Cull causes feed grain demand in South Korea to fall

Millions of pigs, cattle and poultry were culled during late 2010 to April this year in South Korea, due to disease, and as a result the demand for feed grain is expected to fall by as much as 10 percent, according to a local feed group. Kim Chi Young, a director for grain purchases at Korea Feed Association, the nation’s top grain-buying group, said in an interview, that Consumption may fall 7-10 percent in 2011 from an estimated 9.35 million metric tons for 2010

South Korea destroyed about 9.7 million cattle, pigs and poultry after outbreaks of foot- and-mouth and bird-flu last winter. “The Korean livestock industry may remain sluggish for a long time after the outbreaks,” said Kim at the group’s headquarters in Seoul. “It will probably take a long while for the pork industry, in particular, to recover.” Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Charoen allocates US$174m for expansion

Animal feed and processed chicken producer PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia (CPI) says it will allocate Rp1.5 trillion (US$174 million) in 2011 for capital expenditures to support expansion plans. CPI director Ong Mei Sian said on Wednesday that the funds would be sourced internally, even though bank loans were available.

She added that the company would spend the funds to increase the capacity at existing plants, relocate an existing plant in Lampung and build a new plant in East Java. CPI, the local subsidiary of the Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Foods, currently has seven plants one each in West Java, Central Java, Lampung, North Sumatra and South Sulawesi and two plants in East Java. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

In-ovo feeding can optimise poultry production

In-ovo feeding technology has established a new science of perinatal nutrition that will open opportunities for greater production efficiency and animal welfare. It may even be a necessary means to optimise poultry production, concluded Peter Ferket (North Carolina State University) and Zehave Uni (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) at the Alltech Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky held this week.

The incubation and neonatal periods account for about 50 percent of the productive life of a two-kg market broiler. The perinatal period, the last four days before hatch through the first four days after hatch, is most critical for development and survival of commercial broilers, the researcher state. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

DuPont expects seed market share to increase

DuPont Co expects an increase in the market share for corn and soybean seeds in North America for 2011. This will be the third year in a row, the head of the company's seed division said. The gains by Pioneer Hi-Bred, the Iowa-based DuPont subsidiary, would continue the company's momentum as it battles with rival Monsanto Co, which took a big chunk of Pioneer's market share last decade.

Pioneer had lost share for three straight years before its market share stabilized in 2008. It increased its corn market share by two percentage points in 2009 and three percentage points in 2010, Pioneer President Paul Schickler said in an interview. "We'll have again this year not only the share gains, but price increases as well," Schickler said. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

AFIA Liquid feed symposium 2011

AFIA’s Liquid Feed Committee presents the 41st annual Liquid Feed Symposium, which will be held at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo, Sept 13-15. This year’s program, Industry Innovations, will focus on critical technologies and science essential to liquid feed manufacturing and delivery.

The keynote will be delivered by Alex Avery, director of research and education with the Center for Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute, who will share his renowned presentation, “Technology and Increased Worldwide Food Production.”

In addition, other experts from business, government and academia will speak on a variety of relevant topics, including presentations from Dr Dan McChesney of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, AFIA’s Richard Sellers and industry speakers addressing ingredient and nutritional advances. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Perten gets substantial order for Falling Number instruments

Perten Instruments announce receiving a substantial order for Falling Number instruments from Viterra in Adelaide, Australia. Perten Instruments will deliver 78 Falling Number instrument for placement throughout the Viterra grain handling system in Australia.

Viterra is strengthening their support to growers delivering grain into their system by providing the option of having weather affected wheat assessed by the Falling Number test. Included in the delivery from Perten Instruments are Falling Number instruments, Cooling Towers for water saving, Shakematics for improved reproducibility and operator support, and Laboratory Mills with Mill Feeders for correct sample preparation. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Cargill contributes innovative nutritional software to Iowa State University

Cargill today announced it is making a significant in-kind software contribution to Iowa State University (ISU) to aid in its efforts to improve swine nutrition and pork production. Cargill's Animal Nutrition unit is licensing its Pork MAX® patented nutritional software to ISU's Department of Animal Science. This innovative software will be used in ISU's applied swine nutrition program, which includes research, teaching and extension services.

