Follow this page today and tomorrow for posts from the WPX, where I’ll try to bring you what’s happening, what’s news, what’s new and exciting, and what’s going on with BBQ pork, of which there is an abundance smoking away around the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
PROP 12 COMPLIANT STEEL AND SYSTEMS BIG IN TRADE SHOW
California’s Proposition 12 rules that ban pork from conventionally housed sows have been a gigantic challenge to hog housing manufacturers – and are now a big opportunity for sales of Prop 12 compliant steel and systems.
Throughout the World Pork Expo’s enormous trade shows companies are promoting their Prop 12 compliant products. Free entry feeding stalls, electronic feeding and sorting systems, and hog barn construction services are all being promoted by many manufacturers – including those like Manitoba’s Crystal Spring Hog Equipment and Quebec’s Maximus.
Just like farmers, many manufacturers have had to change their systems to allow for open housing of gestating sows, and this is where they’re able to show off what they’ve produced and what they can offer.
BOOSTING PIG SURVIVABILITY
There’s still so much swine science to develop. So many issues affecting the life and death, the growth and health, the diseases and maladies of pigs are open questions to leading swine researchers. That was something highlighted by a panel of leading swine health researchers in a panel at the World Pork Expo Thursday morning.
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“We have a lot more to learn about it,” was one comment. “It’s hard to identify the cause,” was another. “There’s so much we don’t know about that,” was a third.
But producers here got one very easy to apply insight from Dr Mike Tokach of Kansas State University, whose team examined many aspects of post-weaning feeding, weight gain and health for young pigs. Genetics are important. Pig health management is important. Feed and feeding strategies are important.
But a major factor and potentially huge influence on results comes from the care and attention of the person working in the barn and taking care of the pigs.
“The person in the barn had a tremendous impact,” said Tokach.
With pigs facing few challenges or problems, the handler’s impact might only produce a better survivability rate of half a percentage, but with pigs struggling with health and other issues, a good hog manager could result in a five percent reduction in death loss in the herd.
MIKE TOKACH
OZCAR: DOG-COP ON THE SMUGGLED PORK BEAT
Ozcar, a beagle working for the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, has been working at the World Pork Expo, winning hearts and reminding people that if you try to smuggle pork and other food products through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, he’s likely to catch you. Ozcar has a keen nose and particularly likes the smell of pork, which he can sniff out in purses, suitcases, pockets and other places where people forget they have food products that they’re not allowed to import. He’s sniffed-out thousands of pounds of banned food products at the airport.
Ozcar’s got a lot of discipline. His favourite smell is pork, according to his handler, Specialist Hall, and he’s managed to restrain himself at this show where dozens of BBQ pork outfits are operating. So far he hasn’t nabbed any pulled pork sandwiches or pork roasts.
OPENING NEWS CONFERENCE:
There are lots of good things happening in the hog and pork industry right now, but some very dark clouds are hanging above it, as was underlined in the opening news conference. California’s Proposition 12, which bans most pork produced in North America from the giant state, is causing a lot of anxiety and disruption, with the state law going into effect in a few weeks.
Farmers are losing a lot of money today, due to high costs from input prices and labour, and weakening pig prices. Farmers are being squeezed worse than they have been for about 25 years, National Pork Producers Council President Scott Hays said.
With African Swine Fever close to the continental United States – and very close to Puerto Rico – the American pork industry is working feverishly on regionalization and traceability systems to stop any mainland incident becoming a disaster, Dr Anna Forseth said. Traceability needs to be improved in order to prove that pigs can be directly connected to the products they produce.
The voluntary Country of Origin Labelling rules heading towards U.S. pork retailing are causing a lot of pushback from the NPPC and most of the U.S. commercial pork business. “That is a huge issue,” said Maria Zieba, Vice President of International Affairs for NPPC. The industry doesn’t want unnecessary complications messing up the North American integrated industry.
Labour conflict in west coast ports is another problem that’s interfering with exports of US pork. “We are already seeing backups,” said Zieba.
