<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Swine Pro - 'THE' site for swine professionals]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.swinepro.com/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright Swine Pro - 'THE' site for swine professionals]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Iowa hopes to sell pork to S.Korea]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Gov. Terry Branstad announced plans Monday to lead a trade delegation to South Korea and eventually open a small permanent office there as a way of expanding Iowa's already considerable presence overseas.   
  Branstad said similar trade missions to India and China could follow. He didn't offer details about the timing or cost of his plans.   
  &quot;I think trade's important, and I think in areas like Korea where you have some opportunities it makes some sense,&quot; Branstad said. &quot;It will be a small office and we'll try to do it in the most efficient and economical way we can.&quot;   
  Branstad was elected in November, 12 years after he completed four previous terms as governor. In his earlier tenure, the Republican was a major promoter of trade, opening offices in Japan and China and retaining a contractor in Mexico.   
  The state maintains its office in Japan, where it employs two people and has an annual budget of $321,250. It also has a four-person office in Germany with an annual budget of $473,500 and maintains contractors in Mexico and China.   
  Branstad linked this proposal to a trade agreement recently reached between South Korea and the U.S., which is awaiting ratification by Congress. That deal would open the door to more exports from Iowa, he said.   
  Branstad's proposal was welcomed by Sen. Swati Dandekar, a Democrat who heads the Senate Commerce Committee.   
  Dandekar, of Marion, said a trade office in South Korea and missions to other countries would add a personal touch to trade efforts, which she argued is especially important to Asian nations.   
  &quot;I think it's very positive,&quot; Dandekar said. &quot;In Iowa, we have the opportunity to export our pork to South Korea, and I really think when it comes to having a trade office the businesses who are interested in buying pork from us will see our trade office and ask them who they should contact.&quot;   
  Iowa State University economics professor Harvey Lapan was more skeptical. He said trade missions and an office would help Iowa companies make contacts but would mean little to the state's economy.   
  &quot;I'd be somewhat skeptical about what exactly the presence of an Iowa trade mission in Korea is going to do other than maybe put them in contact with potential exporters,&quot; Lapan said.   
  Lapan said any significant increases in exports to South Korea would rely more on federal pressure than efforts to individual states.   
  &quot;The only benefits one could see are to make businesses aware that might not be of the possibility of importing or to ease administrative paperwork,&quot; Lapan said. &quot;In principle, a trade agency could ease that paperwork.&quot;   
  Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said the governor's office hasn't yet worked out the details of the plan. The Iowa Department of Economic Development did not immediately respond to a request for information on Iowa's existing trade efforts.   
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:18:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.swinepro.com/north_america/iowa-hopes-to-sell-pork-to-skorea-922011/</link><guid>http://www.swinepro.com/north_america/iowa-hopes-to-sell-pork-to-skorea-922011/</guid><author>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:18:00 +0000</author><comment></comment></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chinese hog seller plans US IPO]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Chinese hog sellers Southern China Livestock, Inc. are planning a public IPO in th US.   
  The company filed an amended offering registration statement showing its year-end data, although IPO terms are still elusive for a share count and for a pricing.  Shares will be sold and traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “SCLI.”  It also lists Rodman &amp; Renshaw and Newbridge Securities as its underwriters.  
  The company breeds, raises and sells live hogs in the People’s Republic of China.  It operates 24 breeding farms with a current annual production capacity of about 220,000 live hogs.  It sells hogs to trading agencies mainly in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai and in Jiangxi Province. The largest customer is Shenzhen Dexing Food Development, a government affiliated trading company, which accounted for about 54% of its sales in the fourth quarter of 2010.  That customer also accounted for about 70% of sales for the year ended September 30, 2010 and accounted for roughly 75% of sales for the year ended September 30, 2009.  
  Revenues in the calendar fourth quarter of 2010 were $10.662 million, but that is down from $11.378 million in the same period of 2009.  Its total sales in 2010 were $40.318 million in all of 2010 versus $32.14 million for all of 2009.  
  Before the effect of the offering, the company has 7,144,071 shares outstanding.   
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:16:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/chinese-hog-seller-plans-us-ipo-922011/</link><guid>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/chinese-hog-seller-plans-us-ipo-922011/</guid><author>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:16:00 +0000</author><comment></comment></item><item><title><![CDATA[Soybean a good alternative to fishmeal in weanling pig diets]]></title><description><![CDATA[  A new study has suggested that fermented soybean meal and enzyme-treated soybean meal may replace fish meal in weanling pig diets.   
  &quot;The price of fish meal has exploded and is causing producers to search for new options for weanling pig diets. Pigs are traditionally fed diets containing relatively large amounts of animal proteins such as fish meal from weaning up to 40 pounds when they can digest traditional soybean meal,&quot; said Hans H. Stein of the University of Illinois.   
  The fermentation and enzyme treatment process helps remove some of the antigens found in traditional soybean meal and other compounds that are not easily digested by weanling pigs.   
