The Global Miller: May 2012

May 31, 2012

Feed farm fined for driver fall

Health and safety in the workplace has hit the headlines in the UK.

A Devon feed farm was fined £6,000 after a driver suffered severe injuries when he fell from the top of a lorry onto a concrete floor while removing the cover from his load at a Wiltshire feed mill.

Mole Valley Feed Solutions Ltd, South Molton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

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Andritz acquires stake in Schuler

Andritz has bought a 38.5 percent stake in Schuler AG, Germany, and announces takeover offer to purchase the remaining shares.

Fukushima rice unsafe to eat

Rice is a key part of Japanese cuisine and 85 percent of the country's 2.3m farms grow it. However, farmers near Fukushima are unable to sell their produce as it contains unsafe levels of radiation. Japan has a safety limit of radiation exposure at 1 millisievert per year, although some areas in Fukushima measure higher at about 20 millisieverts.

The high levels were caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident which followed the March 2011 tsumani.

It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the rice milling industry.

Rice Paddies near Lake Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Animal Farming Ukraine: Exhibitor list

The exhibitor list for Animal Farming Ukraine has been released. It looks set to be a exciting show and there's still time to register as an exhibitor.

Read more...

May 30, 2012

SKF launches new SE bearing housing series

SKF has announced the launch of its new SE bearing housings. The new housings are an upgrade of the highly successful SNL housing series, which have been used in many industries for very many years.

The new SE housing is a very reliable, versatile solution for mounted bearing applications and is designed to meet the needs of customer applications across virtually all industrial and processing sectors.

These housings, which range from size SE 507-606 to SE 532, have special design features to exploit the full service life potential of the incorporated bearings, and significantly reduce maintenance costs and related downtime.

The specific features are:

Upgraded material

To accommodate the increased load carrying capacity of SKF bearings, SE housings are made of a higher strength grey cast iron that can accommodate heavier loads.

Stiffer, more robust design

The SE housing’s new design makes it extremely unlikely for the housing to become distorted by over-tightening the attachment bolts

Reduced grease consumption

The SE housing has an effective grease guiding system, for relubrication from the side, that applies grease directly to the bearing during relubrication. With the grease guiding system, the bearing is greased more reliably, making it possible to reduce grease quantities during relubrication.

Reduced operating temperatures

When compared to SNL housings, the new SE housing design improves heat transfer from the bearing outer ring to the support surface, which reduces the temperature in the bearing. Reduced operating temperatures make it possible to extend relubrication intervals while increasing the service life of the bearing and lubricant.

Improved rust protection

These high quality housings provide improved rust protection that is in accordance with the C3 corrosivity class (ISO 12944).

EPD assessed

A declaration of the environmental performance of SE housings is described in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), according to ISO 14025.

More information...

May 29, 2012

Ethanol breakthrough in Philippines

San Carlos Bioenergy Inc (SCBI), Philippines, has produced fuel ethanol from sorghum for the first time in Southeast Asia.

Sorghum (Photo credit: tonrulkens)

The project is a collaboration between SCBI, Prof. Rex Demafelis, University of the Philippines Los Baños Alternative Energy Research, Development and Extension convener and chairman of the UPLB Energy Systems Committee, the Sagay City government, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research and Biomass Resources Inc.

The team produced 247 litres of fuel grade ethanol for every ton of sweet sorghum syrup.

New products for enzyme food analysis

Romer Labs, a leading global food-safety diagnostic company, and Germany’s ifp Institut für Produktqualität are proud to announce the launch of a new product line for enzymatic food analysis, thereby expanding cooperation between the two companies.

The new product line EnzymeFast^® transfers traditional enzymatic methods to a microtitre plate kit format – a significant benefit in routine food analysis.

May 28, 2012

EU BC&E 2012, 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

The EU BC&E 2012, 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition will take place between June 18-22, 2012 in Milan, Italy.

Europe's largest gathering of biomass experts will cover all aspects of biomass from research to industry and markets.

Sugar cane residue can be used as a biofuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The event also encompasses an industrial exhibition that brings biomass scientist and engineers together with the biomass industry.

More information...

General Mills to buy Brazilian food maker Yoki

US company General Mills has finalised plans to buy Brazilian food maker Yoki.

