NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property July 20, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/407 MARKET PREVIEW --Big Guys Announce Sow Herd Cuts, Others Wait Tyson announced last week that it was reducing its breeding herd by 20,000 sows over the next 10 weeks. The reductions will come in Arkansas and Missouri and were attributed to weakness in the market for weaned pigs and feeder pigs. Tyson primarily sells pigs to feeders in the upper Midwest and then buys those pigs back for its slaughter operations. This announcement comes on the heels of Smithfield's June announcement that it intends to remove another 27,000 sows, mainly in the Texas Panhandle. Those sows were part of Premium Standard Farms, which Smithfield acquired in 2006. Few of those pigs were processed in Smithfield plants. These actions give rise to the following questions: "Why do companies feel it's necessary to make these announcements?" and, "Do they help or hinder an overall reduction in the sow herd?" To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0720-big-guys-sow-herd-cuts PRODUCTION PREVIEW --Number of Matings, Services Impacts Reproductive Performance To continue our review on improving farrowing rate, we will take a closer look at how the number of matings (per heat cycle) or number of services (repeat cycles) affects this key performance indicator. At the outset, we have broken the data out by the number of matings or number of services, by parity. It is important to look at how this number affects farrowing rate, total pigs born/female, and total liveborn pigs/female. Although most recordkeeping systems allow you to enter all breeding information, it is sometimes very difficult to retrieve the data needed for effective analysis. Critical information that must be recorded includes all the matings, identity of AI technician, boar identification or semen batch code, and the time of day the insemination took place -- in military time -- not just AM or PM. This detailed information is needed to fine-tune breeding procedures and culling decisions. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0720-number-matings-impact-reproduction LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --FDA Calls for Ban on Antibiotics for Growth Promotion Dr. Joshua Sharfstein of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in testimony before the House Rules Committee announced that FDA supports "ending the use of antibiotics for growth and feed efficiency in the United States." Sharfstein also stated that FDA believes all medications used in animal agriculture should be "under the supervision of a veterinarian." This is a major change in policy by the FDA. The House Rules Committee hearing was regarding H.R. 1549, the "Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009," which would ban the use of antibiotics for livestock except when the animal is sick. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), chairwoman of the committee and sponsor of H.R. 1549, said, "When we go to the grocery store to pick up dinner, we should be able to buy our food without worrying that eating it will expose our family to potentially deadly bacteria that will no longer respond to our medical treatments. Unless we act now, we will unwittingly be permitting animals to serve as incubators for resistant bacteria." The witnesses who endorsed the bill included the Pew Environment Group, Union of Concerned Scientists, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Bon App_tit, and the Center for Metagenomics and Human Health. Last year Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA) presented testimony on the House Agriculture Committee's review of this issue. Boswell stated: "All antibiotics used to keep animals healthy have passed the in-depth FDA process, and have been shown to be safe and effective and have undergone review of their potential to cause increased antibiotic resistance." Boswell also told the committee that if H.R. 1549 is enacted and products are removed from use, "livestock producers will be left with few, if any, medicines to prevent and control animal disease." To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/0720-fda-calls-ban-antibiotics-growth NEWS FLASH --Animal Health Coalition Opposes Antibiotic Ban The Coalition for Animal Health is voicing its opposition to HR 1549, "Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1549&tab=summary)," which was discussed at a House of Representatives Rules Committee hearing last week. The bill would change two key areas: "Critical Antimicrobial Animal Drugs" and "Nontherapeutic Use" as they pertain to animal health, according to the American Meat Institute (http://www.meatami.com/) (AMI). The bill also rescinds the approval of seven "critical antimicrobial animal drugs" unless the sponsor demonstrates a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health from the development of antimicrobial resistance from "nontherapeutic" use of the drug. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/health-diseases/news/0720-animal-health-apposes-ban PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR July 23, 2009: Pork Checkoff strategic planning meeting, Holiday Inn Convention Center, Omaha, NE; contact: the National Pork Board at (800) 456-7675 or go to www.pork.org (http://www.pork.org). July 24, 2009: Pork Checkoff strategic planning meeting, Indiana Pork Producers office, Indianapolis, IN; contact: the National Pork Board at (800) 456-7675 or go to www.pork.org (http://www.pork.org). July 27, 2009: Pork Checkoff strategic planning meeting, Sampson Community College, Clinton, NC; contact: the National Pork Board at (800) 456-7675 or go to www.pork.org (http://www.pork.org). 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. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Penton Media.