Cargill's Pork MAX® software will allow students to accurately model and project swine nutritional needs to improve research outcomes and aid in pork business decision making. "I am excited by the prospect of using the growth modeling capabilities of the Pork MAX® software to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our research and extension activities," said Dr. John Patience of ISU's Department of Animal Science. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Wheat replaces maize in poultry feed in India due to surplus

Wheat stocks in India have exceeded buffer stocking norms, causing the price to plumet. This has prompted poultry feed manufacturers to substitute wheat for maize in their produce. The increased stock of wheat is the result of bumper harvests and the government’s refusal to export.

The reason given for not allowing exports, despite the fact that a large portion of the stocks are in the open, in danger of being drenched in pre-monsoon rains and spoiled beyond redemption, is that the government does not know how much of grain would be required to implement the food security law.

However, they are now considering allowing the export of surplus grains. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Studies focus on feed ingredient's effects on levels of E. Coli O157:H7 in cattle

After corn is processed to make ethanol, what's left of the corn looks something like slightly dampened cornmeal, though a somewhat darker yellow, and not as finely ground. Known as "wet distiller's grains with solubles" (WDGS), this byproduct is sometimes used as a cattle feed ingredient.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Clay Center, Nebraska, are studying the pros and cons of that practice. WDGS are rich in protein, and also provide calories and minerals, according to James E. Wells, a microbiologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

PAVA ships flour to Central Asia

"At first our partner from Kazakhstan ordered a consignment of "Altay-Batyushka" flour as a trial. The product was then realised in an extremely short period of time - within one working day and we received another order from the partner for a much larger volume", says PAVA's CCO Angela Kiseleva.

The grain processor PAVA packs "Altay-Batyushka" flour into colourful bags with the image of the deep blue sky, fertile Altay soil and an old-fashioned mill. This memorable design is well known to the Russian costumers and can now be seen in Kazakhstan. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Research: Protein management to lower GHG-emission in pigs

Japanese scientists in cooperation with amino acid supplier Ajinomoto studied the potential reduction of greenhouse gas emission from swine manure by using a low-protein diet supplemented with synthetic amino acids.

Although effects of dietary protein reduction on N excretion are well documented, the potential of protein reduction to decrease N2O and CH4 emissions has not been widely examined. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

European Union should speed up authorisation process for GM animal feed

The European Union should speed up the authorisation processes for novel GM events, to preserve the relative importance of the EU market in animal feed products, concludes a Wageningen University study.

In this context, it is necessary to take into account the increasing number of countries which are embarking on the development of GM events, and which will be submitting applications to the EU for authorisation of the novel events. A second possibility is to introduce a practical tolerance threshold for EU unauthorised GM events that would allow limited liability partnership in shipments to the EU. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Thai feed makers cancel soy meal shipments

Animal feed makers in Thailand have cancelled around 50,000 tonnes of soy meal imports and delayed another 40,000 tons as global prices fall amid plentiful South American supplies. The Philippines is seeking to defer around 40,000 tons due from Argentina in June to August, traders said.

Traders said most cargoes being cancelled or deferred are from Argentina, the world's biggest exporter of the feed ingredient, which is on track to produce a bumper soybean crop. The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soybean meal has lost around seven percent since the start of April on bumper soybean output in South America. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

A Review: Remote Sensing of Global Croplands for Food Security

ISBN: 978-1-4200-9009-3

Remote sensing began primarily with the military, but became a scientific subject after World War II. Remote sensing refers to the technology of acquiring information about the earth's surface, land, ocean and atmosphere. 

 

Using sensors on various platforms, such as aircraft, balloons, satellite and space shuttles. Since the 1940s the technology has improved and along with the understanding and the ability to decipher the information gained from the data gathered. 

 

The range of remote sensing applications includes archaeology, agriculture, cartography, civil engineering, meteorology and climatology, coastal studies, emergency response, forestry, geology, geographic information systems, hazards, land use and land cover, natural disasters, oceanography, water resources.

In 2009 this publication was published by Taylor & Francis and is part of a series in remote sensing applications, edited by Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Hugh Turral, and Chandashekhar M. Biradar and series editor Qihao Weng.

