Author: c001os

Compound feed production falls across Europe, with more to come

Written by c001os on 2023.11.01.. Posted in Nutrinfo.

EU production of compound feed for farmed animals in the 27 Member States is estimated at 148.9 million tonnes – a fall of 3.8% compared to 2021 figures, according to data published by the European Feed Manufacturers’ Association (FEFAC). Production fell for all feed sectors, but most significantly for pigs (-6.7%) and poultry (-3.2%) due to the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza. Pig feed production fell by 3 million tonnes compared to 2021, with many Member States, including Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Portugal and Romania, recording a decrease of more than 5%. Smaller farms closed down due to the deteriorating economic situation and farm profitability. Pork exporting countries increased their production as China continued to recover from ASF and reduced its pork import volumes. ASF continued to play a role in Germany and Romania, affecting economic efficiency. Poultry feed production fell by 2 million tonnes, with several countries, including Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy and Portugal, severely affected by avian influenza. Some farms skipped cycles due to escalating costs, further impacting feed demand. FEFAC reported that cattle feed production fell by 0.5 million tonnes compared to the previous year. This was partly due to the amount of additional feed purchased in 2021 due to the severe drought. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis in the EU had a significant impact on the EU economy and inflation, leading to reduced demand for animal products and therefore compound feed. Only 5 Member States, including Poland, Slovakia and Austria, managed to slightly increase or stabilise their feed production. Looking ahead, the European Commission’s forecasts suggest that compound feed production is expected to fall for all species except poultry this year. Uncertainty over feed and fertiliser prices and inflation will continue to affect the feed market. FEFAC market experts estimate that compound feed production will continue to decline by 1.5% to a level of 146.8 million tonnes.

Variable light intensity programmes impact broiler welfare

Written by c001os on 2023.10.25.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Poultry.

In a recent press release, USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Arkansas in which researchers evaluated the effects of variable light intensity programs on broiler welfare. David Caldwell, head of the Department of Poultry Science and director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, and his team recently completed the project. The aim of the project was to determine the effects of variable intensity lighting and natural lighting programmes on behaviour, gait score and stress hormone (corticosterone) compared to constant light intensity programmes in commercial broiler farms. Other objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of enrichment hut on broiler behaviour, gait score and stress in the different lighting programmes. The results showed that the variable light intensity lighting programme stimulated dust bathing behaviour and voluntary movement of the birds. In addition, litter moisture content and footpad lesions were lowest in the variable light programme house.

First BVDV-resistant calf produced by gene editing

Written by c001os on 2023.10.25.. Posted in Cattle, Nutrinfo.

Scientists have collaborated to produce the first gene-edited calf with resistance to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV). The study, published recently in PNAS Nexus, is the result of a collaboration between several universities and industry players. BVDV is one of the most important viruses affecting the health and well-being of cattle worldwide and has been studied by researchers since the 1940s when it was first identified. The virus does not affect humans, but is highly contagious among cattle and can cause severe respiratory and intestinal disease. BVDV can be devastating to pregnant cows, as it can infect developing calves, causing spontaneous abortions and low birth rates. Some infected calves survive to birth and remain infected for life, shedding massive amounts of virus to other cattle. Over the past 20 years, the scientific community has discovered the key cellular receptor (CD46) and the site where the virus binds to this receptor and causes infection in cows. In this latest study, scientists have modified the virus binding site to block infection. Aspen Workman, lead author and researcher at ARS’ US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska, said, “Our goal was to use gene-editing technology to slightly modify CD46 so that it doesn’t bind the virus but still retains all its normal functions in cattle. The scientists first tested this idea in cell culture. After seeing promising results in the lab, Acceligen edited cattle skin cells to develop embryos carrying the modified gene. These embryos were transplanted into surrogate cows to test whether this approach could also reduce viral infection in live animals. It worked, and the first CD46 gene-edited calf, named Ginger, was born healthy on 19 July 2021. The calf was followed for several months and then challenged with the virus to see if it could become infected. She was housed for a week with a BVDV-infected dairy calf that was born shedding virus. Ginger’s cells showed significantly reduced susceptibility to BVDV, resulting in no observed adverse health effects. Scientists will continue to monitor Ginger’s health and ability to produce and rear her own calves. This promising trait is still in the research phase and no associated cattle are currently entering the US food supply.

New lifetime production record in the USA

Written by c001os on 2023.10.18.. Posted in Cattle, Nutrinfo.

