The good with the bad in the Alberta hog industry

Harry Siemens

harrycjob-crop.jpgWith the processing and packing industry re-settling after Maple sells one plant in Ontario and closes another in the Maritimes, it also makes good sense to see what is happening in Western Canada.

Maple Leaf, and as they said they would way back when they announced their restructuring is placing most of its eggs in the Brandon, Mb plant. That is good news for producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and to a lesser degree in Alberta, but makes good sense from a competitive position. It is also good news for Saskatchewan hog producer that the former beef plant in Moose Jaw is reincarnating into a hog processing plant, scheduled to come online in December.

All of these changes during an economic upheaval in the hog industry making it mostly positive with what is happening in the industry, at least in western Canada.

This fall, Olymel is getting questions surrounding their new Olywest 2010 Plus pricing contract.Read More

Swine

Novus International Recognition

Cindy Zimmerman

Novus International President and CEO Thad Simons has been selected from among nearly 300 regional candidates nationwide as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in Distribution and Manufacturing.

Simons received the national award “for transforming Novus International, Inc. from a one-product spinoff from Monsanto (in 1991) into a diversified, global manufacturer of health and nutrition products for livestock, pets and people,” according to Ernst & Young.

I recently interviewed Thad at the Novus grand opening of Green Acres Farm: Thad Simons

Novus has also been recognized for the second year in a row by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) and RubinBrown LLP as a recipient of the 2010 Top 50 Award. The award, presented annually since 1996, recognizes businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations in all industry sectors throughout the St. Louis region.

Founded in 1991, Novus International, Inc. is a leader in animal health and nutrition, providing products and programs to more than 2,500 nutritionists, producers, veterinarians and feed manufacturers in more than 90 countries. Although corporately based in St. Charles, Mo., Novus has facilities in more than 35 countries as well as smaller offices with field staff in an additional 60 countries.

Audio, Novus International

NCBA Submits Comments on GIPSA Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) today submitted official comments on behalf of its membership to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regarding its proposed rule on livestock and poultry marketing. Colin Woodall, NCBA vice president of government affairs, says the comments submitted to USDA represent a thorough review of the potential consequences the proposed rule will have on the U.S. beef cattle industry.

“This rule we think is government at its absolute worst,” Woodall says. “The liability changes in this rule are going to open up the cattle marketplace to trial attorneys and we’re going to have a situation where we have trial attorneys, the court system and USDA dictating what a fair price is for an animal and that’s just unacceptable.”

Listen to or download some GIPSA comments from Colin here: Colin Woodall

NCBA, along with other producer organizations that will be affected by the rule, recently released a economic impact study by Informa Economics which found that rule would result in ongoing direct and indirect costs to the livestock and poultry industries – eventually borne by producers and consumers – of more than $1.64 billion, including nearly $880 million to the beef industry. (Read report here)

Listen to Rob Murphy with Informa explain the results of the study: Informa GIPSA Study

According to NCBA, provisions in the proposed rule causing the most concern for cattlemen and women include: eliminating the requirement that a plaintiff establish injury to competition in order to prove a claim under Section 202 of the PSA, purport to define “competitive injury” and the likelihood thereof, and declare that specific acts or practices are “unfair, unjustly discriminatory or deceptive under Section 202; suggesting the factors which may establish an undue or unreasonable preference under Section 202(b) of the PSA; prohibiting sales of livestock by a packer to another packer or its affiliates; and requiring the production and publication of all cattle marketing and production contracts.

The comment period for the proposed rule ends November 22. Over 24,000 comments have been submitted so far and it is very easy to do – just click here and type in your contact info and comments and it goes right to the Federal Register.

Audio, Beef, GIPSA, Livestock, NCBA

Live Broadcast From National Farm-City Week Symposium

Chuck Zimmerman

AgriTalk is streaming live from the National Farm-City Week Symposium. Tune us in.

Post Update: Our session is over but will be archived on AgriTalk.com as soon as they can get it edited. I’ll post a link to it when I get it. Thank to AgriTalk producer, John Herath, for the Twitpic photo.

We had a great panel discussion on how and why we should “AgVocate” using social media channels. Lots of talk about the need to be proactive, truthful, honest and transparent and not be afraid to speak up in the face of our critics. When it comes to social media, farmers should consider getting started with an option like Facebook or Twitter and look to their farm groups and neighbors (family too) to help them get started.

Watch live streaming video from agritalk at livestream.com
Video

National Farm-City Week Symposium

Chuck Zimmerman

Here are some of our attendees at the National Farm-City Week Symposium. Includes Grasslands FFA members and Pennsylvania state officers.

Glad to see them here. Most were at the National FFA Convention.

I’m mostly live tweeting today using the #FarmCityWeek hashtag so feel free to lurk or chime in.

Uncategorized

Don’t Miss AG CONNECT Expo 2011

Joanna Schroeder

It’s hard to believe that the inaugural AG CONNECT Expo happened almost a year ago in Orlando, Florida back in January. A successful first-time event, AG CONNECT Expo 2011 is shaping up to be even better. AgWired reporter Cindy Zimmerman caught up with the show’s director Sara Mooney to learn what is on tap for next year’s event being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia on January 7-10, 2011.