Headquartered in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Yoki specialises in producing snacks, convenience foods meals, basic foods ( such as grains and beans), and seasonings. The family-run company has been operating since 1960 and employs more than 5,000 people.

SAN RAFAEL, CA - MARCH 18: Boxes of General M...

Boxes of General Mills cereals sit on the shelf at Santa Venetia Market on March 18, 2011 in San Rafael, California. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Chris O’Leary, General Mills’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, International, said, “We are delighted to add Yoki’s talented people and strong brands to General Mills’ growing international business. Yoki adds key capabilities and geographic scale that will accelerate our growth in Brazil. We plan to focus on building the strong Yoki and Kitano product portfolio, expanding our current Haagen-Dazs and Nature Valley businesses in Brazil, and introducing additional General Mills brands in this important market over time.”

Mitsuo Matsunaga, Yoki’s chief executive officer, said, “I am very pleased to see our Yoki brands and businesses joining General Mills. Our family is confident that General Mills' global capabilities, combined with Yoki's outstanding employees and brand portfolio, will lead to accelerated growth in Brazil for years to come.”

The news comes after General Mills announced it was cutting its global work force by 850.

May 25, 2012

CHS expands South American presence

Framer-owned US cooperative, CHS Inc. has extended its South American presence by buying a 25 percent stake in Brazilian logistics company TCN.

The move is to capitalise on the growing demand for soybeans and corn in developing economies.

English: Fountain in São Luís, Brazil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In addition to the ownership investment, CHS also signed a long-term agreement with TCN, securing export terminal access at the Port of Itaqui, Sao Luis, Brazil.

USDA: Rice problems linked to carbon dioxide

Research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) links gene flow between weedy and domesticated rice to rising carbon dioxide levels.

The research confirms that rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide facilitate the flow of genes from wild or weedy rice plants to domesticated rice varieties. As a result, domesticated plants could take on undesirable weedy characteristics that may interfere with future rice production.

Rice up close (Photo credit: Rowan Peter)

£250m for UK bioscience

University bioscience departments and research facilities across the UK are set to benefit from a £250m cash injection.

The funding, announced by Science Minister David Willetts at the Babraham Research Campus near Cambridge, is part of the government's high-tech growth strategy.

Mr Willetts said the money will be used to "meet challenges such as sustainably feeding the growing world population, finding alternatives to dwindling fossil fuels and supporting an ageing society to remain healthy for longer".

May 24, 2012

Cimbria acquires SEA

Cimbria has bought Italian enterprise, SEA as the company expands into optical colour sorting.

Press release:

Cimbria has reached an agreement with the group of owners behind Italian company SEA to acquire 100 percent of the shares in the company. SEA is a leader in the development and manufacture of sorting equipment for sorting grain, seeds and other industrial products by means of colour or resonance. SEA primarily sells its equipment in Europe.

With the acquisition of SEA, Cimbria’s range of mechanical sorting equipment will be supplemented by optical colour sorting and other electronic solutions, thus completing Cimbria’s product line-up. Such an acquisition is very much in line with Cimbria’s strategy aimed at strengthening the company’s product and market position via organic and acquisitive initiatives. It is the company’s first acquisition since Axcel became the majority shareholder at Cimbria in August 2011.

In 2011 SEA had a turnover of approximately DKK 70 million and a profit ratio of approximately 20 percent. The company expects to see growth in both sales and earnings this year. SEA has around 35 employees at its factory in Imola in northern Italy. SEA’s technology has applications in several fields, including the food industry, recycling and seed corn. SEA’s hitherto owners will continue to look after the day-to-day management of the company.

“With more than 40 years’ experience in the market, SEA is recognised today for its excellent quality in the field of optical sorting and other electronic sorting technologies, and the company represents a good fit in relation to Cimbria’s aim to supply high-quality products and full-line solutions within seed corn plants and other industrial products,” says Karsten Larsen, managing director of Cimbria. “At the same time, we’re convinced that in years to come SEA’s products will meet a growing demand driven by stricter requirements in terms of quality and documentation within precision sorting,” concludes Karsten Larsen.

