REUTERS — Maple Leaf Foods is splitting into two independent public entities by spinning off its pork business, joining a host of companies that have demerged their businesses to streamline operations and realize more value.Globally, several companies, including most recently chemical maker DuPont, have moved to break up their businesses in an attempt to increase […] Read more
Hog Hub — page 3
ASF prep pays off in disease vigilance
DES MOINES, Iowa — There aren’t many silver linings in the cloud of African Swine Fever fear that hangs over the world’s hog industry, but one gleamed in Australia when a different disease broke out. It was Japanese encephalitis, but due to heightened disease vigilance caused by the appearance of ASF in Asia and Europe, […] Read more
PRRS hog virus now tougher to control
DES MOINES, Iowa — Today’s PRRS isn’t yesterday’s PRRS. That means pig producers and veterinarians should mutate their approaches in the same way that Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is mutating. “The virus has modified, so we need to do the same,” said vet and producer Dr. Deb Murray, of New Fashion Pork, after a […] Read more
VIDEO: Consulates build the bridges for trade with the U.S.
To say that federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay received a warm welcome when he visited the World Pork Expo and the Midwest would be an understatement. At the giant pig farming show and in the Iowa capital of Des Moines, he was able to meet with heads of America’s main hog farming and […] Read more
European pigs to eat only waste and byproducts?
Politicians in the EU discuss the potential for a ban on use of farmland to produce livestock feedgrains
WINNIPEG — Pigs once ate a lot of slops. Today, feeding pigs human food waste is banned in some countries and heavily restricted in others. That would need to change in order to create “circularity in food production,” according to Dutch swine nutritionist Alfons Jansman of Wageningen University. European consumers and politicians are beginning to […] Read more
Fragile pigs an unexpected risk of past breeding efforts
DES MOINES, Iowa — Years ago, when Mark Soleta of Lakefield, Minnesota, brought in a load of freshly weaned Canadian piglets, he was confident those pigs would easily handle any disease challenges they faced. That confidence is gone. More World Pork Expo coverage can be found here. “Every day we’re on eggshells,” he said with […] Read more
VIDEO: Bland outlook for rest of 2024 hog market
Most farmers were able to make money on market hogs in the first few months of 2024, but prices have weakened
DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s better than losing a lot of money, but hog producers are facing razor-thin profitability for the remainder of 2024, say two leading hog market analysts. “I don’t see us as much better than break-even,” said Steve Meyer, who gave a number of hog market outlooks at the World Pork Expo, […] Read more
VIDEO: MacAulay boosts Canada at expo
DES MOINES, Iowa — Federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay gave Canadian farmers and agriculture a big boost at this year’s World Pork Expo by touring the show, meeting American industry leaders and hosting a who’s-who of Iowa business leaders at a reception. The visit by a Canadian agriculture minister to this event was the first […] Read more
Hog industry encouraged to focus more on nutrition
Some basic areas of pig nutrition are still poorly understood, Prairie Swine Centre nutrition researcher Dan Columbus told the Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada. “Research is very hard to do in sows. It takes a long time. It’s expensive,” said Columbus, while explaining why he thinks sow diet formulation is so crudely done. “Overall the […] Read more
VIDEO: MacAulay stresses importance of integration
DES MOINES, Iowa — On his visit to Des Moines and the World Pork Expo, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay stressed the value of the deep integration of the U.S.-Canadian hog market and industries. In a visit arranged by the Canadian consulate in Minneapolis, MacAulay, attended by other significant Canadian representatives such as M.P. Ted Falk, […] Read more
