An unusual idea is being tested by the University of Iowa: fungus grown on bioethanol substrate residue as feed protein supplier and partially replacing grain or soymeal in pig rations. In 2011 almost 53 million litres of ethanol were produced
in the USA. The substrate residues now play an increasingly important role as feed. In fact, for every litre of biofuel produced 5 l of residue is left with most of it now filtered and fed to animals as DDGS or dried distiller’s grains with solubles. But this still leaves a liquid residue, the so-called thin distiller’s wash. University of Iowa scientists used this as medium for a fungus, Rhizopus microsphorus. This grows so fast that it can be »harvested« in less than 24 hours during which time the organism absorbs 60 % of the organic material and solids. The harvested and dried fungus is still rich in protein including some essential amino acids, as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients, all of which increase feed value
when mixed with grain substrate residue. In trials so far feed value has not been negatively affected when grain or soymeal is partially replaced by the mix.

Africa’s farmers could produce enough grain to feed the entire continent, according to a World Bank study. Currently, however, trading obstacles between individual countries as well as difficulties in accessing seed and artificial fertilisers limit production. Also acting as a brake on African food output are high transport costs and insufficient investment in modern transport fleets.
But the problems of climate change also loom ahead and African agriculture in particular has to adjust to cope with these challenges, points out another study, this time from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). This claims that climate change will push down yields of irrigated wheat in the developing countries by as much as 13 % in the next years. The decrease for rice yields is expected to reach 15 % and for maize a minus of 10 – 20% is forecast. As alternative CGIAC advises increased cultivation of manioc or, in regions with enough water, bananas.

In 2012 India topped for the first time the world beef export league with shipments of almost 1.7 million tonnes. And production will increase even more during the present year. Delivering the latest figures, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on the development of global livestock and meat markets points out that this Indian export trade is primarily supported by growing demand in the smaller emergent countries in southeast Asia, Africa and Near East. Above all, India’s capability of producing meat slaughtered under halal rules for Muslim countries creates an advantage for the country over other large exporters such as Australia or Brazil. The USDA reckons that by the end of 2013 India could be supplying a quarter of the world export trade in beef.
Higher production costs expected. Meanwhile, the report estimates that world beef production will increase by 0.3 % this year to 57.2 m t. Alongside US and Brazilian beef production (11.7 and 9.4 m t respectively) the EU is also a major beef area, producing 7.9 m t. But the next years will see a drop in beef output by the US and EU, reckons the USDA. Main reason: increased production costs. Europe is also experiencing a drop in consumer demand. There’ll be increased production in Brazil and Australia, by around 2 % in each case, whereby Australia is expected to increase its beef exports by the same amount to meet more demand from Asia and America. Brazil’s expanding beef production is mainly aimed at meeting domestic demand.

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The search for alternative feed components continues in Britain too – and here an interesting potential protein source being looked at features insect larvae. Scientists at the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) cooperate with a major feed firm testing larvae as replacement for soya or fishmeal in rations. The larvae are cost-efficiently produced on organic waste.
It’s felt that home-grown alternative protein like this could offer cheaper supplies, especially for the pig and poultry sectors already under pressure from steeply rising feed prices worldwide.
The three year Fera project will be looking at larvae production techniques as well as their feed value and suitability as ration ingredient, particularly with consumer acceptability in mind.

New Zealand aims to carve itself a major share of the premium beef market through a new breeding programme based on Wagyu bulls. Crossed with dairy cows this Japanese breed, already recognised worldwide for its high quality marbled meat, should give premium cuts, the sort already in great demand at home and overseas. The New Zealand government supports the plan with the equivalent of 7.2 million €. Brownrigg Agriculture, one of the firms involved in the programme, has built up a population of Wagyu cattle in the country over the past 15 years.
Growing awareness for environment. Standard procedure for large-scale beef production features grain rations in feedlots. But New Zealand aims to cater for growing consumer interest in more natural production from grass fed cattle, according to Gerard Hickey managing director of another participant, Firstlight Foods. »For instance in California there’s new consumer awareness concerning grain feeding and the desire to change over to grass systems«. The planners reckon that the market value of animals from the Wagyu programme will be around 551 m € by 2028.

Bt maize area in Spain increased by 20 % in the single year to 2012. In that season 116,000 ha of the GM crop were drilled representing 30 % of the country’s total maize crop, reports the Spanish Foundation for Application of New Technology in Agriculture (Antema). Farmers have chosen GM maize for their fields particularly in Aragon (41,600 ha), Catalonia (33,500 ha) und Extremadura (16,000 ha).
According to the German Internet portal »bio­Sicherheit«, Spain has by far the largest area of Bt maize in Europe.

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Teff, a sorghum type (Eragostis tef) could represent an interesting niche crop for European growers. It’s a cereal that’s been grown over centuries in Ethiopia but is also now catching farmers’ attention in more northern climes. Teff yields best under conditions where temperatures range from 10 – 27 °C with 450 – 500 mm precipitation. It’s otherwise a very undemanding crop and can stand waterlogging as well as drought. This adds to its promise under climate change with the associated expected increase in weather extremes. Teff grain is also attractive nutritionally with an added advantage of having no gluten. Institutes in Germany and Switzerland are now looking closer into cultivation and utilisation of teff in Europe. Meanwhile, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture is examining growing requirements in a series of field trials.  Further south, the Technical University of Munich has produced a gluten-free beer from teff. Gluten intolerance is now recognised as one of the most common forms of food intolerance with around 300,000 people affected in Germany alone. But legal barriers to free cultivation of the Ethiopian crop might well stop development in its tracks. Since 2007 a Dutch company holds a patent on »The flour of a grain belonging to the genus Eragostis where the falling number of the grain at time of milling is at least 250«. Although teff almost always is capable of this characteristic, the patent was still granted because no one else had bothered to document or publicise this attribute. A court action contesting the patent in 2011 was dismissed by the European Patent Office. At the same time the patent owning company entered into a contract with the Ethiopian government regulating public access to teff seed so that it’s no longer possible to grow the seed without a licence from the firm, a development which is being described in European agriculture commentaries as nothing short of scandalous.

Plants are capable of adjusting their defence mechanisms to deal with the particular pest populations found on growing locations. This natural response is being demonstrated by University of Zurich scientists supported by researchers in California and the UK using thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). This is often used in trials because of its relatively small genome. But it has reactions like many other plants such as the ability to produce chemical defence substances against attack from pests such as aphids.
In the University of Zurich trials different genotypes of the plant were subjected to attack by various aphid populations. It was found that the defence substances in plants from southwest Europe were different to those emitted by plants from the northeast of the continent. This is because the defence adjusts over generations to effectively tackle the difference in local aphid population.
»Plants of the same type can produce defence substances specific to the locally dominant pests«, explained ecologist Tobias Züst. In this way pests influence genetic variety in host plants.
Scientists are also able to show that this defence mechanism can adjust relatively rapidly to changes in pest populations. To prove this, plants from the northeast were subjected to attack from aphid populations typical for the southwest of Europe. Within just five generations thale cress had adjusted to the challenge and produced the required specific defence. Other defence mechanisms no longer required were discarded by the plants over the same period.
Genetic variation within current crop plants is often reduced through modern breeding. Despite this, scientists hope there’s still enough leeway in crop plant genetics to help them develop plants tailor-made to deal with local pest challenges. An obvious direct advantage: the use of conventional plant protection measures could then be reduced.