This book is split in to eight sections:

Section one deals with the background and history of global irrigated area maps (GIAM)

• Context and need and scope for mapping global irrigated and rain fed areas
• A history of irrigated areas of the world

Section two looks at global irrigated area maps (GIAM) and statistics using remote

sensing.

Section three looks at GIAM mapping section for selected global regions:

• Uncertainty of estimating irrigated areas in China
• Irrigated areas of India derived from satellite sensors and national statistics:
• A way forward from GIAM experience
• Mapping Irrigated Lands across the United States Using MODIS Satellite Imagery
• Use of Remote Sensing to Map Irrigated Agriculture in Areas Overlying the Ogallala Aquifer, United States
• Assessing the Extent of Urban Irrigated Areas in the United States
• The challenges of mapping irrigated areas in a temperate climate : Experiences from England
• Irrigated Area Mapping in the CWANA Region and Its Use in Spatial Applications for Land Use Planning, Poverty Mapping and Water Resources Management
• Subpixel Mapping of Rice Paddy Fields over Asia Using MODIS Time Series

Section four covers Evapotranspiration Models, Water Use, and Irrigated Area

Section five covers Rain-Fed Cropland Areas of the World

Section six Methods of Mapping Croplands Using Remote Sensing

Section seven Accuracies and Errors

Section eight Way Forward in Mapping Global Irrigated and Rain-Fed Croplands

This book Remote Sensing of Global Croplands for Food Security covers a broad spectrum of how remote sensing can be used to better understand our use of water and irrigation systems and rain fed crop lands around the world. It also highlights that with improving technology and better interpretation that remote sensing will play a key role in future decisions relating to climate change and population growth. 

 

A well-written book with fantastic quality images, a good book for anyone who is interested in this modern science and I believe it would also be of interest to hydrologists and agricultural students and professionals. 

 This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Recipients announced of AFIA’s 2011 Member of the Year Award

Dale A. Hill, ADM Alliance Nutrition and Paul Phillips, Maxi-Lift/Southwest Agri-Plastics, have both been named the American Feed Industry Association’s 2011 Members of the Year. Hill and Phillips received the honor during the annual meeting of AFIA’s Board of Directors this week. The AFIA Member of the Year award is given to an individual who exhibited amazing support in helping the association achieve its goals and objectives over the previous year.

Dale Hill is manager of companion animal nutrition with ADM Alliance Nutrition, with a background in dryland and irrigated crop production and livestock production. Dr. Hill has served on the AFIA Pet Food Committee since 2009 and served as chair this last year. He spearheaded the effort to review, renew and publish an updated version of “Salmonella Control Guidelines,” which was distributed to the membership and FDA in December 2010. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

AFIA strongly urges passage of Free Trade Agreements

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) strongly urges Congress to pass the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Panama, Korea and Colombia. Increasing export opportunities is a top priority for the US feed industry and AFIA urges congressional action on all three FTAs as soon as possible. Ratifying the agreements will increase American competitiveness while removing barriers to US goods entering these markets.

“AFIA applauds the efforts thus far, but we encourage passage of all three FTAs,” explained Joel G. Newman, president and CEO of AFIA. “While the country wrestles with a struggling economy, any trade agreement that has the potential to create American jobs and expand US exports really makes sense.” Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

People: Pancosma appoints new market manager

Clément Soulet

Pancosma has announced the appointment of a new market manager to its marketing department, Clément Soulet. Soulet has been named Palatants range Market Manager. He will be responsible for overseeing the global development of the Sucram and Pantek brand products already established as market leaders in several countries.

Soulet was graduated with an agro engineer diploma (AgroParisTech) with a specialisation in management, innovation and business performance. He recently was employed at the Nutreco Ruminant Research Center in the Netherlands and in a camelids Argentinean cooperative. He has also been working for four years in a French consulting firm in strategy and organisation. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Australia researchers developing test to improve pig & poultry feed

Scientists at the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia are close to developing a new rapid computerised screening tool for pork producers to measure protein quality in imported soybean meal. Principal researcher Jae Kim said the tool, expected to be developed by June this year, could also eventually be applied for the broiler/layer industry.

