In his area Scott says that although the challenges producers have in his area aren’t unique they are more accentuated than other areas due to higher costs for grain brought in from the midwest. “If in fact $7 to $8 grain costs in the midwest is a problem, $9 to $10 costs is even more of a problem on the east coast,” he says. For this reason Scott says the new Novus Accelerating Finishing Profitability program contains specific elements to help producers deal with challenges, especially on a regional basis. Scott Moore Interview

2011 World Pork Expo Photo Album

I stopped by the BIVI exhibit at the trade show yesterday and talked with Tim Bettington (right), executive director of the company’s swine division and Randy Buller (left), senior associate director for the division.

“BI is very committed to the swine industry,” Tim told me. “We have several other species under our umbrella but the swine industry is the key one for us. We’ve grown up as a swine organization and globally swine is the number one sales driver for us.” Tim says they are in the process of completing an R&D facility in Germany that will complement the facility they have in Ames, Iowa that has been very successful in developing the company’s PRRS vaccine.

Listen to or download my interview with Tim here: Tim Bettington, BIVI

Randy says there is a great deal of interest among producers in the 3FLEX vaccine they introduced just last year. “It is the only product in the swine industry that mixes three vaccines in a similar platform,” said Randy. The 3FLEX consists of three vaccines: Ingelvac CircoFLEX®, Ingelvac MycoFLEX® and Ingelvac® PRRS MLV to address circa virus, mycoplasma, and PRRS in one shot.

Listen to or download my interview with Randy here: Randy Buller, BIVI

2011 World Pork Expo Photo Album

Here is the U.S. similar antibiotic legislation is being considered so I sat down with Helen Stebbens, Ph.D. in Pig Nutrition for Novus Europe, to learn more about the pending legislation and what it would mean for American pig producers should it pass. Stebbens has been working on developing organic acids for pig health and she told me right away that in Europe, the producers have not only survived but their levels of production are very good, in part due to the integration of organic acids.

“Many are using organic acids in young pigs,” explained Stebbens. “They are very effective for young pigs where their digestive system is not very mature and organic acids really help to boost the acidity within the stomach of the young pigs and forms a barrier of pathogens toward entry.” Ultimately, she said, this helps to keep the pig’s gut healthy.

Keeping the pig’s gut healthy lessens the needs for things like antibiotics and also improves the ROI for the producer. Stebbens noted that there has been a good adoption of the technique among producers in the U.S. and she believes that they will find it a very cost effective option in maintaining gut health. She also stressed that organic acids do not need to be used all the time but only during critical times of stress such as when the pigs are moving house or units.

There are many Novus nutritional experts that are available to work with producers who are interested in learning more about organic acids, and encouraged them to contact Novus. You can learn more about organic acids at www.novusint.com.

You can listen to the in-depth interview with Helen below. You can also check out all the World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

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One of the international visitors who stopped by the Novus tent at WPX was Leonardo Cuevas, a consultant from Chile, who said the event provided him with lots of new information to bring back to his country. “I think we have to improve our industry, in nutrition, minerals and vitamins, especially in the sow and breeder aspect,” Leonardo told me. “Also artificial insemination, environmental control and management of mortality, composting, etc.”

He says this was his third visit to Pork Expo. “I would recommend for everybody to come here. It’s a good investment for producers.”

Leonardo Cuevas interview wpx10-novus-chile.mp3

It’s also a good investment for exhibitors who offer products and services to help producers be more efficient and profitable. Novus International Global Marketing Manager Felipe Navarro says Novus is in about 80 countries, so it World Pork Expo is a great place for them to meet with their customers in many countries. “The only two areas we are missing in this show are China and Asia Pacific. This is related to the business situation, they’re not doing very well right now, but hopefully they will get to the same point where we are now in North America and Latin America where people are starting to make some profit again,” Felipe said.

He says that there are opportunities and challenges for a company like Novus marketing globally, with different regulations, production methods and diseases from country to country, but all producers want to increase performance, which is where Novus is focusing right now. “Especially sow performance,” Felipe said. “Because by working on the sow, which is the source of your revenue at the end of the day, they produce the piglets that you will raise to market weight.”

Novus representatives spent lots of time visiting with producers about their specific products that include chelated trace minerals, enzymes, mycotoxin technologies and anti-oxidants.

Listen to or download my interview with Felipe in the player below.

World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

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The pig races at WPX are a fan favorite and the stands were full for most of the races. I watched three heats the first being an all female heat called the “Powder Puff Derby.” Representing the red team was Britney Squeals, the white team featured Lindsey Loham, the blue team Hamma Montana, and on the yellow team Miss Piggy. And the winner was….you’ll just have to watch the video to find out who won this heat. And if you get a chance, don’t miss the racing pigs coming to a track near you.

You can check out all the World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

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I caught up with Jeff Miller, the Director of Strategy of Sales and Marketing in the Novus International booth during World Pork Expo to learn more about this virtual feed forum. Novus is a supporter of this event. He explained, “This is synonymous with a live trade show but its on the internet. So we’re putting five presentations on in which an audience of knowledge seekers from over 100 countries from around the world have signed up to attend these presentations and they also have the ability to mingle with their colleagues from all over the world. And of course they have the opportunity to go to sponsor booths that are also in the virtual event.”

The presentation topics include:

• Mycotoxin Control (currently mycotoxins are a huge problem for swine farmers)
• New thoughts on feeding the modern laying hen
• Feed manufacturing workshop
• How to feed high yielding dairy cows to maintain milk yield and fertility
• Feed ingredients for sustainable aquaculture

Although the presentations are pre-recorded, event day participants will have the opportunity to join a live Q&A session with the speakers. However, if you can’t make the live event, the feed forum will be archived for three months.