Our genes determine individual reaction to the smell and taste of boar meat. Trials
at the University of Oslo in cooperation with the US Duke University, North Carolina have established how different this reaction can be. US researcher Hiroaki Matsunami first identified a single gene responsible for sensitivity to the odour substance androstenone in male pigs. Around 70 % of the human population have two functional copies of this gene and thus react more sensitively than people with just one, or no, variant of the gene. This could lead to boar meat being unacceptable to the first group.
An experiment at the University of Oslo has now confirmed the association: Trial
candidates with the double gene evaluated the meat sample set before them all the more negatively, the higher the content of androstenone. This situation will increase in importance should the castration of male piglets be forbidden within the EU. Whereas physically-castrated animals have practically no androstenone in their meat, immuno-castrated animals have 0.1 to 0.2 ppm and meat from entire boars can have androstenone levels as high as 6.4 ppm. There’s therefore the risk, say the scientists, that popularity of pork would suffer should a noncastration policy be introduced.

Producers of ethanol could be partly responsible for increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minnesota.In many ethanol production plants antibiotics such as penicillin and erythromycin are routinely applied to supress growth of unwanted bacteria during
fermentation. A by-product of ethanol production, the so-called distillers
grains (DGS), is used in feed for beef and dairy cattle, pigs and poultry. As early as 2008 the US food safety watchdog (FDA) identified antibiotic residues in DGS. One result is that antibiotics used in ethanol production must now meet all the requirements of feed additives. Up until now, though, there has been no limit imposed on the amounts of antibiotics used in ethanol production, nor on ethanol DGS inclusion in feeds.

A new homepage launched this April as part of the World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty graphically depicts the scope of so-called »land grabbing«. A network of international research organisations including the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) analyses land sales over the last decade whereby a total 83 m ha in respective countries has been sold to foreign private and state investors.
Africa is the main country affected with 56 m ha involved. Mainly poor countries are targeted in this respect by government funds and large investors. The website
points out that at time of sale, with 2009 representing a peak in this »land grabbing« trade, almost 50% of the affected areas were being used by indigenous small-scale
farmers. More information: www.landportal.info/landmatrix

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Maize can attract beneficial soil bacteria into their rooting area and influence their behaviour there, according to a British research project which found that the roots of young maize plants produce so-called benzoxazinoids (BXs). These encourage
Pseudomonas putida bacteria to move into the maize rhizosphere. P. putida not
only help the plant assimilate nutrients such as iron or phosphorous but also defend
it from disease attack.
»We’ve known for some time that the roots of different types of plants secrete chemical substances that attract beneficial organisms into their rhizosphere«, says
Dr Andrew Neal, one of the study team managers in Hertfordshire. Now, however,
the scientists are able to prove for the first time that these substances comprise
not only energy sources for the bacteria such as sugar or organic acids. BXs are secreted too and until now these were regarded as toxic to soil bacteria. But BXs not only attract P. putida, into the maize rhizosphere. The substances are also capable of activating or deactivating bacterium genes. »The BX activates processes within the bacteria that help fight soil-borne diseases. This means that the plant not only recruits beneficial bacteria but also is capable of controlling their behaviour«, points out Dr Jurriaan Ton from Sheffield University.
The eventual aim of further research is to breed plants more capable of supressing
soil-borne diseases and of attracting colonisation of growth-promoting bacteria
within their rhizosphere. This should enable sustainable increase of crop yields
with, at the same time, reductions in plant protection and fertiliser applications.

European farmers business expectations offer a divided picture. While farmers in
Germany and France start the next few months more confidently than in spring,
there are clouds in the sky in the United Kingdom and Poland. Despite the tense economic situation for animal production in general, investment intentions for such
enterprises in Germany have increased more than in other European countries.
This is one of the results of the DLG Trendmonitor for autumn 2012. The DLG
Trendmonitor is based on a survey of around 3,800 farmers from six European
countries conducted every six months by the market research company Kleffmann
on behalf of DLG.
The focus in Germany lies on animal husbandry with 44 % of the planned  investments, 42 % for the arable and 14 % for the bioenergy sector. British farmers have lost some of their optimism. Especially dairy farmers are suffering from low milk prices, so willingness to invest has dropped from 52 % in spring this year to 42 % now. French farmers, though, are more positive about their business situation. Their inclination to invest increased from 26 % in spring to 31 % in the actual survey. In Poland assessment of business development remains relatively stable, while investment plans show a slightly downward trend from 58 % in spring to 55 % now.

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In future the fertility of artificial insemination (AI) doses could be improved by a simple magnetic method for weeding-out defective sperms. The developer is Peter Sutovsky from the University of Missouri who explains: »There are various sperm defects that are not visually detectable so cannot be identified using current
methods«.To improve this situation Sutovsky introduced a procedure that utilises the protein ubiquitin as biomarker. Ubiquitin can be found in just about all materials and marks defective proteins which can then be broken down and recycled. Defective sperm can be identified in this way too with the ubiquitin attaching itself to the sperm cell surface. Sutovsky enveloped small metal particles
with an antibody so that these could attach themselves to the ubiquitin. This allows him to use a magnet to withdraw defective sperm marked by the metallised ubiquitin. »If we then pull the damaged sperm down to the bottom of the AI tube
we can skim off the intact sperm.« In a trial where 500 cows and heifers were inseminated with sperm treated in this way the pregnancy rate was able to be maintained despite reduced sperm concentration.Through this magnetic selection the target is to reduce sperm concentration per AI dose from the present 20 m to beween 10 and 15 m without reducing conception rate. Because ubiquitin carries out the same function with the semen from other animals there’s a possible role for this cost-reducing solution elsewhere in farming.

Business results from dairy farms managed by European Dairy Farmers (EDF)
members have improved on average with full production costs just covered in the year 2011 or 2010/11 – if appropriate decoupled payments are taken into account. Considering full costs meant that current payment levels for own production factors
such as land and labour were also added to inputs. The positive results were presented at this year’s EDF congress by Steffi Wille-Sonk in a comparison featuring 313 dairy farms from Europe. Also presented were results from 20 farms in Australia and Canada. The comparison revealed that differences in profitability between EDF farms with similar input systems were mainly due to differing production costs.
The milk production enterprises on the EDF farms realised an average total return (without decoupled direct farm payments) of 41.1 c/kg ECM (graph), ECM being energy corrected milk at 4 % fat and 3.4 % protein content with 34.6 c/kg coming
from milk sales alone. Full costs averaged 44.7 c/kg. Total returns minus full costs therefore left an entrepreneurial loss averaging 3.6 c/kg (= key figure »Entrepreneur’s profit 1«). With the appropriate share of decoupled direct payments (single farm payments) taken into account, however, this added some 3.8 c/kg to the calculation and moved the bottom line just into the positive side with a plus of 0.2 c/kg ECM. The most profitable 25 % of farms in the EDF country groups achieved better results mainly in labour, building and machinery costs with less hours per cow required and less capital per cow tied up in buildings and machinery. These results indicate that work procedure on the most successful farms is more efficiently planned and emphasise milk price is not the major reason for the difference in profitability between single farms, the 25 % best farms being in the position to cover full costs with a producers’ price of 28.4 c/kg ECM.