  Stein said these new sources of soybean meal might be the answer producers are looking for to keep costs down without sacrificing digestibility of important amino acids.   
  &quot;In our study, we measured the digestibility of amino acids in these two new sources of soybean meal in comparison to fish meal, casein and soy protein isolate.   
  &quot;We observed that enzyme-treated soybean meal has even better digestibility of amino acids than conventional soybean meal. It appears the enzyme treatment increases digestibility. Fermented soybean meal has the same digestibility as standard soybean meal, so we now know that fermentation doesn''t reduce digestibility,&quot; he said.   
  &quot;With the high cost of fish meal and concerns about its future availability, I believe these are two good options for weanling pig diets. They are comparable in digestibility to soy protein isolate, the gold standard protein source that is only used in human nutrition,&quot; added Stein.   
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:15:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/soybean-a-good-alternative-to-fishmeal-in-weanling-pig-diets-922011/</link><guid>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/soybean-a-good-alternative-to-fishmeal-in-weanling-pig-diets-922011/</guid><author>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:15:00 +0000</author><comment></comment></item><item><title><![CDATA[Taiwan aims to make pig raising more environmentally sustainable]]></title><description><![CDATA[  There's a lot about conventional methods for raising livestock that is decidedly unsustainable. Feed lots and other such large scale farms not only produce a lot of waste, but also use an incredible amount of resources.   
  Animals eat lots of food (which is usually a mix of corn in various forms, miscellaneous fats, soy products, and sometimes antibiotics or other questionable additives), and need lots of water, but it's the by-product that really raises a stink and makes a significant contribution to pollution.  
  In an effort to cut down on unpleasant odor while also tempering pollution, the Taiwanese government is encouraging pig farmers to install &quot;toilets&quot; in their pig pens. It sounds ridiculous, but the new twist on pen design seems to be making a difference. The &quot;toilet&quot; is quite basic: simply a section of iron bars in the corner of the floor in each pen.   
  Pigs are trained to relieve themselves while standing over the bars so that waste is collected in one tidy spot, rather than slopped throughout the pen. To train the pigs, some feces in placed in the toilet area, while the rest of the pen is totally clean. The pigs will follow the smell of the excrement and eventually get the hint.  
  The Taiwanese ministry of the environment estimates that they will save 180 million liters of water per day with the new and improved pig pen design, water that would normally be used in cleaning the pens. The waste is also to be turned into valuable manure for other agricultural operations, made more valuable by the fact that it won't be as watery as it was previously.   
  By diverting the pig waste and making it a marketable product, Taiwan is also helping to save their waterways and steer clear of the infamous CAFO manure swamps.  
  To create more of an incentive for farmers, the Taiwanese government is providing financial assistance to farmers who agree to install pig toilets on their farm. While training pigs to use a toilet may be small potatoes in the grand scheme of large scale, conventional agriculture, more government agencies should be as proactive  as the Taiwanese Ministry of the Environment.  
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:03:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/taiwan-aims-to-make-pig-raising-more-environmentally-sustainable-922011/</link><guid>http://www.swinepro.com/asia/taiwan-aims-to-make-pig-raising-more-environmentally-sustainable-922011/</guid><author>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:03:00 +0000</author><comment></comment></item><item><title><![CDATA[Greater support for Czech pig farmers]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Czech Agriculture Minister Ivan Fuksa wants to increase support to domestic pig breeders using money from the package of Kc800m the ministry has earmarked for support of sensitive commodities, he said in the television discussion programme Questions of Vaclav Moravec Sunday.  
  The ministry is still analysing the best way of distributing the money but it will tend to support animal production more than vegetable production. The support to pig breeders will amount to hundreds of millions of crowns, Fuksa said.  
  &quot;I take the critical situation in animal production very seriously. I hope I will announce good news for pig breeders and for animal production in general in April or May,&quot; Fuksa said.  
  Shadow agriculture minister Michal Hasek called on Fuksa to find even more money for support to farmers this year. According to Hasek, the ministry can use the sum of over Kc1bn that was frozen by the Finance Ministry at the Land Fund last year. Fuksa, however, rejected this proposal.  
  Agricultural Chamber head Jan Veleba said Kc0.5bn was necessary to halt the decline of pig producers.  
  Fuksa also said he sought that the government approve a decree within a month setting the duty of meat importers to inform supervisory bodies about the origin of food.  
  Veleba said he welcomed such a measure because it would give consumers the opportunity to choose between imported and domestic food.  
  Fuksa also said he estimated the current growth of food prices in Czech shops, which results from the increase in global prices of commodities, at 2 to 4 percent.  
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 06 Feb 2011 07:22:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.swinepro.com/europe/greater-support-for-czech-pig-farmers-722011/</link><guid>http://www.swinepro.com/europe/greater-support-for-czech-pig-farmers-722011/</guid><author>Sun, 06 Feb 2011 07:22:00 +0000</author><comment></comment></item></channel></rss>