Dr Kim said the tool would enable producers to check the lysine quality in soybean meal, an important ingredient in the diet of young pigs. “Lysine is the most important essential amino acid in pig nutrition,” he said. “A deficient or short supply of lysine hinders the utilisation of other amino acids needed for the efficient production of pigs.  So it is important for producers to be able to precisely estimate the biologically available lysine in pig diets. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Major feed business created in New Zealand

Ballance Agri-nutrients is joining forces with two of New Zealand’s independent suppliers of customised animal feeds to create a new nationwide business focused on meeting farmers’ complete animal nutrient needs from pasture through to supplements.

The company is purchasing a large share of two of New Zealand’s leading animal nutrient manufacturers; Seales Ltd in Morrinsville and Winslow Feeds and Nutrition in Ashburton.

The new operation, Seales Winslow, will be 51 percent owned by Ballance Agri-Nutrients. The shareholders of Seales Ltd and Winslow Feeds and Nutrition will each own half of the remaining 49 percent of the new business. Seales Winslow is expected to begin operations by June 1, 2011. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Cargill’s Amsterdam soya plant gets EFISC certification

The European Feed Ingredients Safety Code (EFISC) has approved Cargill soya plant for crush and refining in Amsterdam for EFISC certification. The plant is producing about 170.000 tons of feed materials annually and is as such a major player on the feed material market. The certification resulted from an audit conducted by the certification body SGS.

“As a global and regional producer of feed materials Cargill is fully committed to the implementation of European feed safety schemes in the EU. The EFISC scheme, based on the European Guide for safe feed materials endorsed by the European Commision and EU Member States, provides us with a harmonised, high quality standard for feed safety across the EU in an open, transparent and non- discriminatory matter". Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Wheat damage claims may signal worse harvest than forecast

Wheat crops in the US Great Plains are showing signs that production may plunge more than the government forecast last week as hot weather and a lack of rain erode plant quality and force farmers to harvest early. As of May 15, US winter-wheat was in the worst condition since 1996, with 44 percent of fields rated poor or very poor by the government.

The National Weather Service estimates rainfall in the past two months was less than half of normal in much of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, where insurance adjuster David Reed said he’s had 300 farmer claims for drought damage in his area this season, already 10 times more than last year. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Study links climate change to changes in crop yields

A new study says climate change has reduced the world's wheat and maise production. The study says rice and soybean yields have also decreased in some places but increased in others. In the words of the researchers: "For soybeans and rice, winners and losers largely balanced out."

The researchers studied climate trends and global crop production from between nineteen eighty and two thousand eight. They found that climate changes "are already exerting a considerable drag on yield growth" and may have affected food prices. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

US wheat is a logical choice for world's consumers

As proof that American wheat farmers continue to produce the world's most consistent supply of high-quality wheat, wheat exports are expected to increase about 45 percent more this marketing year compared to last year in all wheat classes, says Alan Tracy, president of the US Wheat Associates (USW).

"It is true that much of our big export increase this year is due to export embargoes, extreme weather and poor crop conditions in several places around the world," Tracy says. But the fact remains that year in and year out, the US is the world's most reliable supplier of wheat. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

MS Schippers joins forces with De Heus and Wellhope in China

MS Schippers, an international Holland-based livestock equipment company, has closed a joint venture with De Heus Feeds and the Chinese Wellhope Group. De Heus International, one of the Netherlands’ larger compound feed producers, has already had a joint venture with feed producer Wellhope Group since 2006, by buying shares of the company.

In an explanation, John van den Broek, Schippers Export’s commercial director said: "We received lots of requests for delivery of our products and knowledge to the Chinese market and so we have decided to anticipate to these requests this by creating this joint venture with De Heus and Wellhope." Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

TechMix and GenTech join in China

Nutritional product specialist TechMix, from Minneapolis USA, expands and announces the launch of joint venture in Shanghi, China. In a partnership created with GenTech China, the TechMix BioTech new facilities include a manufacturing plant, offices and sales team.