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Intensive monitoring of cows at calving takes up a lot of time. Clear signs of imminent birth can be a great help. This is why a New Zealand study spotlighted the behaviour of 20 cows over the 24 hours prior to giving birth and compared this with a similar period 10 days earlier. The cows were penned as a group during observation.
Recorded were the periods of standing, walking, lying, feeding, drinking, floor-licking, tail lifting and skin grooming actions. It was shown that just prior to calving the cows tended to lie down more often, although generally for shorter periods. The cows also moved around more right before calving and lifted their tails almost three times as often and also licked the barn floor more often. Time spent feeding was about the same for both periods.– kl –

Work completed at the Pig Research Centre shows that less than just 0.5 % inclusion of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in finishing pig diets can increase profitability of castrated males by as much as 17 % with significantly better feed conversion and a higher lean meat percentage. Female feeders did not react so well to extra linoleic with profitability increased by only 7 %. According to the Danish researchers, this meant that the performance differences between female feeders in control and trial groups were not really significant. The extra feed price when CLA was added was calculated at the equivalent to 1.30 €/for 100 kg (13.4 MJ ME) with the CLA added at 0.5 % in the diet, substituting the same percentage of vegetable oils. Control pigs received 2 % vegetable oil and no CLA. Control and trial groups each comprised 185 pigs in sexed pens. The same rations were fed from  around 30 kg liveweight to an average 62.8 kg when the trial group received the CLA supplemented diet up to slaughter at 109 kg. Over the trial period the castrated and female CLA pigs averaged a daily liveweight gain of 960 g, 2.5 % higher than control. Feed conversion gains were described as significant with 2.65:1 against control’s 2.75:1.– nd –

Arpind seven months after the first indication of Schmallenberg virus there’s still no serial test procedure available for large-scale investigations into the disease, according to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), Germany’ premier virus research institute on the Baltic island of Riems.Currently, scientists throughout Europe are researching the virus with vaccine development a priority. But even the most optimistic reckon that another year and more is needed for this target to be realised.
One hurdle has been actually capturing an image of the virus. Now, though, FLI researchers have managed to highlight the dangerous cattle, sheep and goat pathogen in images of infected cells via electron microscope (photo). The virus is  membrane-enveloped and three-segmented with a diameter of around 100 nm. Meanwhile, research in Belgium has identified the vectors of the Schmallenberg virus: types of midges which were also responsible for transmitting blue tongue disease which spread rapidly across the continent around five years ago. According to EU officials Schmallenberg virus has so far infected livestock in the Benelux countries, in Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain.
Currently the number of resultant malformed newborn calves is increasing steadily, although the European Food Safety Authority has predicted an imminent reduction in infected ruminants.

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The edible resin propolis, used in bee colonies to protect the young insects from disease, is also suitable for meat conservation according to the results of research in Columbia.
Trials there have shown that propolis has properties in this respect similar to the usual nitrite preservatives. The trials compared shelf life of hard cooked sausages conserved with either nitrite or propolis. All samples were infected with bacteria common to meat products and it was found that their control by propolis was just as good as with nitrite, making the former a good natural substitute for use in preserved meats.

China will import less pig meat in the immediate future, despite the country’s own production being reduced through diseases such as foot and mouth. The Dutch Rabobank came to this conclusion following a recent analysis indicating a rise in domestic pig production after last year’s dramatic 80 to 90 % increase in pork imports. The institute does predict that Chinese imports of meat and offal in general over the next five years may be reduced by between 18 and 35 %. In 2011 China imported between 360,000 and 380,000 t of pig meat with 200,000 t of this coming from the USA (five times the US shipments in the previous year).
At the same time, Chinese pig population expansion continues to be threatened by disease outbreaks. There are clearly recognisable signs of foot and mouth in the national herd, say the Rabobank experts.  This hasn’t stopped fairly rapid expansion of the national herd, though. By November 2011 pig population was put at 475 million, about 5 % up on the year. Pig numbers were higher in 2009 but still 2 % less than the current total.

Vaccination represents a possible alternative to surgical castration of male pigs. One problem is that at final vaccination, around four to six weeks prior to slaughter, males are already well developed and therefore possibly more aggressive and at least partially sexually active. What might this mean in terms of management?
Researchers at the University of Halle in Germany studied this scenario and their findings, published in the magazine Applied Animal Behaviour Science, indicate that performance of vaccinated boars is negatively affected in all-male pens during the period between the two vaccinations at weeks 12 and 23. But afterwards, up to slaughter at week 28, overall performance of the chemically castrated males was found to be better than control groups.
Feeding duration and feed intake by the vaccine castrates in single-sex groups between the vaccinations was lower than with surgically castrated groups. The researchers felt that this could have been because of increased aggression between penned males and through more associated shoulder injuries: problems that were not so prominent where the vaccine castrates were in mixed-sex pens. Feeding duration and feed consumption were both higher for surgically castrated males in sexed groups than for the vaccine castrates. Weight gain was not significantly different between the groups.
Following the second vaccination the vaccine castrates in single-sex pens increased feed consumption to more than the surgically castrated males. In single or in mixed-sex groups weight gain also turned out to be best for the vaccine castrates with no further difference in feeding behaviour or in injuries.

With the action »Big Challenge – pig producers against cancer« the Dutch pig sector runs a successful campaign to aid research. To collect as much money as possible for the Dutch Cancer Foundation (KWF) this year, 177 pig sector cyclists aim to pedal up the famed Tour de France mountain stage Alpes d’Huez as many times as they can during June 6 and 7. The athletic action is sponsored by big names in the pig sector and the target is to collect 840,000 €. The initiative was started in 2009 by a pig farmer who himself was ill with cancer. This year a team from eastern Germany will take part – in fact, eight Dutch farmers who run pig units there. The action has a secondary role for many of the farmers: the improvement of the pig farming and pig meat processing image in Europe. In December 2011 the project was awarded the ZLTO prize for pig sector public relations initiative in this respect.
More information:
www.bigchallenge2012.nl

Alongside piglet castration, dehorning of calves is caught increasing in the spotlight of animal welfare concern. Currently more than half of German cattle breeding farms dehorn their calves at over a month of age, according to the returns from a survey by North-Rhine Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture and Soest Technical University. Farms with 200 and more cows dehorned their calves on average later than farms with smaller herds where calves were usually between two and four weeks at the time of the operation. In more than three-quarters of the units the farmer took over this job, often with the help of a second person.
86 % of dehornings were carried out with an electric burner. More seldom in use were accumulator-powered or gas-fired dehorners, simple soldering irons or even  heated steel bars. Around 70 % of the operations featured sedation of the calves, 38 % immobilised the animals via halter or in a feeding yoke while 14 % held the animals still without any mechanical aid. Vet-supplied local anaesthetics  were used on 15 % of the farms.  Resultant wounds were treated with disinfectant bluespray in 80 % of cases and in 3 %  with iodine preparations.

How long does dehorning take? On average, the respondents said they took seven minutes for a dehorning, although the time varied between just 1.5 and 20 minutes. This time included the administration of local anaesthesia and sedative, when used, and the necessary waiting time for these preparations. The operation time also included immobilisation of the animal and post-operative tasks such as disinfecting any wound and also cleaning of the dehorner.
Only 10 % of respondents said they’d considered letting the horns grow or adopting poll genetics.

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By 2020 it is expected that annual global investment in renewable energy could well total 312 billion €, according to the analyst firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The representative investment for 2010 was 154 bn €, but a steep climb in renewable energy investment is seen from now on with 363 bn € agreed as probable annual input by 2030. For the total 20 year period the Bloomberg analysts reckon this sector will attract an investment volume of 5.5 trillion €. Additionally, they reckon that the share of energy from renewable sources in worldwide primary energy production will rise from the present 12.6 % to 15.7 % in 2030.
China is identified as top investor in this respect, followed by Germany and then the USA. But dominant in renewable energy production growth in the coming 20 years is expected to be Latin American countries and those in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is expected that by 2020 50 % of worldwide annual investments in this sector will be in markets outside Europe, North America and China.

Piglets are very aware of their mother’s smell during the suckling phase and it appears that their post-weaning development is much better if that comforting scent continues to be present. At least this is the experience of a University of Wageningen research team under Marije Oostindjer, as reported in the online scientific journal »PLoSOne«.

The Dutch scientists gave aniseed flavoured feed to sows, either during the last phase of gestation or while they were suckling. After weaning, some of the piglets from these sows’ litters were presented with this smell again, either via feed or in the surrounding air. In the presence of this scent that had permeated their first days of life these piglets showed a much better development than those in control groups. They consumed more feed. They proved livelier, grew faster and in general displayed less post-weaning adjustment difficulties, according to the Wageningen research team.
Biologists had already discovered that piglets recognise and remain aware of smells resulting from their mothers’ diet during suckling, reports Oostindjer.

