NHF_WEEKLY PREVIEW_ A Penton Media Property February 8, 2010 If you want to view this on the web go to: http://enews.penton.com/enews/nationalhogfarmer/v/452 MARKET PREVIEW --Rehashing Hog Pricing Categories On March 12, the USDA and the Department of Justice will launch a series of "Competition Workshops" in Ankeny, IA. The focus of the first workshop will be crops and seed, but the session will also include hogs and pork. The hogs and pork segment will also be included in a livestock workshop planned for August in Fort Collins, CO. A schedule of all workshops can be found at: www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm (http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm). One topic that will almost surely be addressed in the hog/pork workshops will be the changing mix of pricing mechanisms for barrows and gilts. Figure 1 shows the percentage of total weekly barrow and gilt sales accounted for by the four different pricing mechanisms, as well as packer-owned and packer-sold pigs. The pricing categories were defined in the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, and the rules that USDA promulgated to enforce that act. As they stand now, the categories include the following: To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0208-rehashing-hog-pricing-categories PRODUCTION PREVIEW --Number Born Edges Upward, but Piglet Survival Continues to Decline Piglet survival is defined as 100% minus the percent stillborns minus the percent preweaning death loss. Mummies are not counted in the total born, but fully formed stillborn pigs are counted. We created this "piglet survival" calculation at Swine Management Services (SMS) four years ago to eliminate the games that are played with how stillborns are counted. To improve preweaning death loss by 4% and hit the bonus targets set by the farm management, farm employees need only raise the number of pigs counted as "stillborns" by just half of a pig per female farrowed. It is surprising how many people do not know the true definition of a stillborn or how to test whether a pig was truly stillborn vs. dying after birth. A postmortem confirmation of stillbirths is easily done by removing the piglet's lungs and immersing them in water. If the lung sinks, the pig had not taken a breath and therefore may be classified as stillborn. If the lung floats, the pig was not stillborn. Once this is pointed out to employees, many will realize that it was a live born pig and a potential bonus pig at weaning time. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0208-number-born-upward-piglet-survival LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW --Administration Proposes $3.8 Trillion Budget The Obama administration is proposing a $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal year 2011. The new budget goals are to combat high unemployment and assist the middle class, according to the administration. The proposed budget would spend nearly $100 billion on a jobs bill that would include tax cuts for small businesses, social safety-net programs and aid to state and local governments. The budget would impose new fees on some of the nation's largest banks and permit various tax cuts to expire for families earning more than $250,000 a year. The deficit for this budget is estimated at $1.267 trillion, down from the FY 2010 deficit of $1.556 trillion. USDA Proposes Increases for Nutrition, Research and Food Safety -- USDA's proposed FY 2011 budget of $149 billion provides $123 billion in mandatory spending (farm programs, nutrition, etc.) and $26 billion in discretionary spending, which is approximately $1 billion less than last year. A large portion of the budget is for nutrition programs, as a result of the increased demand for National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or formerly Food Stamp Program) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The administration is proposing $50 million for a new "Healthy Food Financing Initiative" to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved communities. The budget calls for $429 million for competitive research grants through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and $1.046 billion for Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Other items in the budget include: To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/weekly-preview/0208-administration-proposes-trillion-budget NEWS FLASH --Rising Pork Exports Add to U.S. Jobs As U.S. pork exports climb, pork production increases and so do pork prices, which in turn creates jobs, according to a recent analysis conducted by Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes. For every additional 1% of U.S. pork production exported, $3 is added to the price producers receive per hog, and those higher prices eventually stimulate more pork production. For each 1% increase in pork production, 920 direct pork industry jobs are generated and 4,575 total jobs are created. To view the full article go to: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/marketing/price-discovery/rising-pork-exports-0208 PORK INDUSTRY CALENDAR Feb. 10, 2010: Missouri Pork Expo, Holiday Inn Select Executive Center, Columbia, MO; contact: (573) 445-8531 or www.mopork.com (http://www.mopork.com). Feb. 11, 2010: National Swine Nutrition Guide Training Conference at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC - Details TBA. Feb. 11, 2010: National Swine Nutrition Guide distributed and explained in Raleigh, N.C. The guide consists of nutrition fact sheets, nutrient recommendation tables and diet formulation and evaluation software and will be included with an $80 conference registration or available for purchase separately for $125. 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 2010, Penton Media. 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