"China is the largest swine market in the world with more than 650 million hogs produced every year. Chinese producers are looking for more specialty nutrition products for targeted applications to better manage the stress periods of pigs, as alternatives to medications and antibiotics and based on proven technology. TechMix products are proven with 28 years of experience" said Mike Nelson, President, TechMix. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Lipids to control methane emission in dairy cows

Australian scientists studied the influence of cold-pressed canola, brewers grains and hominy meal as dietary supplements suitable for reducing enteric methane emissions from lactating dairy cows. There are limited data in the literature concerning in vivo effects of dietary fat supplementation on enteric CH4 emissions from lactating dairy cows.

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate four dietary treatments designated as control (CON), brewers grains (BG), hominy meal and cold-pressed canola (HCC) and hominy meal only (HM) for their effects on CH4 emissions and milk production. Sixteen late lactation Holstein cows were used in pairs, in a double 4 × 4 Latin square experiment with the four dietary treatments fed as total mixed rations over 24 day treatment periods. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) gets new Chairman

William C. Barr was elevated to the chairmanship of the American Feed Industry Association at the annual meeting on May 11. Barr, the president of Bill Barr & Company Incorporated of Overland Park, Kansas, succeeds VanRoekel, the president and CEO of Ridley Inc of Mankato, Minnesota. The terms of chairman and past chairman are one year.

In related business, the AFIA Board voted to accept the nomination of Alan Gunderson to become chairman-elect of the organization. Gunderson, the vice president of Vita Plus Corporation, will succeed Barr in May 2012. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

E.P.A. Issues Compliance Orders to 7 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska

E.P.A. Region seven announced today that it has issued administrative compliance orders to seven concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, directing those operations to correct a range of violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Region seven's latest round of CAFO enforcement activity, aimed at encouraging producers' compliance with the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, involves seven beef feedlots, including 4 in Iowa, 2 in Kansas and one in Nebraska.

"Feedlot-related pollutants have significantly contributed to water quality problems, causing states to list streams as impaired under the Clean Water Act," E.P.A. Regional Administrator Karl Brooks said. "As Clean Water Act permits provide a crucial tool to maintain water quality, E.P.A. works with our state partners and stakeholders to promote producers' legal compliance. Enforcing feedlot permits and requiring producers to get them, where appropriate, will produce cleaner waters and likely require fewer enforcement actions in the future." Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Novus expansion facility in Little Rock

Novus International Inc. today cut the ribbon commemorating the opening of its newly expanded Novus Arkansas facility in Little Rock. The Novus Arkansas site was developed in the Little Rock Riverport Industrial Park in 2006 to manufacture MHA® feed supplement, a dry, granular powder that provides an effective and environmentally friendly source of methionine, an essential amino acid in premixes and farm feed mills.

MHA provides benefits to laying hens and other livestock and companion animals. The new expansion features a 45,000 square foot manufacturing facility for Mintrex, a unique line of chelated trace mineral products for aquaculture, poultry, pork, beef, dairy and pet nutrition. Chelated trace mineral technology enables farmers to reduce their levels of mineral inclusion, thus saving money and reducing waste to the environment. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Molecular technique advances soybean rust resistance research

A new tool is available to select for soybean rust resistance in breeding populations, said Glen Hartman, University of Illinois professor of crop sciences and United States Department of Agriculture -ARS scientist. Hartman and his team of researchers successfully used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) assays to assess fungal DNA in soybean leaf tissue to quantify the level of resistance in individual plants with resistance to soybean rust.

"This is not a new technique," Hartman said. "But it is a new tool for use in soybean rust resistance breeding, which has typically used phenotyping or visual assessment to measure resistance. We discovered that we can perform more precise and quicker assessments using this molecular technique." Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

People: senior management changes at Kiotech

Richard Edwards

David Bullen

Richard Edwards becomes Executive Vice-Chairman and David Bullen Chief Executive Kiotech International plc, the supplier of natural high performance feed additives to enhance growth, health and sustainability in agriculture and aquaculture has redefined roles and responsibilities at board level.

Richard Edwards, who has been Chief Executive since November 2006, becomes Executive Vice-Chairman and will be responsible for implementing the company’s acquisition strategy. He will also retain   responsibility for Aquatice® to ensure continuity of its commercial development. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

DDGS sales to Southeast Asia up

Sales of US distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are up globally this year, with the largest regional gain on a percentage basis in Southeast Asia, where exports were up 27 percent year-over-year for the January-March period. That puts sales at 296,047 metric tons for the quarter, said the US Grains Council, citing US Department of Agriculture figures.