The so-called Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) now introduced for pig producers in Australia will give farmers carbon credits for reducing methane emissions from pig manure. The government reckons that over 680 pig production farms will benefit. Farmers will be rewarded for using the methane from manure for energy production. Even simply collecting methane and burning it off will earn credits.
The scheme then expects the farmers to sell the carbon credits and thus earn more income. First calculations point to an extra income equal to 2.60 € per finished pig carcass through selling the credits.
 
Of course, investment is needed for biogas production plant on individual farms. The Australian pork industry reckons payback period ranges from 18 months on big operations to as long as five years on small units.
The CFI programme is to be extended to cover a large variation of farming and forestry enterprises throughout Australia, according to the government in Canberra.

The average EU-27 rise in real farmer incomes in agriculture has definitely slowed down for 2011. Estimates of earnings per labour unit rose by 6.7 %. In the previous year the respective figure was plus 12.6 %. The EU statistical office (Eurostat) explains that in 2011 there was an estimated average income increase of 3.9 % while actual applied labour decreased by 2.7 %. According to Eurostat agricultural incomes per labour unit have increased by 18.3 % between 2005 and 2011 in the EU-27. Against this, the amount of labour applied in agriculture in the same period slid back by 15.2 %. Main reason for the income increase in the last year was the 7.5 % rise in value of farm output in terms of the actual cash received by producers. Input costs rose at the same time, by 9.7 %. In 19 of the EU member countries the real income of farmers increased, but did not for the remaining eight. The highest rise is estimated by Eurostat for farmers in Romania, Hungary, Ireland, Slovakia and Luxembourg. Growth was also clearly evident on Czech Republic, Bulgarian and Danish farms. The most marked reduction in farmer incomes was recorded in Belgium, Portugal and Finland.

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Coppiced poplar or willow harvests offering up to 20 t dry matter/ha with harvesting every four or five years so far represent peak biomass production performance from energy crops in temperate climate Europe.

But new winter-hardy lines of the so-called »Empress Tree« (Paulownia tomentosa) now launched on the Canadian market can produce over 60 t dried biomass/ha, according to the developers. The tree is a deciduous hardwood that, in the continental climate of southern Canada around the Great Lakes (where winter temperatures can still drop well below zero), grows by between 3 and 7 metres every summer. The Empress Tree originated in the Far East and some lines were introduced to the US and Europe as garden plants in the 1800s mainly because of their vivid blue/purple blossoms in spring. In the southern US the plant spread rapidly on waste ground, squeezing out native flora. The fact that every mature tree can produce over a million seeds each year explains the dominance of the early Empress lines. The US Department of Agriculture listed the tree as a serious pest and further cultivation was banned. But now sterile lines have been developed and these are once again permitted as garden plants or biomass crops in North America.
Empress trees with a more horizontal growth pattern – more like bushes – are now being developed in Canada for the biomass market. According to the developing company W.R. Smale, this means coppicing can be carried out after just two or three years. Field trials, says owner Bob Smale, indicate no serious pests so far for the ultra-quick growing biomass crop. As with willow and poplar energy trees, Empress planting is now fully mechanised. – nd –

Each year the potato starch processing industry produces over a million tonnes of pulp in Europe. Only a fraction of this by-product is currently used. But potato pulp actually contains valuable dietary fibres with a potential high demand from the food industry for the stabilisers and viscosity aids that could be provided. Now a Danish team from the University of Copenhagen led by Professor Peter Ulvskov has developed a method for large-scale extraction of these by-products. They are especially rich in the pectin rhamnogalacturonan I, (RG I), according to Dr Ulvskov, and could help to produce new ingredients for food manufacturers. Writing in the journal »Food Chemistry«, the team from Copenhagen says that around 30 % of industrial potato pulp is made up of these dietary fibres. It is believed that the new process will add substantially to the value of the starch potato crop in Europe.– nd –

In the coming year India becomes the world’s third largest exporter of beef thus overtaking the USA. This is what the US Department of Agriculture reckons on the basis of an estimated 16 % increase in beef and buffalo meat from the sub-continent to a total 1.28 m t for 2012. This puts India just ahead of the US where the respective figure is expected to be 1.25 m t. The performance from India could be braked by foot and mouth disease through countries not accepting the beef exports.
Top performer in the beef export field remains Australia with an estimated 1.38 m t to be shipped onto the world market in 2012 – that’s 2 % up on the year. Brazil was in position two in 2011 with 1.33 m t exported, representing a marked drop of 15 % on 2010. Export progress for beef is being held back in Brazil, mainly through increases in demand from the domestic market. But the USDA calculates Brazil will still remain a strong number two in 2012. As for the EU, it managed to return to the ranks of the net exporters of beef in 2010 after seven years under self-sufficiency. First estimates for 2011 indicate just a slight increase with an expected 0.2 % reduction in beef production in 2012.

Climate change means that more than drought tolerance has to be looked for in future crop plants – there’s also danger from increased flooding of farmland to consider. Researchers at the University of Nottingham cooperating with the University of California Riverside have discovered a mechanism within plants that can potentially protect them from flood damage. The key to at least prolonged plant survival underwater comprises proteins called transcription factors. In the presence of oxygen – i.e. normal growing conditions – these don’t last long. But under anaerobic conditions underwater, for example, they become stable and can alter plant genetic information and metabolism, slowing down plant life until the water is away. The research team hopes to be able to apply the transcription factors to change protein metabolism in crop plants so that tolerance to this oxygen deprivation is established. Researchers at the University of Potsdam, Germany are also working on crop tolerance to flooding and they too have discovered proteins that help the plant survive lack of oxygen and to switch metabolism supply to plant reserves.

Is piglet feed uptake stimulated when litter and sow get their rations at exactly the same time? This seems to be the case according to first results from trials at the Dutch Swine Innovation Center in Sterksel where 300 sows and their offspring are testing whether synchronised feeding might be a key to better performance in the farrowing pen.
To make sure none of the animals are caught napping when the troughs are filled, the Sterksel scientists even sound a horn the moment the rations are ready. »So far we haven’t enough results for dependable conclusions«, says project leader Nienke Dirx. »But our observations indicate that piglets out of litters subject to synchronised feeding can consume more feed and gain weight faster than those fed conventionally.« For the present year a more comprehensive trial is planned and this will compare weight gain of piglets in the farrowing pen and subsequent performance through to slaughter. The concept of synchronised feeding is also being introduced this year on commercial farms in the Netherlands where liquid feeding is given to sows and their litters. »With the liquid feeding technique we expect even better results from synchronised feeding«, reckons Dirx.– nd –

A new code for farm animal welfare is currently being developed in Denmark with the major aims of reducing mortality by 20 % by 2020. Researching and administering the new code is the Pig Research Centre of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council (DAFC).
The centre‘s researchers also want to introduce universal acceptance of loose housing for all sows during their gestation and the establishment of more suitably equipped »hospital pens« for treatment of sick or injured animals. The current focus, says Trine Vig, quality manager at the Pig Research Centre, is identifying concrete measures for better welfare of pigs and then their consequent establishment in commercial farms.
»Our target is to make the improvement of animal welfare on farms a process that’s continuous«.

Researchers at Harper Adams University College in England find that reducing the feeding of calves with milk replacer given just once per day saves the equivalent of 11 €/calf in labour costs up to weaning. The calves on the once per day milk diet  also change to solid feed more quickly, weaning 1.9 days earlier on average, and are a mean 3.6 kg heavier at weaning compared with calves on twice daily milk feeds.
Weaning took place when calves averaged 1.2 kg concentrates daily over three onsecutive days. This was at 27.3 days of age for the once per day calves and 29.2 days for the twice per day calves.