“I’m convinced that we can develop and boost SEA’s activities significantly by becoming a member of the Cimbria group, for the benefit of both customers and suppliers,” says Antonio Uzzo, managing director of SEA and the company’s founder. “We now have the potential to grow and attract new customers by means of the strong market position of the combined company,” he adds.

General Mills to cut 850 jobs

The US food company, General Mills plans to eliminate 850 jobs in a bid to cut costs.

The plan is to strengthen business alignment, and actions to accelerate administrative efficiencies across the company. But this comes at a cost of 850 jobs.

Read press release...

May 23, 2012

New website for AB Vista

AB Vista launches new website

AB Vista sprung into action this April with a freshly designed, more intuitive website – introducing a platform for new generation services for customers across the feed industry.

As well as giving www.abvista.com a fresh look and feel, the integrated supplier of micro-ingredients has designed their new website with responsive design technology meaning that the site will automatically reconfigure itself for optimal viewing on any screen size. Navigation to the AB Vista product information and associated services is easy and efficient with supporting materials available for download or viewing direct from the site.

The AB Vista website offers links to the following services for its distributors and customers:

The Corn Quality Service uses near infra-red (NIR) spectroscopy to analyse the nutritional components of corn and predict its energy value. Customers with NIR equipment can upload their own data to the site for analysis; those without can send samples to an AB Vista lab, which will then upload the data.

The Vistacell Calculator helps calculate exactly how much of the yeast product Vistacell should be included in feed. According to the species being fed, it will work out the correct levels for compound feed, mineral premixes and concentrated feeds.

The AB Vista Resource Centre is an area of the website where authorised visitors can access some of AB Vista’s more technical information including technical reports, publications and marketing materials.

Incorporating contemporary photography and a more functional layout, the new website includes dedicated areas for news and distributors, as well as information on AB Vista’s products and the company itself.

Caroline Oram, Marketing Communications Manager at AB Vista, says: “We are delighted to announce the spring launch of our new website. With a range of innovative features and tools, the site has been specifically designed to help customers get more from our animal feed products.”

The website can be viewed at www.abvista.com

Indian spurns cotton in favour of soya

Indian farmers are shifting from cotton to soyabeans after crops loss and poor market conditions in 2011.

Cotton cultivation in India could shrink by as much as 20 percent this year according to a report in the India Times.

A woman picking cotton in a field near Nagarjuna Sagar, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Low demand for cotton seeds as well as fertilizers clearly indicates this, agriculture input traders said on Tuesday.

Alltech Young Scientist winners announced

The Future is in Good Hands – Alltech Young Scientist Winners Announced

Graduate winner Qian Wang from China, currently a PhD student at the University of California, Davis, USA.

Winner of the undergraduate competition, Gisele Greghi, from the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Solving the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soil and developing more nutritious food for young children were the two winning topics in this year’s Alltech Young Scientist Program, announced today at Alltech’s 28th Annual International Symposium. There was unprecedented interest in the competition this year, with close to 8,000 participants, representing the future generation of animal health scientists.

Five regional winners representing Asia, Latin America and North America came to Lexington, Ky, to present their research before a panel of international judges for the graduate grand prize of $10,000 and the undergraduate grand prize of $5,000.

IAOM Mideast & Africa District Conference

The 23rd Annual International Association of Operative Millers’ (IAOM) Mideast & Africa District Conference and Expo will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (ADNEC), from December 5-8, 2012.

The programme includes sessions on management, education and trading

Organisers hope the conference and expo will be a link to the latest research and technological developments in the milling industry and help delegates meet top professionals in the industry.

More information...

May 22, 2012

Alltech Symposium: Interviews

Damien O'Reilly interviews some of the speakers and delegates from the Alltech Symposium.

The Global Miller, brings the edited highlights:

Peter Ferket, North Carolina State University, USA

Peter Ferket discussed the importance of animal welfare. He says that for animals to perform, they need to be in peak condition. He is working on ways to programme animals to perform without the feed items that are of concern to people. But, he says, it is tricky to do this and keep prices down. One way to keep prices at an affordable level is to use natural alternatives such as natural bacteria instead of drugs.

Tom Arnold, CEO Concern Worldwide

How to feed the world's nine billion people by 2050 is a huge issue.

There are seven billion people in the world today. About a billion of those are not nourished.

