Page 842 of articles about news

Pork exports have this year shrunk by 14% in comparison to 2008, the Dutch agricultural newspaper Agrarisch Dagblad reports.

Tim Bierman, a farmer from Larrabee, Iowa, has been elected by his fellow board members as president of the National Pork Board. Dr. Gene Nemechek, a veterinarian with Tyson Foods in Springdale, Ark., has been elected vice president.

University of Missouri researchers recently developed the ability to take regular cells from a pig's connective tissues and transform them into stem cells, eliminating several hurdles and some controversy over the use of stem cells.

The Commission has adopted today a regulation to allow known or emerging risks in feed and food of non-animal origin to be countered more effectively. This regulation requires Member States to step up controls on certain imports of feed and food of non-animal origin. Member States are required to designate points of entry, which comply with the minimum requirements laid down in the regulation (logistics, staff, access to appropriate laboratory capacity, etc) through which consignments must enter the territory of the EU. The enhanced control mechanism means systematic (100%) checks on documents accompanying the consignments, as well as physical checks, including laboratory analysis, at a frequency related to the risk identified. For the first time the regulation also lays down the list of products that are subject to these stepped-up controls. The imported products listed are products which merit an increased level of attention and control at borders on the basis of information from various sources (RASFF notifications, reports from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), from Member States and from third countries).

Poultry and pork production will grow by 37.64% and 8.88%, respectively 2009-2013, although beef production will fall by 1.24%. The growth in poultry and pork production will be partly driven by domestic demand and should also lead to improved balances of trade.

Commission Decision of 22 July 2009 on a financial contribution from the Community towards emergency measures to combat swine vesicular disease in Italy in 2008.

The Commission has identified 34 Council Regulations and Decisions related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which no longer have any practical effects but are formally still in force.

The European Commission has approved 16 programmes in 12 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) to provide information on and to promote agricultural products in the European Union.

A major offensive aimed at bringing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) under global control has been launched by FAO and the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

PORCIVIR is a project coordinated by CReSA for the study of swine viral diseases that have economic, sanitary and public health repercussions. PORCIVIR has an exclusive website available, in which you will be able to consult any information in relation to the project, including the last publications.

There remain many questions about this disease. In this respect, the OIE has made a call for enhanced surveillance among swine populations and enhanced on-farm biosecurity measures – including the protection of pigs from exposure to potentially infected people – and has stressed the importance of a strong cooperation between veterinary services and public health authorities.

A Brazilian delegation is negotiating to remove an embargo on beef and pork exports to South Africa. South Africa suspended beef and pork purchases from Brazil in 2005 after cases of foot-and-mouth disease were discovered in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana.

The country’s total live pig production for the first half of this year could reach 390.5 million, a 6% increase over the same period of last year.

An investigation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) into the operations of a Levin piggery has concluded, with MAF determining no breaches of the current Code of Welfare for Pigs, issued pursuant to section 75 of the Animal Welfare Act.