A Holstein cow at the ripe old age of 14 has set a new lifetime production record in the USA. Owned and bred by the Dankert family at Nor-Bert Farm in Bremen, Indiana, the cow named Nor-Bert Colby Connie has pumped a record 486,300 pounds (over 22 tonnes) of milk. And she is still producing, as Connie has just calved again and is increasing her production every day. Connie has equally impressive results for her milk quality components with a lifetime record of 12,275kg of fat and 8,045kg of protein in her last completed lactation. These massive fat and protein totals are currently the highest lifetime fat and protein totals in the Holstein Association USA database. This new production record comes in quick succession to that set by another US cow, Chrome-View Charles 3044, who set the record earlier this year with a total of 217 tonnes of lifetime milk. These lifetime production records have highlighted the scope of what Holstein cows can achieve.

Benefits of fermented rapeseed meal for growing pigs

Written by c001os on 2023.10.18.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

Fermented rapeseed meal has a positive effect on improving the growth performance and intestinal health of growing pigs, according to Chinese research. Researchers from the Institute of Animal Husbandry at Sichuan Agricultural University claim that the results of a recent study could also help develop new protein sources for animal nutrition and the feed industry. The study, the results of which have been published in the Journal of Animal Nutrition, involved 30 growing pigs randomly assigned to three treatments: corn-soybean meal diet (CSD), rapeseed meal diet (RSD) and fermented rapeseed meal diet (FRSD). The results showed that compared with RSD, feeding FRSD increased the average daily gain and final body weight of pigs (P<0.01). Compared with RSD feeding, FRSD feeding increased the apparent digestibility of crude protein, acid detergent fibre and ether extract in pigs (P<0.01). The FRSD group had higher apparent ileal digestibility of His, Thr, Lys and SER than the RSD group (P<0.01). Digestible energy, metabolic energy and nitrogen utilisation were higher in the FRSD and CSD groups than in the RSD group (P<0.01). Compared with the RSD, the FRSD diet decreased the serum concentration of leptin but significantly increased the concentration of immunoglobulin (IG) A, IgC, IgM and the enzyme activities of amylase, lipase and trypsin in the pancreas (p<0.05). In terms of intestinal health, the FRSD diet not only increased the expression of occludin in the small intestinal epithelium (P<0.05) but also increased the expression of SGLT1 and CAT1 genes in the jejunum (P<0.05) compared to the RSD diet.

Analysts expect weaker global pork trade

Written by c001os on 2023.10.11.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

Global pork markets are being affected by sluggish economic growth, weak consumption and recurrent disease outbreaks, and according to Rabobank’s latest Quarterly Pork Report, global trade is expected to weaken after a strong first half of the year. While sluggish economic growth has impacted consumers around the world, pork continues to hold a relatively stable position on consumers’ plates, notes the Rabobank report. The reasons for the weaker performance vary from region to region. In Europe, pork consumption remains under pressure from persistently high prices. In the US, demand was slightly below expectations at the start of the summer as uncooperative weather and poor air quality hampered the start of the barbecue season. And in China, pork consumption remains weak due to a weak economy and heat waves across the country. Chenjun Pan, senior Animal Protein analyst at Rabobank, expects global trade to weaken in the second half of 2023. “Inventories of frozen pork in China are high due to weak consumption, putting pressure on imports. In addition, tighter supply in the EU is limiting shipments from the region,” said Pan. The Rabobank report highlights that pork supply in the EU and UK fell in the first four months of 2023, with double-digit declines in some countries. This tight supply is supporting high prices, which in turn is putting pressure on consumption. Meanwhile, in China, pork supply continues to outstrip demand, putting pressure on prices and leading to multi-month losses for producers. Rabobank adds that the liquidation of the country’s sow herd will continue in the second half of the year. Supply is also plentiful in the US, where producers have relatively healthy balance sheets after two years of outsized profits. However, given the forecast losses, Rabobank expects the US herd liquidation to continue until 2024.

Magical pictures in the Agrofeed photo competition

Written by c001os on 2023.10.10.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Uncategorized.

Agrofeed Kft. announced a nature photography contest for its partners and employees. As
part of the competition, we were looking for pictures taken in a natural environment that
show the diversity of the living world – they capture plants, animals, landscapes, or tourist
attractions in the environment.

Our photo competition received more and better pictures from our partners and employees.
It was not easy to choose the best among them.

