NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property April 17, 2009 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/387 MARKET PREVIEW --Canadian Hogs Confound Market Reports There have been several reports that Canadian-born market hogs are being regularly discounted by U.S. packers. I'm sure that some of those reports are based on fact. But the entire situation is now causing fear that the discounted Canadian-born pigs are dragging down weighted average prices for negotiated and, consequently, swine/pork market formula sales. How big could the impact be? Not very big, I think, but not zero either. Canadian-born pigs imported 18-22 weeks ago constituted roughly 5% of last week's slaughter. Negotiated pigs also constituted 5% of last week's slaughter. It is certain that not all Canadian pigs were sold through negotiated sales. It is more likely that they constitute about the same percentage of negotiated sales that they do of total slaughter -- only 5%. If only a portion of those were discounted, their impact on negotiated sale prices would be very small indeed. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/marketpreview/canadian-hogs-confound-market-reports/ PRODUCTION PREVIEW --Dealing with Vanishing Pigs All too often at Swine Management Services (SMS), we find this scenario occurring: the sow farm ships 1,000 weaned pigs and the producer accepts 960 pigs. The 40-pig difference in many systems becomes the vanishing pigs. These rejected pigs should all be counted against the sow farm's records. Further, these rejected pigs are entered in the sow farm's records as dead pigs on a sow weaned that week and later culled. This ensures that the sow farm is held accountable for only shipping top-quality (number 1 pigs), and that the sow farm does not receive a bonus for shipping rejected pigs. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/northamericanpreview/vanishing-pigs/ LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --Animal ID Dialogue and Listening Tour Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack held a roundtable discussion with various stakeholders to discuss views on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Secretary Vilsack said, "Much work has been done over the past five years to engage producers in developing an animal identification system that they could support. However, many of the issues and concerns that were initially raised by producers, such as the cost, impact on small farmers, privacy and confidentiality and liability, continue to cause debate." USDA will conduct a future nationwide listening tour to seek additional stakeholders concerns and solutions regarding NAIS. There is growing concern among key congressional members that USDA has spent millions of dollars on NAIS and there are still a large number of premises that are not even registered. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/northamericanpreview/animal-id-dialogue-and-listening-tour/ NEWS FLASH --Cargill Reaches Eight Animal Welfare Goals Cargill Pork announced today that it has achieved eight critical animal welfare assurance goals pertaining to the production, handling, transporting and harvesting of hogs. On Oct. 1, 2008, Cargill became the first in the industry to institute a policy whereby it will only purchase hogs from farms that have been certified in the National Pork Board's Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program. The program sets strict production guidelines for hog production including animal welfare standards. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/behavior-welfare/0415-hog-welfare-assurance/ PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR April 21 - 23, 2009: PORK 101; University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska Registration Contact: AMSA member services at 800-517-2672 or information@meatscience.org (mailto:information@meatscience.org). Web Site: http://www.pork101.org (http://www.pork101.org/). May 17-20, 2009: Alltech International Animal Health & Nutrition Symposium, Lexington Convention Center, Lexington, KY; contact: symposium@alltech.com (mailto:symposium@alltech.com). To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/calendar/ M2P2, LLC has an opening for a full-time Territory Manager. This person would be responsible for the overseeing of 45,000 spaces in Iowa. Ideal candidates must have the following qualifications: *Understanding of all aspects of the swine industry. *Knowledge of project management discipline, (especially priority setting and organization) *Established skills in identifying and developing strategies to address any process improvement opportunities. *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. Salary range $60,000 to $100,000 based on experience and a benefit package that includes medical, disability, life insurance, 401k, and PTO. Interested candidates please mail your resume and cover letter to M2P2, attn: Tracy Rogers, 1615 Golden Aspen Drive, Suite 104, Ames, Iowa 50010 or email resume and cover letter to trogers@m2p2.com. (mailto:trogers@m2p2.com) M2P2, LLC is a progressive pork production company and employer of choice in the industry. Formed in 2003, M2P2 merges expertise in all phases of hog production, from birth to market, into one company. Today M2P2, LLC operates in six states throughout the U.S. and is leading the way in the pork production industry. M2P2, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. 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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