-pork-prices PRODUCTION PREVIEW --Propping Up Farrowing Rates There are three main variables that impact the success of a mating/service -- the female to be bred (sow/gilt), semen quality, and the capabilities of the person responsible for the insemination. Farrowing rate is one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) used in the Swine Management Services' (SMS) database. It also has one of the flattest KPI bell curves (Chart 1) in the database. Farms vary from below 70% to 92% farrowing rate for the most current 52 weeks in the database. Chart 2 shows the wean-to-1st service interval for the last 52 weeks, showing an average of 7.03 days and a range of less than 4 days to 10+ days. As pig weaning age goes up and more lactation feed is fed, there is a trend for weaned sows to cycle sooner. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0615-propping-farrowing-rates LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --FDA Food Safety Reform Passes Subcommittee The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health passed H.R. 2749, the "Food Safety Enhancement Act." The bill increases the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority to regulate food. FDA is given authority to mandate food recalls, subpoena records, conduct on-farm inspections and impose civil penalties. Food facilities would be inspected by FDA based on risk. High-risk facilities would be inspected at least once every six to 18 months and low-risk facilities would be inspected every three to four years. The bill also provides for a study to analyze the incidence of antibiotic resistance as it pertains to the food supply and develop new methods to reduce the transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans. Committee Deadline for Climate Change Legislation Set -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has set June 19 as the deadline for all committees with jurisdiction to complete action on the climate change legislation (HR 2454). Speaker Pelosi would like for the full House to pass the legislation before the July 4 recess. A key issue for members of the House Agriculture Committee is indirect land use. Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) has been meeting with House leadership to try and resolve this issue. Currently over 30 agricultural and farm organizations have stated their opposition to HR 2454, the Waxman-Markey bill. These include the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Meat Institute, National Chicken Council, National Corn Growers Association and the National Turkey Federation. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0615-food-safety-reform-subcommittee NEWS FLASH --Thousands Make Trip To World Pork Expo Despite unprecedented challenges in the U.S. pork industry, thousands of pork producers and allied industry exhibitors came together in early June for the National Pork Producers Council's (http://www.nppc.org/) 21st annual World Pork Expo (http://www.worldpork.org/). Pork producers are struggling from an extended period of low prices compounded by negative reactions following the April 24 announcement of the H1N1 Flu Outbreak Virus (http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/). The drop in attendance from 2008, estimated at 14,625, was expected, due in part to the H1N1 flu's impact on international travel. "With the market conditions, we knew some pork producers would not be able to make the trip this year," says John Wrigley, World Pork Expo general manager. "But with the addition of the H1N1 virus issue hitting at exactly the time international visitors had to make travel plans, we believe it had a significant impact on international attendance." To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/health-diseases/news/0615-thousands-attend-world-pork-expo PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR June 21 - 24, 2009: Reciprocal Meat Conference 2009. Rogers, Arkansas; Hosted by University of Arkansas and Tyson Foods. Contact: Thomas Powell, AMSA Executive Director (tpowell@meatscience.org (mailto:(tpowell@meatscience.org)). Web site: www.meatscience.org/rmc/09invite.html (http://www.meatscience.org/rmc/09invite.html) August 24 - 28, 2009: ID*INFO EXPO 2009, Kansas City, Mo. the ID*INFO EXPO 2009 will focus on recent advances in animal identification technology as there's been significant advances made these past two years. In addition, we'll explore traceability as it lines up with food safety, animal health and marketing efforts. With recent food safety concerns in produce and troubles locating the source of the produce, more and more consumers are asking "Where did this come from?" and retailers are actively pursuing solutions to meet consumer demand. In addition, export markets will continue to increase demands for traceability. More information is available at www.animalagriculture.org. (http://www.animalagriculture.org/) October 27 - 29, 2009: Meat Industry Research Conference. McCormick Place; Chicago, Illinois. This will take place in conjunction with the World wide Food Expo. Contact Person: AMSA member services at 800-517-2672 or information@meatscience.org (mailto:information@meatscience.org). Web Site: www.worldwidefood.com (http://www.worldwidefood.com/) Past Proceedings Web Site: www.meatscience.org/MIRC/ (http://www.meatscience.org/MIRC/) To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/calendar/ ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER You are subscribed to this newsletter as #email# To subscribe to this newsletter go to: http://subscribe.nationalhogfarmer.com/?tc=NLSUB To unsubscribe from this newsletter go to: http://subscribe.nationalhogfarmer.com/?tc=NLSUB&cid=#message_id#&lid=#list_id#&email=#email# Send Comments & Questions Dale Miller, Editor, National Hog Farmer, mailto:dale.miller@penton.com Penton Media | 249 W. 17th Street | New York, NY 10011 Copyright 2009, Penton Media. All rights reserved. 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