NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property September 8, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/417 MARKET PREVIEW --Sausage Market Fundamentals Taking Hold First an errata—U.S. sow slaughter plants can handle roughly 100,000 head/week—not "per day" as I wrote last week. That rate assumes five-day operations at all plants. A couple of industry insiders pointed out that some sow plants do not slaughter five days a week and that, therefore, a realistic sow slaughter capacity is 80,000 to 85,000 "per week," which is still well above current slaughter levels. USDA announced last week that it would purchase $30 million worth of pork products for public feeding programs, well short of the $50 million purchase that had been requested by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). USDA cited federal budget constraints. There has been no response to NPPC's request for the release of Section 32 moneys to fund further pork purchases. Congress imposed an annual limitation on Section 32 expenditures in the last round of budget negotiations, since the limits drove a lower budget impact score from the Office of Management and Budget. Low prices for everything from milk to fruits this year have driven Section 32 expenditures to their limit. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0908-sausage-market-fundamentals SWINE HEALTH PREVIEW --Swine Dysentery Remains a Minor Threat Many of us tend to speak of swine dysentery in the past tense, since efforts to eliminate the disease from herds were very successful several years ago. However, we continue to find the causative agent, Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, in a small number of cases of finishing pig enteric disease submitted to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL). Several diagnostic tools have been available for determining whether Brachyspira hyodysenteriae is present, including culture, dark field microscopic examination and immunohistochemistry. Additionally, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests can be used for detection and identification of Brachyspira sp. bacteria. Culturing Brachyspira sp. from colon samples of pigs is a sensitive diagnostic tool. Limitations of culture are that it can take from several days to a couple of weeks to complete, and it is not possible to determine which species of Brachyspira sp. is present by culture alone. Culture tends to be the most sensitive test for detecting Brachyspira sp. in fecal samples, however. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0908-swine-dysentery-minor-threat LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --USDA to Buy More Pork The Department of Agriculture announced its intention to purchase an additional $30 million in pork products for federal food and nutrition assistance programs in fiscal year 2009. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said, "These purchases will assist producers who are currently struggling due to depressed market conditions and reflects the Obama administration's ongoing work to support struggling producers. This action will help mitigate further downward prices, stabilize market conditions, stimulate the economy and provide high quality, nutritious food to recipients of USDA's nutrition programs." Altogether, USDA has purchased approximately $151 million in pork products for food and nutrition assistance programs this year. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has been urging USDA to make additional purchases to assist pork producers during these tough economic times in the pork industry. COOL for Fuel -- Growth Energy is calling for country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on gasoline. Retired General Wesley Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy, said, "The American people deserve to know more about the gasoline they purchase every day, where it comes from and where their hard-earned dollars ultimately go every time they fill up their cars and trucks. The neighborhood filling station doesn't pump neighborhood gas, it pumps a product of foreign origin that costs consumers and taxpayers billions of dollars every year." In a statement, Growth Energy said, "In light of today's global economy, coupled with our national security, energy independence and the economic implications of our fuel supply, we deserve to have more information and greater market transparency about the sources of our fuel." To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0908-usda-buy-more-pork NEWS FLASH --Action Plan Put in Place For H1N1 in U.S. Herds The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council have been working diligently with state animal health officials (SAHO) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a response plan should the novel H1N1 flu strain be suspected or confirmed in a U.S. swine herd. It was ultimately decided that the current working relationship between producers, veterinarians and state and federal animal health officials would be adequate to address any suspected introduction of the H1N1 Flu Outbreak Virus. The SAHO will be the lead organization determining local activities as outlined in the response plan, according to a report from the AASV. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/news/newsflash/0908-action-plan-h1n1-herds PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR Sept. 10, 2009: Midwest Swine Nutrition Conference, Indiana Farm Bureau Building, Indianapolis, IN; contact: Tip Cline at Purdue University at tcline@purdue.edu (mailto:tcline@purdue.edu) or visit www.swinenutritionconference.com (http://www.swinenutritionconference.com). Sept. 15-16, 2009: 70th University of Minnesota Nutrition Conference, Holiday Inn, Owatonna, MN; contact: http://www.ansci.umn.edu/mnc.html (http://www.ansci.umn.edu/mnc.html). Sept. 19-22, 2009: Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, RiverCentre Conference Facility, St. Paul, MN; contact: www.cvm.umn.edu/outreach (http://www.cvm.umn.edu/outreach). 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.