Press releases - News

Sub-zero conditions last winter caused huge problems for pig farmers due to drinking systems freezing up, particularly in straw-based housing.

On Oct 18 and 19th, Novus International, Inc. will host in Tarragona (Spain) more than 100 leaders in the feed and food sectors from more than 30 countries, for the celebration of Novus’s 20th Anniversary in the region of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Customers, partners and friends of Novus will gather together to enjoy a Celebration Ceremony, as well as the Inauguration of a state-of-the-art Novus Research Center of Excellence in Reus (Spain), followed by a Scientific Symposium focused on ‘Innovation with Integrity’.

Genome Alberta announced today that it is leading a group of funding partners on two large-scale genomics projects which will help improve Canada’s livestock sector. These projects build on Genome Alberta’s Applied Livestock Genomics Program which was launched in Dec 2010.

A massive shortage of fresh pork could result from short-sighted policies of major supermarkets, predicts Matthew Curtis, managing director of Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd.

Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the USA and Canada) today announced that it has received marketing authorization in the European Union for PORCILIS® M Hyo ID ONCE, the first single-shot vaccine against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M Hyo) infection in pigs for intradermal administration.

Maple Leaf Foods today announced significant changes in its prepared meats business to reduce operating costs and increase productivity.

In Newsweek magazine's latest ranking of the environmental performance of America's 500 largest public companies, Smithfield Foods, Inc. jumped up 68 positions from its 2010 finish.

Three of the pig industry’s brightest young workers from Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire have been chosen as finalists competing for the 2011 Pfizer Pig Trainee of the Year Award.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) today (14 October, 2011) signed an agreement to extend their shared operations in livestock and forage genetics research. Hosted in Beijing, the Chinese capital, the initiative will strengthen the already existing relationship between ILRI and CAAS that has seen the two research centres share research and facilities through the CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources for the past 7 years.

"These FTAs have the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. pork exports in the coming years, while creating new jobs that our country desperately needs."

De Heus Vietnam will distribute these genetics on the Vietnamese market.

“Dairy farmers are likely to come under increasing pressure to remove palm oil from their cows’ diets following recent retail moves to cut the level of saturated fats in milk,” says Mark Townsend, sales manager of Ufac-UK.

Danish Crown says goodbye to 500 employees in Denmark. The reason is surplus capacity at a number of departments because fewer pigs are currently being sent for slaughter than anticipated.

Assuring taint-free meat holds the key to raising UK pork consumption, according to Nigel Lodge, MRCVS, national veterinary manager of Pfizer Animal Health.

TOPIGS introduces a new feeding advice for their sows. Nowadays, highly productive sows have different nutritional needs compared to sows a few years ago.

As from September 1, specialist animal nutrition company SCA NuTec will become known as Provimi. Provimi UK will remain based in Dalton, North Yorkshire. Its product portfolio includes pig diets, specialising in piglet creeps, and ruminant nutrition products.

AGCO, Your Agriculture Company, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, announced that it has agreed to acquire GSI Holdings Corp. from affiliates of New York-based Centerbridge Partners, L.P. for $940 million.

Smithfield Foods announced today that Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Murphy-Brown LLC, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for animals and animal products.

Merial, a world leader in animal health and a division of the Sanofi Group, is establishing its global business headquarters at Lyon. Merial is historically well-established there, with 1400 employees and six sites in Lyon and the surrounding region.

Hormel Foods Corporation today announced the retirement of James R. Hoffman, vice president of Hormel Foods International Corporation (HFIC) for the Americas, effective January 27, 2012.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of synthetic immunogens against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate Plum Island Animal Disease Center. This collaboration will evaluate the efficacy of Inovio's SynCon® vaccines for foot & mouth disease (FMD) in important animal models including cattle, sheep, and pigs.

Gordon Spronk, DVM, is the recipient of the 2011 Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award. The award was presented at the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, Sept. 17-20, 2011, in St. Paul, Minn. by Pfizer Animal Health and the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) – an independent charity that works through education, training, research and technical developments towards achieving high standards of welfare for food animals at markets, during transport and at slaughter – is now inviting applications for its 2012 Humane Slaughter Award for significant advances in the humane slaughter of farmed livestock.