The Harper Adams trial featured two groups of Holstein and Holstein-cross bull calves, each group fed a daily total 600 g of milk replacer per calf to weaning with ad lib concentrates on offer along with straw and fresh water. The calves averaged 20 days old at trial begin. The once per day group got 3 litres replacer per day and the other group 2.5 litres twice. The once per day calves ate 11.5 kg more concentrates each, increasing feed costs by 5 €/head. Because the single feed calves ended up heavier, their feed cost per kg of liveweight gain was in the end 5.4 cents/kg lower. The once per day calves also showed less symptoms of diarrhoea during the trial and ended the trial with a greater rumen girth measurement indicating better development of the rumen.

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Scientists in Australia have found that feeding yeast proteins to weaned pigs not only helps their growth – it also boosts their immune capacity. Yeast protein concentrate (YPC) with its nucleotide, inositol and glutamate components increased height of duodenal villi in the young pigs’ intestines. In this way digestion efficiency in the growing and feeding phases was increased, according to the researchers. But YPC ingredients were also found to increase levels of immunoglobulin and thus potential for improved disease resistance. A team at the Department of Agriculture and Food’s Murdoch University, Western Australia compared groups of weaners on diets supplemented with YPC or its main ingredients or with no YPC. Although weight gain was not significantly affected, feed conversion appeared to be improved for YPC pigs in the 90-pig trial.– nd –

Almost half of all grain produced in the EU is harvested from French, German and Polish fields.
Wheat, barley and grain maize represent the main crops grown in the 27 member countries but an overall reduction in area sown to the crops, and less than perfect growing conditions, meant that total tonnages produced in 2009 and 2010 were both below 2008. Average annual production from the EU 27 for these three years was around 300 million tonnes.
Based on the average annual production from 2008 to 2010 per country, France established itself as greatest grain producer, harvesting 23 % of the EU total. This country produced by far the most wheat in the EU, but also harvested the biggest crops of barley and grain maize. Germany took second place for overall average grain with a 16.1 % share and then came Poland (9.5 %), Britain (7.5 %), Spain (6.9 %) and Italy with 6.4 % of the average annual grain harvest.

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Could it be that crop plants such as maize store soil moisture near their roots as emergency reserve in very dry conditions? This is one hypothesis suggested by Dr Andrea Carminati from the University of Göttingen in Germany. Researchers from Göttingen along with colleagues from the Universities of Potsdam and Davis California as well as the Helmholtz Institute (Leipzig) found that the soil moisture concentration directly in the root systems of maize and lupins is higher than that even a few cm further away. Before this discovery it had been generally accepted that there would be less available soil moisture in the immediate vicinity of such plants because the roots would absorb this first of all. How these individual reserves of soil moisture come about is still not fully understood. But the ability of some plants to create their own (short-term) water reserves could be a useful characteristic in breeding crops for high production under dry conditions.

One of the highest costs faced within the USA pig production sector is caused by the virus disease Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS). Iowa State University research, reported in the Internet portal of »Iowa Farmer Today«, puts the costs at around 641 m US$ (450 m €) which works out at around 80 € per sow and year. What‘s more, the costs have increased by just over 15% in the last five years.
Behind the figures is a US-wide survey of vets. These professionals reported that only around 28% of sows and gilts in breeding herds were not infected with the PRRS virus. Another significant finding: 60% of piglets in the US are already infected with the virus at weaning.

Using a normal digital camera or a Smartphone will in the future give farmers accurate information on the nutrient status of their growing crop plants. Larry Purcell and Doug Karcher from the University of Arkansas are currently developing a technology that will make this possible.
What happens is that the green of the foliage in the photographs is analysed by a commercial photo processing software. Crop leaves are photographed with a dark green and yellow card. The cards act as reference colours. The depth of the leaf colour indicates N content and the different colour shades have already been converted into an index by the two engineers. The photo processing software analyses the green colouring, compares it with the index and then gives information on crop N requirements. 

With backing from some of the largest food processors in Britain, the University of Aberdeen has developed what it calls  »The Cool Farm Tool« – a PC platform that allows farmers to identify and analyse the amount of carbon and greenhouse gases being given off from the enterprises on their own fields and barns.
It is calculated that 36 % of the carbon footprint of a single standard packet of potato crisps is caused by agriculture – and that the field operations alone cause around half of these emissions. Work at Aberdeen indicates that a crop of potatoes emits  around 800 kg carbon equivalent (CE) per year/ha, winter wheat just under 700 and oilseed rape a little less than wheat. Because of the superior yield in weight of potatoes, however, in terms of dry matter production this crop has the lowest CE footprint in this example, at around 50 kg/tonne DM with oilseed rape highest (nearer 200 kg) and wheat at just under 100 kg/t DM.
The areas open to significant adjustment by the farmer include the types of cultivation (CO2 being released from soil due to disturbance) and the emissions of nitrous oxide and methane by soils and livestock during other times. There’s also significant scope in the management of manure.
– nd –

Unstoppable haemorrhaging in calves signifies the almost always fatal disease bovine neonatal pancytopaenia (BNP) or bleeding calf syndrome. This surfaced four years ago. Because of the resultant internal and external bleeding the young animals lost almost all their blood and bone marrow cells, including the platelets essential for blood clotting. University of Giessen researchers have now determined the cause of the devastating disease. The problem started with a reaction to cell material present in a vaccine given to adult cows against bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD). It appears that the (now withdrawn) BVD vaccine also included MHC-1 cells that play a central role in the immune system. Where the type of MHC-1 cell in the vaccine was not the same as that of the vaccinated cow, this caused the production of antibodies that were then transferred from cow to calf in colostrum. Where the calf had the type of MHC-1 cell targeted by the ingested antibodies then these cells were naturally attacked and destroyed. The destruction of the MHC-1 cells in the young animal’s bone marrow in turn led to loss of clotting properties and the massive haemorrhaging. – nd –

The potato genome has now been decoded in detail thanks to cooperation between some 30 international institutes and a total of over 100 scientists.For instance Robin Buell and his team at the US Michigan State University identified genomes with special characteristics, gene sequences decisive for starch storage, protection from predators and disease and development of important tuber characteristics.The work with its promise of genetically modified ­varieties with special traits was reported in the magazine Nature.

More than 30 % of milk supplied by Danish farmers to the country’s major dairy Arla is produced by robot milking systems. And this has led to an unsuspected problem for the dairy: milk produced in this way often has higher than normal levels of free fatty acids (FFA). This can result in off-flavours in the milk and its products, explained Arla Foods Research Platform Manager Dr Jacob Holm Nielsen at a recent symposium in Italy.
Basically, FFA come from disruption of fat globule membranes. Research so far in the Netherlands (Wageningen UR Animal Science Group) and in Denmark indicates that long pipeline transport of milk immediately after milking could play a role as well as excessive mixing of air and milk at pumping, or multiple milkings per day. Also certain cattle feeds and feed regimes could have something to do with the increased incidence of FFA.
But the finger points mainly at robot milking systems because of the milking technology involved and the associated shorter intervals between milking.
Dr Nielsen reckons one of the main problems is lack of purpose-built housing for robot systems. »We think this problem has arisen because many robot systems are fitted into existing barns. Sometimes this results in milk having to be pumped for more than 100 m to the bulk tank and this is where the damage is taking place.«– nd –

The ecological balance of Danish pig producers has improved. The Danish Agriculture und Food Council (DAFC) reports that the sector’s total climate gas output has reduced from 3.6 kg carbon dioxide equivalent per kg of pig meat produced to 3.4 kg.
The best 25% of producers have even managed to reduce this output to 3.1 kg.
A key performance factor in this direction is the feed conversion performance and Danish producers have improved the amount of meat produced per kg of feed. DAFC research indicates that this factor is even more important on an ecological-protection basis than the distance the pigs have to travel from farm to processor, or the kilometres from there to retail outlets for the resultant meat.
In fact, science in this country has concluded that the greatest climate protection potential in the pig sector lies with the way in which feed and manure is handled.