The other growing problem is obesity and the potential health risks associated with it. There could be a health time bomb ticking in the USA and other developed countries.

Gleadell Market Report: Grains

Grain markets - Jonathan Lane, Trading Manager

Wheat

USDA report corn plantings 87% complete, 71% last week and 66% average. Spring wheat plantings 94% complete, 84% last week and 64% average.

UK wheat exports slowed in March to 125,000mt, bringing the season-to-date figure to 2.11m t.

Kazakhstan cuts rail costs to boost exports - should allow the country to export an additional 2.5m t.

Ukraine’s grain stocks could reach record 12mln t due to the slow pace of exports – exports for July-May estimated at 18.5m t.

China’s 2012 corn output seen 3% higher at 197.5m t, imports seen up at 6m t – wheat output set to rise 2% to 120.3m t.

Indian May 1st wheat stocks reported at 38.2m t, almost 10 times official target for the quarter ending June 30th.

Russian grain analyst reports spring drought conditions in southern area have already inflicted ‘irreversible’ damage on some of the crop.

USDA report winter wheat crop ratings down 3% on the week to 60% good/excellent – Kansas sees biggest reduction, down 8% on the week.

Strategie Grains cuts EU 2012/13 soft wheat production by 4.2m t to 122.7m t, citing increased estimates of winterkill in Germany, France and Poland. This is significantly below all other trade house estimates and therefore must be treated with caution.

Weather concerns mount in the main Southern grain area of Russia and the Ukraine as hot, dry conditions continue with some rain expected in some areas – but not all.

Summary

The euphoria of the USDA crop numbers last week, and the Crop Tour talking of potential ‘record yields’ and an early Kansas wheat harvest, appears to be short-lived as dry weather concerns in the US plains turned chart signals, which encouraged investors to cover short positions especially at the Kansas exchange. Crop ratings fell 3% over the past week, mainly due to the state of the Kansas crop. Spring wheat plantings should be complete by the end of this week well ahead of the average planting pace.

In the EU, grain markets are overshadowed by increasing financial woes. The ECB said that it has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks, further fuelling worries over Greece’s place in the euro zone, sending the euro lower and lifting the US$ to a four month high. While the euro debacle will continue to rumble on, fresh fundamental support became apparent with increasing concerns over the current weather conditions in the Black Sea region and the sharp reduction in the EU-27 wheat crop projection. At present the recent bearish tone appears to have been replaced by caution, although the USDA numbers would still point to adequate availabilities of both wheat and corn for the 2012/13 season.

GRAIN market information contact Jonathan Lane, Trading Manager, on 01427 421221 or jonathan.lane@gleadell.co.uk

Alltech Symposium: Pearse Lyons

Almost 3,000 delegates descended on Lexington, Kentucky to attend the 28th Annual International Symposium.

Pearse Lyons, Alltech founder and president, hosted the Monday Plenary session, giving delegates an insight into Alltech's nine initiatives:

1. Creating an Alltech Academy

2. Crop Science

3. Lyons Farm

4. Building a new bottling plant to keep up with increased demand for beer

5. Work with the Sanders-Brown Centre on Aging - branching into the pharmaceutical industry

6. Algae factory - working with scientists to make a replacement for fish oil

7. Alltech will be the title sponsor of the 2014 Equestrian Games in Normandy, France

8. New plants across the USA including, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. New plants in Canada and Brazil

9. Graduate Program launched in Ireland will take 20 graduate at a time into the Alltech house

Watch the Alltech Symposium live here

May 21, 2012

NAMA joins expanded trading hours debate

The North American Millers' Association (NAMA) has asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to seek public comments on expanded trading hours in an open letter.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The CFTC is considering increasing trading periods to 22 hours for grain futures contracts. NAMA believes there may be significant implications of the expanded trading hours that have not been fully analyzed by the CFTC or the market participants.

Read full letter...

Alltech Symposium on TV

Tune in to the Alltech Symposium on RURAL TV and the Alltech Ag Network

With just a few days until the Alltech 28th Annual International Symposium kicks off in Lexingon, Kentucky on May 20, excitement is growing among delegates worldwide who will be attending the event.