The largest percentage growth within the region is Malaysia, which grew from 4,329 tons imports in January-February 2010 to 16,347 tons in the same period this year, a fourfold increase. “We are very active in promoting DDGS in Southeast Asia,” said Adel Yusupov, the Council’s regional director for Southeast Asia who is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Research: Effect of yeast protein on piglet intestines

Australian scientists studied the use of nucleotides, vitamins and functional amino acids to enhance the structure of the small intestine and circulating measures of immune function in the post-weaned piglet. Ninety individually-housed castrated pigs (Large White × Landrace × Duroc mixed crossbred, n = 18) were used in a randomized block experiment to determine the effect of yeast protein concentrate (YPC) or its major active components, nucleotides (NCL), inositol (INS), and glutamate (GLU), on pig performance, indices of gut structure and circulating measures of immune function.

Results
Daily gain and feed intake were not affected by diet, however pigs fed the YPC diet had a lower feed conversion ratio compared to those fed the control (CON), INS and NCL diets in the feeding period. Villous height in the duodenum was increased in pigs that received the YPC diet compared to the CON and INS diets. In addition, immunoglobulin G levels were increased in pigs that received the INS and GLU diets compared to the CON and NCL diet on day 21. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and the International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Saudi barley importers punished for price hike

The Saudia Arabian government is to take disciplinary action against 10 barley importing companies found to be selling their barley at higher prices than was set out by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Ministry of Commerce had been receiving complaints from farmers about unreasonable rises in the price of cattle feed.  It ordered all companies dealing with cattle feed not to raise their prices without justification and to clearly write the prices on each bag. Its officials have been making regular field inspections to monitor the situation.

The punishment for each offending company includes:

• a SR50,000 (€9,337) fine
• publicising their punishment on a half page advertisement in three local newspapers at their own expense, with at least one of the publications serving the region where the violation was committed
• be forced to remain closed for 15 days. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Japan culls livestock around nuclear no-go zone

The Japanese government plans to cull a vast amount of swine, cattle and poultry in the nuclear evacuation zone surrounding the country’s damaged nuclear plant, several news sources report. Livestock producers in Fukushima, in the North East of Japan had to leave behind their animal herds when a 20 km evacuation zone around the nuclear power plant was imposed after the tsunami and earthquake had happened on March 11. The disaster had knocked out the plant’s cooling systems.

Figures

The departure of farmers from the no-go zone resulted in the abandonment of an estimated  31,500 pigs, 3,400 cows, and 630,000 chickens at least, these figures were reported prior to the crisis. The cows once the pride of Fukushima prefecture, prized for their marbled beef and rich milk were left behind in the scramble to escape, many of them locked in sheds where they starved to death, farmers have said. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Comment period closes on Mexican trucking plan

The public comment period on the Department of Transportation's revised program to allow Mexican trucks access to US highways closed last Friday. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says US and Mexican government officials have met in recent months to set final details of the deal. The final rules could be announced in a matter weeks.

DOT said last month its three-year pilot program to allow Mexican trucks on US roadways includes multiple safety-related steps. Those include a target of 4,100 vehicle inspections designed to test the safety of Mexican trucks, instead of establishing a number of carrier participants. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Chinese chickens fed mineral powder to increase weights

In yet another food scandal in China, almost 1,000 live chickens have been seized after it was discovered they were feed a mineral powder to increase their weights. The chickens were found in China’s Southwest Chongqing municipality during a raid jointly conducted by several local authorities while they were being transported from Guizhou province early Sunday morning.

When officers stopped two trucks carrying suspected chickens at the toll stations of the Chongqing-Guizhou highway, the officers noticed that the chickens' craws were abnormally plump and asked the drivers to hand over several of the chickens for testing. The owners of the livestock confessed to the inspectors that each of the birds had been fed between 300 to 400 grams of barite powder. Barite powder is mostly used to add weight to oil drilling mud, to deflect X-rays in medical science, as a material in the brakes of vehicles and in high-quality paints. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Time to re-instating food waste into livestock diets?