Currently almost a quarter of Dutch dairy cows are housed year-round. One reason is often the long way from pastureland to milking parlour. On the 100-cow »Noord Empe« dairy farm the aim was to let cows outside to graze. But there’s only around 7 ha of pasture around the cow barn with its two robot milkers. The rest of the fields are over a country road used by local traffic.
So that the cows could cross over in relative safety when they wanted into the barn for milking the farmer built a zebra crossing for cows. Used was a pedestrian crossing traffic signal light in combination with cattle grids built into the road on either side of the cow crossing strip. These grids discourage the cows from turning left or right and wandering down the road whilst crossing. The animals are encouraged to walk straight across – just like good zebra crossing pedestrians. On either side of the road are also self-closing gates to let roadside pedestrians or bikers onto a solid path past the cattle grids. – wl –

Substances that can increase the performance potential of organic fatty acids in the pig intestine are being studied by scientists at the Centre of Applied Animal Nutrition (CAN) in Mank, Austria. The no-longer permitted feed antibiotics were often very good at controlling both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens in the pig herd. Now, feed additives based on organic acids and phytochemicals have been introduced to take over this task. These additives have proved efficient in the control of gram-positive bacteria (e.g. staphylococcus or the swine dysentery pathogen brachyspira hyodysenteriae), especially when combined with phytochemicals such as so-called essential oils. But gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia or salmonella are often protected from organic acids and essential oils by tougher membranes
Although some of the essential oils do help to make the cell walls more permeable, more action is needed and the CAN researchers working in cooperation with commercial feed additive concerns in Austria have identified so-called specialist »permeabilisers«. These include other acids, usually citric or lactic, which are especially good at attacking the metal ions in the tough gram-negative bacteria cell walls. Feed products incorporating permeabilisers are now being produced.
– nd –

A number of commercial pig units in Denmark are currently testing a strategy to ensure adequate colostrum intake for weaker piglets in the litter. In this, the strongest piglets are taken away from the mother after their all-important first drink to give smaller litter members and latecomers easier access for their dose of colostrum. »This first suck is vital for the weaker piglets and it
is amazing how quickly they become competitive members of the litter after just one long uninterrupted drink,« explains Charlotte Skjold who is developing and testing the system. First suggested by two Danish farmers, the concept is a very simple one comprising only a moveable »creep box« with electronically controlled door.
»When the sow is farrowing, or shortly afterwards, this extra creep box is placed in the pen,« explains Skjold. »After the largest piglets in the litter have had their first suck we advise that they be placed in the movable creep, the door closed and the door system set by timer so that it opens automatically later on. »During this time the smaller members of the litter get an undisturbed period at the milk bar and their fair share of colostrum.« The system hasn’t been launched commercially yet but has already been recommended by Danish vets who have seen it tested, says Skjold.
»The great advantage,« she adds, »is that the box is usually only needed on the first day. This means that only two to three boxes are required for a 100-sow herd.«

The USDA has approved a GM maize aimed directly at the renewable fuel market. The plant’s production of an alpha-amylase enzyme ensures improved ethanol output from the grain. More importantly, the renewable fuel can be produced more efficiently from the maize – with less energy input and water needed in the production process and with a significant reduction in climate-changing gases at the same time. At least these are the claims of the breeding company responsible for the new alpha-amylase producing maize. While the US expects to start with a limited area growing this season, the crop is already permitted this year in nine important maize growing countries around the world including Australia, Canada and Russia.

Worldwide growth in milk production is expected by Jacqueline Pieters, chief analyst within the Dutch Rabobank’s global dairy sector. But expansion will be at different rates in the developing and the developed countries, she reckons.
»Analysts expect an annual growth within the EU of 1.5% from 2015 onwards. But in the promising future markets of China, India and Pakistan domestic production won’t be able to cover increasing demand.« This  will lead  to still more import demand in developing countries, a growth covered by countries or regions such as New Zealand, Europe and the USA.
With Africa for instance, Pieters says it will take at least 20 years for production to catch up completely with demand and establishment of self-sufficiency. As for the developed countries, a further growth of value-added dairy items such as wellness and convenience products is expected by the Rabobank expert. In emerging countries such as those in South America demand and growth are expected to develop in parallel so that  Pieters doesn’t expect any significant exports from the dairy sectors of these countries in the longer term. In general, the prices for milk and milk products will be higher in the future than up until now, but will also remain volatile.
In the previous two years these prices have developed differently worldwide. In the EU they were at a record low level in 2009. Prices were also poor in the USA, but markedly more volatile. The New Zealand prices showed a different tendency with a light increase over the period. The trend, however, remains clear: There is a strong demand that results in stable prices and enables moderate growth.

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Pigs need materials to keep them interested. A  play object in the pen has been proved to cut back tail biting and other aggressive behaviour. But devise a plaything that’s also eatable – and this would not only capture pigs’ interest, it would also potentially satisfy their rooting-for-feed instinct. This is the thinking behind the development of the multi-layered »Sproot« by Delft Technical University researcher Beatrijs Voorneman. She’s included different shapes and different materials – all edible – but with a lifetime of at least two or three months before they’re chewed-out. The »Sproot« is also constructed to make a clappering noise when moved: yet another attraction for the pigs.
The scientist had observed the intensive rooting behaviour before starting her work and the plaything was designed to meet this special need for pigs kept indoors and a long way from the natural conditions needed to express this trait normally.

Prof. Alexander Hristov from Penn State University has found that 500 g of oregano herb per cow mixed in the TMR of a trial dairy herd increases daily milk production by over 3 % and feed conversion by 6.5 %. The idea of mixing some herbs with conventional forage was actually tried in a 3-university trial in the USA with the aim of sinking methane output by the animals. Oregano proves very good at this too. Its action in the rumen reduces methane production by as much as 40 %, according to the researchers. It was no blitz discovery. Professor Hristov and his colleagues have worked for six years screening hundreds of essential oils, plants and compounds in the laboratory before moving onto tests in one of the Penn State University dairy herds.
Oregano, or more accurately its active ingredients including carvacrol, geraniol and thymol, was among just a few that proved efficient at reducing methane production with no observed negative effects for the milking animals. The herb appears to stimulate the bacteria in the rumen to produce more fatty acids. Less methane means there’s more energy available for milk production – therefore more milk. At the moment, the latter result is more interesting for dairy farmers and at least one commercial firm in the USA is testing new feed supplements for dairy cows based on oregano ingredients.

Buglossoides (Buglossoides arvensis), known as corn gromwell in Britain, is regarded as a weed in most countries. But it could now turn out to be a useful crop plant because buglossoides is already a reliable source of stearidonic acid (SDA), a key substance in the biosynthesis of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids - the sort of healthy fatty acids found in fish oils and important components in human diet.

Even in its wild state this plant bears seeds with a high content of SDA in its oil. It’s a member of the borage family, a crop already widely grown as a producer of gamma linolenic acid (GLA) in Britain for the pharmaceutical industry.

Can the simple application of UV light destroy the PRRS virus? University of Minnesota researchers have investigated the effectiveness of this treatment which is already established for killing-off viruses, bacteria and parasites in human medicine through disrupting the organisms’ DNA. This gives the treatment an advantage over other methods of inactivating viruses such as use of solvent detergents or pasteurisation that can have limited efficacy against coated or heat-stable viruses, for example.

The study has now demonstrated that the UV light is just as successful with the PRRS virus when used against the organism on surfaces normally found in pig units such as plastic, concrete, metal, glass – even on clothing.
Only an hour’s exposure is enough to inactivate them. In fact US researchers found that even a 10 minute blast of UV light stopped PRRS virus multiplication.