They will have the opportunity to listen to world-renowned speakers and hear major announcements about what’s in store for the future of animal nutrition. And while an anticipated 3,000 delegates will attend the Symposium this year, thanks to coverage by RURAL TV and the Alltech Ag Network, many more will have an opportunity to experience the event from the comfort of their own homes, offices, or even mobile devices.

RURAL TV
RURAL TV will be on hand throughout Symposium, providing regular coverage, interviews and highlights along with portions of the Monday, May 21 Opening Plenary Session and the Tuesday afternoon SMART Debate.

Viewers can tune in to watch RURAL TV on DISH Network channel 232, which will feature numerous Alltech Symposium reports in the daily broadcasts throughout the week for both Market Day Report (9 a.m. – 2 p.m., EDT) and the RURAL EVENING NEWS (7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., EDT). In addition, extensive coverage of various sessions in their entirety will be aired in prime time following the RURAL EVENING NEWS on both RURAL TV and RFD-TV for several weeks following the Alltech Symposium.

Alltech Ag Network
The Alltech Ag Network will be streaming major sessions and press conferences live, which means that viewers can tune in on their computers or mobile devices. By going to www.alltech.com/symposium, viewers can watch the Ag Network’s live coverage of the following:

Monday, May 21

9 – 11:30 a.m. EST: Opening Plenary Session and Medal of Excellence Presentation
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST: Press Conference
2 – 2:30 p.m. EST: Symposium Live with Damien O’Reilly

Tuesday, May 22

10 – 10:30 am EST: Symposium Live with Damien O’Reilly
12 – 1 p.m. EST: Press conference
1:30 – 4 p.m. EST: The SMART Debate

Wednesday, May 23

10 – 10:30 a.m. EST: Symposium Live with Damien O’Reilly
For those who can’t turn in to watch the broadcasts live, they will be rebroadcast in primetime on RURAL TV each evening between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EDT, and archived for later viewing online on the Alltech Ag Network. The Alltech Ag Network is a partnership between Alltech and iHigh.com.

Launched on February 15, 2012 by the creators of RFD-TV, RURAL TV is the world’s first television network devoted to the business of agriculture. Market Day Report is a five-hour daily broadcast of news, weather, and commodity markets updated each half hour. News bureaus in Washington, DC, Chicago, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires provide coverage for these major influences of international agriculture, along with affiliations with every major commodity organization throughout North America.

RURAL TV’s new mobile satellite/production truck will uplink all of the Alltech Symposium coverage back to the Nashville based RFD-TV/RURAL TV studios, and will employ three separate production crews interviewing many of the more than 150 speakers at the Alltech Symposium. Extensive carriage of major rural/equine/agricultural events and conventions occupy afternoon/evening programming, along with an expansion of video livestock auctions which are carried “live” on the channel.

May 18, 2012

Feeds and Nutrition course

Schothorst Feed research will organise a Feeds and Nutrition course on June 11-15 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Advanced, in depth but practical courses, focused on formulating feed for dairy, swine and/or poultry are hard to find. Schothorst Feed Research in the Netherlands will therefore organise for the second time a training course with eight different modules so that each participant can design his or her own custom program depending on interest or specialisation.

All courses will be taught in English in one week (June 11-15), beginning with the basic Feedstuffs (origin, nutritional characteristics and quality) and ending in specialised Dairy, Swine or Poultry nutrition. In between the participant can learn more about Quality assurance, Feed processing, Least Cost Formulating or Communicating quality assurance throughout the whole organisation.

This course is warmly recommend to anyone who wants to take a sabbatical for a week in Amsterdam and learn more about Feeds and Nutrition.

The programme is available online and participants can register here

Contact Jannes Doppenberg, jdoppenberg@schothorst.nl

IGC Conference 2012

The International Grains Conference is just three weeks away.

Held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, June 7, 2012, the conference includes workshops titled, 'The International Grain Trade Coalition issues' and 'Black Sea markets – towards greater transparency'

View programme

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7513 1122

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7513 0630

Email: conf@igc.int

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in at least six languages.

Hotel bookings can be made through Corporate Events
Travelling from airports to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Sponsorship at IGC Grains Conference:
Judie Caunce
Telephone: +44 (0) 1582 765006

Email: igc@events-plus.co.uk

Download the brochure

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