NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property November 2, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/430 MARKET PREVIEW --Costs, Price Pressures Ease Just a Little There was a lot to be positive about in the pork industry the last week of October. I realize it is difficult to be optimistic when you are still losing $25 to $30/head. I also realize that positive news at this point could be as dangerous as it is welcome. But facts are facts, and we must recognize them. Pork cutout values continued a rally that has been rather low on magnitude, but is now three weeks old (see Figure 1). The $1.73/cwt. increase last week was driven by increases in hams, bellies and trimmings, so it wasn't just a one-trick pony. The increase puts this rally at over $4/cwt. during October -- a month usually not known for product price rallies. To view the full article go to: HTTP://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/1102-cost-price-pressures-ease-little FINANCIAL PREVIEW --Pork Industry is Truly at a Crossroads Editor's note: Mark Greenwood is vice president of commercial lending at AgStar Financial Services, Mankato, MN, a cooperative owned by client-stockholders, and is one of 95 institutions that comprise the Farm Credit Services (FCS) system. AgStar serves over 23,000 clients and manages nearly $8 billion in loan and lease assets. Greenwood's role is managing AgStar's swine portfolio, which represents over $1.4 billion in loan and lease volume serving nearly 1,200 clients throughout the United States. On Oct. 22, he was invited to address the House of Representatives subcommittee concerning the state of the U.S. pork industry. A major portion of his testimony follows. "My name is Mark Greenwood. I exclusively handle swine loans and leases with producers of all sizes. I was born and raised on a hog farm in southern Minnesota and have been involved in the swine industry for my entire business career. I can clearly tell you that the current financial situation the (pork) industry is facing is the worst I have ever seen in 28 years of working with swine producers. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/1102-pork-industry-truly-crossroads LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Delayed Congress has adopted Congressman Tom Latham's (R-IA) amendment that provides for a one-year delay in the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rule that requires mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems. Congressman Latham indicated that EPA's proposed rule would increase costs while doing "nothing to improve the environmental health of rural America." The amendment was attached to the fiscal year 2010 Interior Appropriations conference report. Senate Begins Hearings on Climate Change -- The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held three days of hearings on Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) climate change bill. The hearings indicated a number of issues that are dividing the Senate, including agriculture, cost to the economy, nuclear power, emissions allowances, indirect land use and the role of developing countries. Additional hearings will be held by other Senate committees including the agriculture and finance committees. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/1102-epa-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting NEWS FLASH --Purdue Specialist Advises Testing Corn Before Feeding to Hogs Pork producers should test the new corn crop before feeding it, according to a Purdue University Extension swine specialist. That's because mold is present in corn in much of the Midwest, says Brian Richert. In fact, a couple producers who started feeding new crop corn had near 100% feed refusal because of the high vomitoxin levels in the corn. "Those producers had to suck all that feed back out of the feeders, find a source of new feed and try to get feed back in for those animals," he says. "It can cause some significant problems if producers don't test their corn up front." To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/nutrition/requirements/1102-purdue-corn-testing PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR Nov. 5-6, 2009: 17th Annual Swine Disease Conference for Swine Practitioners, Scheman Building, Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, IA; contact ISU by phone (515) 294-6222, fax (515) 294-6223 or e-mail cepd-info@iastate.edu (mailto:cepd-info@iastate.edu). Nov. 9-11, 2009: Joint International Educational Symposium on Animal Welfare, The Kellogg Hotel; Conference Center, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI; contact: http://www.avma.org/awsymposium (http://www.avma.org/awsymposium). Nov. 10, 2009: University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture Program's Swine Institute, Courtyard by Marriott, Columbia, MO; contact: for registration, Erica Lovercamp at (573) 882-9552 or lovercampe@missouri.edu (mailto:lovercampe@missouri.edu) or for programming, Katrina Turner at (573) 882-0378 or turnerka@missouri.edu (mailto:turnerka@missouri.edu). To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/calendar/ POSITION OPENING M2P2, LLC, is accepting applications for the following position: General Manager: This position will have complete accountability for all swine production related activities in our North Carolina -- (10,000 Sows in Production, Associated Isolation -- Gilt Development -- Staging) location. Ideal candidates must have the following qualifications: *Three to five years of swine management experience preferred. *A minimum of a High School Diploma or GED. *Proven conflict resolution skills. *Strong written and verbal communication skills. *Expected to take an active role in companies all ready established bio-security and safety programs. *Prior supervisory experience preferred. *This individual will be responsible for focusing efforts on the reduction of costs and increasing throughput. *Responsible for developing yearly production output budgets, expenses budget and necessary capital spending budget. *Be able to influence change through educating and training at all levels in addition to frequent farm inspections. Competitive wage and benefit package includes medical, disability, life insurance, 401K, vacation and paid holidays. To apply, contact Tracy at the M2P2 Corporate Office or mail, fax, or email resume to the address below before November 20, 2009. Tracy Rogers, Human Resources Coordinator M2P2, LLC trogers@m2p2.com (mailto:trogers@m2p2.com) 1615 Golden Aspen Drive, Suite 104, Ames, IA 50010 Office 515-598-4640 ~ Fax 515-956-3226 M2P2, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. 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. 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