Investment in farms is high on the agenda for Europe‘s farmers this season, as revealed by the latest results of the DLG Trendmonitor Europe. The latest spring 2011 release of this twice-yearly survey, which tracks sentiments among agriculture decision-makers, points to a steady upturn in expectations for the agri-economy.
»The mood among farmers is optimistic«, says Dr Achim Schaffner, DLG Chief Economist. Optimism in the farming sector is at its highest level since spring 2008. German farmers once again top the list, with those in the UK coming second, the best British performance since the survey began in 2003. A total of 3,000 farmers in Germany, France, Great Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary were interviewed for the survey.

Behind this positive business outlook is an increase in consumer demand for agricultural products. Current dynamics in the world economy coupled with markets that are characterised by relatively scarce grain and oilseed supplies result in farmers expecting higher prices. Beyond that, interest rates are still favourable at the moment although tending towards increases now. Farmers planned to capitalise on the situation towards modernisation of their production and increased efficiency. Investment intentions among German farmers have risen by 6 % compared with autumn 2010 to 55 % in the current survey. French farmers recorded an 8 % increase over the previous survey. Farmers in Central and Eastern Europe also showed higher levels of investment intentions. About 57 % of Polish farmers surveyed had investment plans, representing a 9 % increase. In the Czech Republic this was about 68 % of farmers and 54 % in Hungary. Despite the increased optimism in the UK, British famers registered 3 % lower investment intentions, probably due to exchange rate effects on the pound and euro.

Shifts in investment portfolio. Among the various agri-business sub-sectors, investment intentions vary drastically. For instance, farmers in Germany are looking to expand investments by about 3 % in animal husbandry while this is limited to 2 % for bioenergy. Investments for expansion  in arable farming remain strong – 15 % in Hungary, 15 % in the Czech Republic, 9 % for the United Kingdom and 6 % in France.  
Notably, Polish farmers are planning to focus up to 81 % of their investments in arable farming. At the same time, the dynamics of the cereals and oilseeds market  prompt farmers in Central and Eastern Europe to modernise production, thanks to favourable investment conditions, e.g. prices and interest rates.
Contact for further information: Malene Conlong,
Tel: +4969-24788237
Email: M.Conlong@dlg.org

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Future potatoes will be important suppliers of protein, especially in countries where there’s a shortage of nature’s building blocks in everyday diets. In India, for example, scientists have taken an albumin gene (AmA1) from the amaranth plant and introduced it into potato plants. The result is an increase in protein from the crop tubers of up to 60%. The amaranth crop is one of the oldest in farming, although cultivated in only relatively small amounts nowadays. Putting its high protein production capabilities into a tuber crop appears a significant breakthrough for Third World nutrition. The gene transfer increases the production of individual amino acids without reducing the amounts of other amino acids. In the GM-potato contents of lysine, tyrosine and also sulphur are increased.  – nd –

If cows are milked just once daily in the first three to six weeks of lactation, the effect on total milk yield is minimal according to the farmer-supported research organisation DairyNZ. At the same time, trials comparing this milking routine with the more conventional twice per day approach indicate that subsequent breeding performance is better with the former. No difference was found on resultant cow body condition.

We won’t be seeing future agricultural policies being dealt with by Brussels in the current year. Instead, they’ll be part of the agricultural budget negotiations in 2014. Both are closely linked: Premiums will be still more dependent on the performance of agriculture in, e.g., climate and environment protection.
Our chart below shows how things have developed since 1980. Up to 1993 price levels were kept uniformly high helped by export restitutions and intervention. This came to an end with the 1993 McSharry Reform because the EU no longer wanted to pay for agricultural overproduction.
The gap has been stopped-up since then by direct payments. Since 2003 these have been paid out independently of actual production performance.
The historical basis for payments has been running for almost 20 years now. But a change is coming with the new reform.  The aim is a fairer sharing out of premiums. How this will be achieved reasonably smoothly is not yet clear.  At any rate, there are no plans for a flat-rate distribution amongst all EU countries.

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Scotland’s 4.6 billion € whisky industry could produce an important second-generation biofuel as by-product through a recent development by scientists at Edinburgh’s Napier College University. After whisky has been run-off and casked there remain distillers’ grains from the fermented barley and waste liquid: the former  usually dried and sold as a cattle feed ingredient – but the Napier College development shows that both by-products can be utilised to produce biobutanol, a much more valuable product.
This biofuel has better fuel qualities than ethanol. Its energy density is higher, meaning it can power conventional, unaltered, four-stroke engines as a pure product without any fossil fuel being added. The Napier scientists are also using the process to produce biobutanol fuel from other farm by-products. One reason for its attraction is that the butanol fermentation process, using solventogenic clostridia bacteria, is much more efficient for converting high-cellulose products such as straw and grass into a useful fuel.
The initial research, backed by 300,000 € in government and industry grants, has taken two years. Now the scientists have founded a company to make commercial use of the new process for producing fuel from Scotland’s whisky sector. – nd –

In the first three quarters of 2010 Germany increased its pigmeat exports outwith the EU by just under 21% with a total 549,500 t. This confirmed the country’s position at the top of the European pigmeat export league. Number two in this respect was Denmark (+ 14%). Total exports of this meat outwith the EU for all member countries also increased in January to October with 2.2 m t, a plus of 13.9% over the same period in 2009.
The world’s major importers of EU pigmeat were topped by Russia which took 31% of the total during this period, representing 692,092 t and an increase of 12.1%.
Exports of pigmeat to Asia also increased markedly with Hong Kong buying 334,245 t in the period, an increase of 4.5%.  Japan was back in business again after seriously cutting back in pigmeat imports during 2009. A new surge in interest last year saw EU pigmeat imports to Nippon January to October soaring by 21.2% to 186,806.
With China registered still as a separate market from Hong Kong, the people’s republic bought-in 167,481 t of EU pigmeat in the first three quarters of last year,
a plus of 15.6%.

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The country’s Ministry of Agriculture wants to see antibiotic application in Danish pig production reduced by at least 10% by 2013. This is a direct response to the news that antibiotic use in Danish pig herds increased by 11% during 2009, reported Agricultural Minister Henrik Hoegh. More alarming than this fact was that 20 to 25% of all antibiotic use took place in just 10% of Danish farms!
A further reform being aimed at currently concerns sow mortality. Here, the aim is to reduce the present average figure of 24% to 16% by 2013. Breeding sow mortality on individual farms is to be subject to official scrutiny. Poor performance in this respect will lead to farmers in the respective units facing increased veterinary control.

Geneticists at the University of Aarhus and the Danish Pig Research Centre are preparing to introduce genome-based selection in pig breeding. In other words, the genetic potential of an animal will be determined through its DNA profile with a picture of heritable traits got from a simple blood sample. With conventional selection, different desirable traits have to be tested for individually. This is not only time consuming, it is also very expensive.
The genomic approach  will bring large increases in breeding efficiency and returns for the industry. For instance with conventional selection for feeding efficiency the Danes have been able to increase returns for slaughterpigs by an average 1.60 € per pig and year. Using DNA markers for selection could easily increase this figure to 2.15 €, calculate the researchers.
Another interesting characteristic that could be selected for through genomics is the longevity of sows. Up until now this trait has been very difficult to identify being naturally only ascertainable in retrospect. Identifying DNA markers for this trait could mean selection for long-lived sows made when they are young pigs still in the litter.
Basis for the current project is a newly developed chip with over 60,000 stored single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. These SNP markers are clearly linked to traits and the markers are easy to identify using current technology.