Mooney attributes much of the show’s success to their industry supporters. “The show was 30 years in the making so there was a lot of interest and a lot of participation from throughout the industry. So it was a very successful event,” said Mooney.

It’s also the support of the industry that is helping them create an even more educational event for next year. Mooney said this year there are more exhibitors and 35 brand new sessions targeted for growers who want to learn more about precision farming to those who own dairy or beef operations.

This year, AG CONNECT Expo 2011 will be hosted along side the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting. The group will be exhibiting along side AG CONNECT in the pavilion and attendees of both events will have access to all the exhibits. In addition, the event is certified as an international buyer program show by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Mooney said this is advantageous because the event is promoted at their posts throughout the world. Last year, 20 percent of the attendees were from other countries and Mooney expects this number to be much higher at next year’s show.

To learn more about the event, see a list of the dozens of educational programs and to view information about the more than 100 exhibitors, visit www.agconnect.com. You can also register online and those who sign up by December 10, 2010 will receive registration discounts.

You can also learn more about AG CONNECT Expo 2011 in Sara Mooney’s interview. Don't Miss AG CONNECT Expo 2011

Audio, NAFB

Communicating Between Farm and City

Chuck Zimmerman

We’re about to kick off National Farm-City Week in Lancaster, PA. The event is an annual symposium that includes a luncheon. “The purpose of this Symposium is to explore friendly methods that can help assist the urban media when preparing news or feature stories that could significantly and negatively impact farmers, ranchers and the many agribusiness industries. “

Of course I’ll be mentioning efforts like AgChat and the AgChat Foundation. It should be interesting to hear the perspective from other panelists. We’ll be live on AgriTalk this morning at 10:06am, central time. So tune us in!

I spoke with the National Farm-City Council Chairman, Al Pell, this morning. He explains the purpose of the organization and how important it is to foster better communications between rural and urban consumers. You can listen to my interview with Al here: Interview with Al Pell

Audio

“Healthy Harry” is Pick in USDA’s Name the Healthy Bird Contest

John Davis

The USDA has named the winner in its Name the Healthy Bird Contest.

“Healthy Harry” is the name that Shelley Petersen of Glendale, Arizona and Patti Sheppard of Millville, New Jersey came up with and will be the name of the plucky mascot for the Biosecurity For Birds campaign, which raises awareness about infectious diseases that can threaten backyard poultry:

Picking the perfect name was a three-month process that started with a national contest inviting poultry enthusiasts to submit their ideas. A committee of professional marketers and members of USDA/ APHIS’ professional staff selected three names from over 500 submitted. These were then posted on the agency’s website inviting the public to choose their favorite. The three names were also displayed at the USDA exhibit during the FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) National Convention last month and attendees voted on their favorite bird name.

“The name just seemed to fit the cause,” said Petersen. “I teach about animal health and food borne illnesses. I name all of my chickens – usually after something they remind me of or someone.”

Sheppard came up with the name while looking for information about raising her own chickens and found the Biosecurity For Birds website.

Poultry, USDA

Commodity Classic Registration is Open

Cindy Zimmerman

The countdown has started – just 106 days until the 16th Annual Commodity Classic!

The annual event will be “smooth sailing” for soybean, corn, wheat and sorghum farmers, March 3-5 in Tampa, Fla. Housing and registration officially opened today at noon. Definitely need to register early to get a good hotel.

Growers who attend the 2011 Commodity Classic are sure to benefit from the value of attending a trade show with more than 800 booths representing today’s leading agricultural equipment, technology, product and service companies and organizations.

“While enjoying the warm Florida sun, one can learn of new products and methods to increase the profitability of their farm,” said Commodity Classic Co-Chair Charles Cannatella. “As a producer of all the commodities represented at Commodity Classic, I look forward to attending the policy development sessions. A grower can strengthen his industry by helping to set policy.”

Special entertainment at Classic this year is Little River Band – we’re looking forward to that!

Commodity Classic

Ethics Group Questions GIPSA Boss Conflict

Cindy Zimmerman

A government ethics watchdog group thinks it might be a conflict of interest for a trial lawyer known for suing meat and poultry companies to be in charge of making new rules for regulating that industry.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) this week sent a letter to USDA’s general counsel expressing concerns about J. Dudley Butler’s potential ethical conflict as administrator of USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration.

“Mr. Butler stands to benefit financially once he leaves the government by exploiting a loophole he helped create,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Whether or not this meets the legal standard of a conflict of interest, it seems wrong. The Department of Agriculture should bar Mr. Butler from continued work on these regulations and the department should consider reissuing them for further public comment.” Sloan said in the letter Butler should be disqualified from working on the regulations based on avoiding even the “appearance of any conflict or impropriety” based on his “actions prior to becoming administrator of GIPSA.”

CREW even suggests that “given the controversy” reissuing the proposed GIPSA rule would serve to “remove any taint.”

CREW is a non-profit organization “dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials — regardless of party affiliation — who sacrifice the common good to special interests.”

GIPSA