14/08/2013: Cargill sells Hanford facility; UK behind in feed conversion efficiency; cheap grain freight

Cargill has announced the sale of its Hanford feed manufacturing facility in California, USA. The company sold the facility to Pitman Family Farms, a family owned poultry farm. The sale includes the land, buildings and machinery.
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Recent figures from BPEX suggest that Britain is lagging behind in the field of feed conversion. Speaking at a recent producer meeting at Great Dunmow, Essex, UK, Ed Sutcliffe, geneticist at pig-breeding company, ACMC, said that while the number of pigs reared per sow per year wasn’t insignificant, efficient feed conversion was crucial. 

According to the figures, feed conversion efficiency had deteriorated in the UK by 0.2% between 2009 and 2010. “This is far more relevant financially than producing extra piglets,” said Mr Sutcliffe. 
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According to Australian grain exporters, low rates for chartering vessels will continue this harvest. The charter rates usually rise as demand for space on dry-bulk carrier ships increases through the harvest.

However, huge oversupply in the shipping industry as a result of the global financial crisis has led to an influx of ships, with suggestions that this situation will continue through 2014.
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An iteroparous organism is one that can undergo many reproductive events throughout its lifetime. The pig is an example of an iteroparous organism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)