Robust cows that are not susceptible to mastitis - this is the target for Danish scientists at the University of Aarhus. Their first aim is to identify how data collected by robot milker computers can help in selecting breeding lines with increased resistance against particular bacteria.  »We’re looking for cows that can look after themselves and are seldom ill«, explains Lars Peter Sorensen from the University’s Institute for Genetics and Biotechnology.
The remark in records »mastitis treatment undertaken« is already used as part of the breeding index for udder health in Denmark. But this research team wants more. »Not all the cows with udder inflammation are treated by the vet. This means data doesn’t cover every mastitis case. On top of this, basing selection on the number of veterinary treatments is only an indirect way towards our target,« points out Sorensen.
Some automatic milking systems record the somatic cell counts for each cow at every milking which is an objective factor the scientist can really get to work with. A model based on lactation curve, known health history and cell counts is capable of highlighting sub-clinical mastitis right from the start. As part of the same project the scientists are simultaneously conducting a study of the mastitis-causing bacteria and their DNA.

Already recognised as an appetiser in the human diet, chilli pepper extract is also proving to encourage cattle feed intake in trials by Barcelona University’s Animal Nutrition, Management and Welfare Research Group. Fed at 1 g per day in a conventional concentrate ration along with barley straw for young Holstein heifers, a chilli pepper extract (capsicum oil) increased total dry matter intake from 7.6 kg/day to 8.3 kg/d (+ 9.2%). Other trails indicate that the chilli additive can encourage dry matter intake increases as high as 15%, according to the Spanish researchers. In detail, barley straw intake with the cattle on chilli supplementation was increased by 6% while the more valuable concentrate mix intake was boosted by 9%. Water intake was also increased by 25% to just short of 46 litres daily.
Examinations of the resultant rumen microbial fermentation indicate that the additive appears to prevent the expected reduction in rumen pH when increased amounts of dry matter are ingested. Even though concentrates were offered ad lib in the trials, the cattle receiving chilli extract tended to spread feed consumption more evenly over the day which possibly kept the pH levels stable with no cases of acidosis. – nd –

Already recognised as an appetiser in the human diet, chilli pepper extract is also proving to encourage cattle feed intake in trials by Barcelona University’s Animal Nutrition, Management and Welfare Research Group. Fed at 1 g per day in a conventional concentrate ration along with barley straw for young Holstein heifers, a chilli pepper extract (capsicum oil) increased total dry matter intake from 7.6 kg/day to 8.3 kg/d (+ 9.2%). Other trails indicate that the chilli additive can encourage dry matter intake increases as high as 15%, according to the Spanish researchers. In detail, barley straw intake with the cattle on chilli supplementation was increased by 6% while the more valuable concentrate mix intake was boosted by 9%. Water intake was also increased by 25% to just short of 46 litres daily.
Examinations of the resultant rumen microbial fermentation indicate that the additive appears to prevent the expected reduction in rumen pH when increased amounts of dry matter are ingested. Even though concentrates were offered ad lib in the trials, the cattle receiving chilli extract tended to spread feed consumption more evenly over the day which possibly kept the pH levels stable with no cases of acidosis. – nd –

The University of Minnesota’s veterinary medicine department has found that high-specification air intake filters in sow housing appear to stop the spread of aerosol PRRS virus from one farm to another. In one high pig population area (Stevens County) a team led by Dr Scott Dee investigated 31 pig units on separate farms, 10 of which were fitted with special intake filters.
The Minnesota vets had already proved that PRRS virus can travel for at least 10 kilometres through the air and wanted to show that filters could save sow units from infection. During 2009 when PRRS was particularly prevalent in Stevens County, pigs in 17 of the 21 unfiltered barns became infected at least once by PRRS virus and some of them with mycoplasma and swine influenza too. Only two of the filtered barns had pigs infected with PRRS or the other two diseases during the test period – and the infections in both cases were found to have been introduced through hygiene mistakes by the staff.
The veterinary scientists recommend retrofit systems in the housing roof space if possible with pre-filters and final filters certified to take out most particles down to 0.5 microns and even below. Dr Dee told the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines, Iowa that high-specification air intake filters can cost between the equivalent of 110 and 200 € per sow to retrofit.– nd –

A new system introduced in the US offers full traceability for milk shipments. The »Milk Origin Verification Solution« (MOVS) determines the geographical origin from wholesale milk batches through the fact that every area imparts its own characteristic »Isotope signature« to natural products, including region-typical amounts of different water and carbon
isotopes. »This means a cheese producer in Wisconsin, for example, can prove to the customers in his delivery chain that all the milk used actually comes from that state«, says James Ehleringer, managing director of the developing company. According to researchers at Michigan State University the system is only conceived for the US market so far. A system for Europe should follow within two years.

ow prices in the last delivery year were also apparent in the financial results of European Dairy Farmers (EDF) members, a club of future-oriented milk producers from all over Europe. In the 2008/09 assessment year average revenue failed to cover full costs on 264 members’ farms – even when the EU direct payments are counted. Based on the average for the assessment period, income from milk was 28.2 ct/kg ECM (4.0% fat, 3.4% protein). Sitting at the bottom of this scale was a Polish farm with 15.8 ct/kg. At the other end, a Swiss dairy farm earned the equivalent of 48.2 ct/kg, report Steffi Wille, European Dairy Farmers, and Birthe Lassen, Institute of Farm Economics (vTI), Brunswick.
The more successful EDF enterprises might have produced with less costs per cow than their less efficient colleagues, but on average all EDF milk producers in this survey were still an average 8 ct/kg milk short of covering their full costs in the last year. Despite this, many are increasing numbers of cows in their herds. At the same time, however, intensity of production is being reduced in order to bring costs and income into the right relationship.

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Wide publicity for newer disease outbreaks amongst farm animals means that BSE tends to be a lot less in the headlines nowadays. And of course there are now far less cases emerging, too. But the »mad cow disease« has certainly not been forgot by scientists in institutes worldwide. They continue to research this deadly disease and to look, in particular, for ways of early diagnosis.
In Iowa, researchers reckon that the cow’s eyes could help in this aim. With scrapie, for instance, the eyes of infected sheep indicate a particular light in the retina when this is illuminated in a certain way. The research is based on earlier studies that suggest Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy leads to chemical changes in the retina. The work is not only pointing the way towards early diagnosis for farm animals but also could help in quicker recognition of associated diseases in humans. – kl –

Slaughter pigs produced per sow per year, or annual weaner production, are among the most common benchmark efficiency factors used in the swine sector nowadays. But more attention should also be paid to lifetime performances, according to Giles Christie, a marketing expert with leading breeding company JSR Genetics. Farmers should be looking at key figures such as »Tonnes of meat per sow lifetime« (TMS) and »Meat produced per tonne of feed« (MTF) as stepping-stones to extra efficiency and profit.

This approach means more attention to longevity: buying breeding gilts with a background that offers the possibility of six litters in a lifetime. Gilts should be capable of realistically producing an average 11 or 12 born alive, with 13 or 14 born alive
in subsequent farrowings. Equally important is feed conversion efficiency and here the big picture should come from MTF. Christie reckoned that a commercial target should be 325 kg of meat produced per tonne of feed.
»With feed representing 55 – 60% of input costs in Europe (early 2010 costs)  this is the true measure of swine production efficiency«, he commented adding that calculation of MTF should be a simple task requiring only feed invoices (and costs for home-grown feed components) and returns from the slaughterhouse.

A commercial farrow to finish herd with JSR genetics recently achieved a MTF of 329 kg with 1,754 t
of feed producing 6,799 slaughter pigs averaging
85 kg deadweight (UK pigs are killed at comparatively light weight). – nd –

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Mastitis caused by Streptococcus uberis leads to heavy financial penalties for milk producers. In Britain alone the loss is assessed at around 240 € million countrywide. Now, research supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has identified elements of the causal pathogen that could enable effective vaccination. Pathogen structures leading to udder disease have been identified as well as proteins that help the pathogen survive the normal defences of the bovine system. Both discoveries offer targets for vaccine action. – kl –