Miller said that while they appreciate being at live events, his company strongly feels that there is a global audience of people who are looking for knowledge and education in any channel available. “This virtual trades show platform is another channel for professionals to get quality information about agribusiness,” concluded Miller.

Listen below to my full interview with Jeff. You can register for the free feed forum and see the archive of the Watt Poultry Nutrition & Health Forum, at www.wattevents.com.

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I talked with Randy Anderson (left), who is the National Pork Business Sales Manager for Novus, about the sow program, which he says is basically a combination of their MINTREX® and ZORIEN® products. “We’re feeding the sows through gestation and lactation to help optimize performance,” Randy said. “We’re improving the feet and legs, the joint health of the animal, helping them to walk better, last longer in the herd – so basically we’re improving the longevity of the sow. And in doing that, we’re also getting a reproductive benefit of increasing the live born of the sow.”

Randy says they officially launched the program at World Pork and got good feedback from producers. “The nice thing about the MINTREX® sow program is that it works for everyone, no matter how big or how small.”

Randy Anderson interview wpx10-novus-randy.mp3

Novus VP for the Americas Dan Meagher is the guy on the right in the picture, helping to cut up and serve the Novus roasted pig at the expo. He says producers at the show this year were more optimistic than they have been in the past couple of years. “Attitudes are much better than they were last year, still cautiously optimistic, but certainly the outlook is brighter,” Dan told me. “People are conscious of having to manage the animal numbers but what they’re looking for now is how do I put a little bit more weight on and really take advantage of the markets that are out there.”

Dan also talked to me about Novus’ recent acquisitions of Albion and IQF-ENAMEX and how they have helped strengthen the company’s product lines and offerings for all types of livestock producers.

Listen to or download that interview in the player below and check out all the World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album

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Later, during a stop at the media room, I was able to sit down with Jong Hyun Choi, the Minister to the U.S. for Economic Affairs in the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. and get his thoughts on the pending agreement. He pointed out that the agreement were signed three years ago, but Congress has not given final approval to implement the provisions.

“It’s just about past time for the agreement to be ratified, approved by the U.S. Congress.”

He went on to say one of the main reasons for his visit is to promote the FTA and point out the huge benefits U.S. pork producers and South Korea could see once it is approved.

“Once this agreement is implemented, then the more than 20 percent tariffs (currently on U.S. pork) will be eliminated for frozen pork and within 10 years for fresh and chilled products. So, that implementation could provide a very commercially meaningful leg up for U.S. pork producers.”

Choi added that South Korea has just completed a free trade agreement with the European Union, while hog farmers in Chile have already been enjoying much lower tariffs for the past six years, increasing their market share in South Korea. That trend worries the NPPC, as Butler believes lack of ratification of the U.S.-Korea and other FTAs could end up shutting out American hog farmers from those markets in the next 10 years.

Choi agreed that Congress needs to get moving on this issue, and pork producing groups, such as the NPPC, will need to help push that.

You can hear more of my conversation with Minister Choi in the player below.

Check out all the World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album

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First, they held a PRRS Area Regional Control workshop on Wednesday and Thursday that was for producers and veterinarians to find out what they can do to implement ARC. On Friday morning, they presented the “science behind the success” of the program for the media.

Dr. Scott Dee with with Swine Disease Eradication Center at the University of Minnesota says area regional control and elimination is on the move. “We had one example last year in Minnesota, but now we have 8-9 different parts of the United States and even a province in Canada that are trying this, seeing if they can reduce the level of infection in their area,” Scott said. “We’ve got to work together to see what we can do to put the damper on this devastating economic disease.”

Another important program to help control the disease is nicknamed PADRAP, the Production Animal Disease Risk Assessment Program. Dr. Dee says BIVI has helped with that by training students to go out and conduct detailed disease and biosecurity risk assessments on hog operations and so far nearly 2000 swine operations have been evaluated.

Dr. Jean Paul (JP) Cano recently joined BIVI as a professional services veterinarian after years in private practice and he says he is optimistic about the potential for controlling PRRS. “What it takes is collaboration and coordination between farms in the same area and sharing the risk of becoming infected,” he said. In addition to the biosecurity measures, JP says PRRS vaccination also plays a critical role in the control and eradication of the disease. “We think that vaccine is one more tool in the tool box that we have to fight this disease in the area regional control concept.”

Listen to or download back-to-back interviews with Dee and Cano in the player below.

World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album

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Jim Swisher (left) and his “hamigos” went all out with the Mexican theme and even had a pig pinata filled with treats for the kiddos. Check out the video to see what I mean.

You can also check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album to see more photos of the Fiesta pig and all the other activities at WPX10.

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Some time during the rain, general manager John Wrigley stopped by to visit with the folks at the Novus International tent and chatted with us for a while about how pleased he was with the attendance and to have international visitors back this year.

Last year, you may recall, we had a little thing called H1N1 that kept people from other countries from attending the event. “It was more than a little bit of a problem last year, there was no international attendance to speak of,” John said, but this year is back to normal. “We’ve got over 30 countries that people have registered for World Pork Expo from all over the world.”

Another difference from last year, according to John, is that the mood is a little more upbeat than the last two years. John says the producers who attend expo are a very knowledgeable group who are always looking to do more than fill their tote bags with pens and souvenirs. “The difference is this year they’ve got a smile on their face. There’s nothing like a little change in your pocket to change your attitude,” he said.

This will be John’s last year as general manager of the National Pork Producers Council event which is 22 years old. One of his most satisfying accomplishments during his nine year tenure is starting the Junior National Swine show, which has grown to a whopping 1700 pigs this year – a big jump from the 200 when that program was started seven years ago.

Listen to or download John’s comments about this year’s expo in the player below.

You can also check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

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