Press releases - News

The Smithfield Packing Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc., announced today that it would shift production from its Portsmouth, Virginia plant to Kinston, North Carolina and permanently close the Portsmouth facility in early 2013. The Portsmouth plant produces hot dogs and lunchmeat.

PIC has completed delivery of 2,300 grandparent stock from Canada to franchise partner, PIC Korea. The elite breeding pigs were flown in 3 shipments to supplement local supply in populating large-scale multiplier farms owned by Korea’s largest independent producer, Sansugol.

Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Group, Inc., wholly owned by Ajinomoto Co., Inc. is planning to expand the animal nutrition business in the next 4-5 years. AANG will reinforce its production capacity of feed-use amino acids by adding 150 KMT L-Lysine, 80 KMT L-Threonine and 7 KMT L-Tryptophan, utilizing next generation innovative fermentation technologies. AANG will also develop a wider range of feed-use amino acid products for nutrition, and accelerate the development of these value-added products for its customers.

Merck Animal Health announced today that it has received positive opinion from the CVMP in the European Union for PANACUR® AquaSol, a suspension for use in drinking water indicated for the treatment and control of gastro-intestinal nematodes.

Two young workers progressing to management on a Midlands outdoor pig unit and on a Suffolk duck farm are the winners of the 2011 Pfizer Trainees of the Year Awards.

Dr. Harry Kaiser, a Cornell University economist, presented the findings of his recently completed study on the effectiveness of USMEF’s foreign marketing efforts.

Monitoring should be used as a useful management tool. A drop in feed or water consumption could predict an outbreak of disease allowing early intervention.

For a sow’s mammary gland to work efficiently it should have been suckled in the previous lactation, says Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd.

Delivering the 2010/2011 and final annual report of the CRC for an Internationally Competitive Pork Industry, Chairman, Dr John Keniry, said its three research programs had delivered exceptional results and played major roles in revitalising the Australian pork industry’s interest in innovation and its willingness to adopt new ideas.

A lavish ceremony, attended by over 150 dignitaries, celebrated the opening of The Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited, a new Chinese joint venture between JSR Genetics and state-owned Hubei Liangyou Livestock & Poultry Company on the 18th of October, 2011.

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.