The pictures were evaluated by a prestigious professional jury:
Photographer Pál Nánási, nature photographer Kornél Farkas, managing director Tibor
Csitkovics.

Our goal was to create value and bring new color to our workplaces and homes with this
common, tradition-creating initiative.

Fertiliser supply critical to food security

Written by c001os on 2023.10.04.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Pig.

An influential select committee report has called on the government to take steps to support increased nitrogen fertiliser production in the UK. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has called on the Government to examine the incentives offered by competing nations and to produce an action plan within the next six months. The committee said nitrogen fertiliser plays a vital role in UK food security and the production of the ammonia used in it creates large amounts of carbon dioxide gas as a by-product, which is vital to the food supply chain. However, there is only one nitrogen fertiliser plant in the UK, which undermines UK food security and the lack of alternatives has led to a significant increase in UK prices at a time when the sector is already under significant price pressure. Given the importance of nitrogen fertiliser to UK food production and food security, the Government should set out how it will ensure its continued production in the UK. Given that Europe and the United States are intervening directly in their own fertiliser sectors, it seems completely remiss for the UK to do nothing. Responding to the publication of the report, Ed Barker, head of policy and external affairs at the Agricultural Industry Confederation (AIC), said: “We welcome the key findings of the EFRA Select Committee report. The AIC will continue to work with the committee and MPs as part of its efforts to represent the interests of the UK’s agricultural supply industry.”

Multi-drug resistant bacteria found in 40% of supermarket meat samples in Spain

Written by c001os on 2023.10.04.. Posted in Nutrinfo, Poultry.

Multidrug-resistant E. coli was found in 40% of supermarket meat samples tested in a Spanish study. E. coli strains capable of causing serious human infections were also highly prevalent, according to this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April). Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels worldwide. With drug-resistant infections killing an estimated 700,000 people worldwide each year and projected to kill 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the greatest public health threats facing humanity. Multi-drug resistant bacteria can spread from animals to humans through the food chain, but due to commercial sensitivities, data on the levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria in food is not widely available. To find out more, Dr Azucena Mora Gutiérrez and Dr Vanesa García Menéndez from the University of Santiago de Compostela-Lugo, Lugo, Spain, together with colleagues from other research centres, designed a series of experiments to assess the levels of multidrug-resistant and extraintestinal pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae (Klebsiella pneumoniae, E. coli and other bacteria that can cause multidrug-resistant infections such as sepsis or urinary tract infections) in meat sold in Spanish supermarkets. They analysed 100 meat products (25 each of chicken, turkey, beef and pork) randomly selected from supermarkets in Oviedo in 2020. The majority (73%) of the meat products contained levels of E. coli that were within food safety limits. However, almost half (49%) contained multi-resistant and/or potentially pathogenic E. coli. Of these, 82 E. coli isolates were recovered and characterised. In addition, 12 K. pneumoniae isolates were recovered from 10 of the 100 meat products (7 chicken, 2 turkey and 1 pork). Forty of the 100 meat products contained multidrug-resistant E. coli (56 of the 82 E. coli characterised). These included E. coli that produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), enzymes that confer resistance to most beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins and the monobactam aztreonam. The authors of the study call for regular assessment of the levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including ExPEC E. coli, in meat products.

Hundreds of US cattle die in world’s hottest month

Written by c001os on 2023.09.27.. Posted in Cattle, Nutrinfo.

Hundreds of cattle in Iowa died from extreme heat and humidity in late July, Reuters reported, citing the state and livestock producers, as the world recorded its hottest month on record. The deaths show the toll of severe weather on livestock and food production. The losses further reduce the US cattle herd, already the smallest in decades, after drought forced ranchers to slaughter more cows for lack of pasture to feed them. While not massive in numbers, producers said the recent deaths were unusual. Cattle also died of heat in Kansas and Nebraska, state officials said. Gary Vetter, who raises cattle in western Iowa, said he worked to protect local herds, but about 53 cattle died at three of his neighbours’ feedlots during the last week of July. “They just started falling off, and there was nothing you could really do about it,” Vetter said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Heat is usually most dangerous for the heaviest cattle, which weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kg), but temperatures and humidity rose so high that even lighter 700-pound cattle died, said Vetter, whose farm near Iowa had a thermometer reading of 47 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering disaster assistance that could help compensate producers whose cattle died.