According to waste food expert Tristram Stuart, the introduction of a formalised system of sterilising and processing waste food and converting it into a useable livestock feed is inevitable. Stuart, a lecturer at Sussex University and author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, said he believed a nationwide off-farm food-recycling program will provide vast tonnages of low-cost feed for UK pig producers.

He added that because of the ever-increasing concern for environmental and economic approaches to food production, the demand will be driven by consumers. "There will soon be zero tolerance among consumers over the 20 million tonnes of waste food that has to be disposed of every year in the UK," Stuart said. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Weather 'hurdles' ahead

Surprise thunderstorms overnight in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles are coming far too late to help out the wheat crop in that area, but are certainly going to help conditions in regards to summer row-crop planting. Not everyone in that area is getting these rains, but those locations that are under the strongest thunderstorms are getting over an inch. Look for that activity to end by mid-morning and dry weather will be seen in that area for the rest of the five-day forecast.

The rest of the hard-red winter wheat belt has rain chances for today and in some areas tomorrow, and chances are good that a lot of this will be quite severe in nature. Rains this morning in the Corn Belt are mainly in the west, and this activity marks the start of what will be an active period of weather that will last through at least the end of the weekend (or even into Monday in the east). Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Genomes of fungi that threaten wheat, poplars sequenced

An international team of researchers co-led by a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has sequenced the genomes of two fungal pathogens-one that threatens global wheat supplies and another that limits production of a tree crop valued as a future source for biofuel. The sequencing of the genetic codes of wheat stem rust pathogen (Puccinia graminis) and poplar leaf rust pathogen (Melampsora larici-populina) is expected to help researchers develop control strategies to address worldwide threats to wheat fields and tree plantations.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a six-year collaborative effort of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Minnesota and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Planting corn or soybeans into wet soils can cause sidewall compaction

Conducting fieldwork after wet weather can cause soil compaction, and in particular sidewall compaction in the seed furrow, says DeAnn Presley, Kansas State University Research and Extension soil management specialist. This is especially true if the weather then turns dry after planting, she adds.

“The worst cases of sidewall compaction are seen after a field has been planted when the soil was too wet, followed by a period of dry weather,” Presley says. “If the soil stays moist, the roots are usually able to grow through the walls of the seed furrow. But if the soil gets dry, the roots can have a harder time growing through that seed furrow wall, and instead grow along the furrow, resulting in what is referred to as sidewall compaction,” she explains. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Food safety for whom? Corporate wealth versus people's health

School children in the US were served 200,000 kilos of meat contaminated with a deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria before the nation's second largest meat packer issued a recall in 2009.  A year earlier, six babies died and 300,000 others got horribly sick with kidney problems in China when one of the country's top dairy producers knowingly allowed an industrial chemical into its milk supply.

Across the world, people are getting sick and dying from food like never before. Governments and corporations are responding with all kinds of rules and regulations, but few have anything to do with public health. The trade agreements, laws and private standards used to impose their version of "food safety" only entrench corporate food systems that make us sick and devastate those that truly feed and care for people, those based on biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and local markets.

People are resisting, whether its movements against GMOs in Benin and "mad cow" beef in Korea or campaigns to defend street hawkers in India and raw milk in Colombia. The question of who defines "food safety" is increasingly central to the struggle over the future of food and agriculture. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, which is published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Crop damage from weather growing as cost of grains advances

Less than a year after the worst drought in a generation destroyed one-third of Russia’s wheat crop and sent global food prices surging, more bad weather is damaging fields from North America to Europe to Asia.Corn planting in the US, the world’s largest grower, is advancing at half of last year’s pace because of excess rain, government data show.

The Canadian Wheat Board said fields are so muddy that only three percent of grain has been sown, compared with 40 percent normally. At the same time, drought left the Kansas wheat crop in the worst shape since 1996, and dry spells are threatening crops in France, Western Australia and China. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, which is published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

People: Danisco strengthens its technical team

Danisco Animal Nutrition has appointed Dr Armin Vikari to the position of Regional Technical Manager. Armin will be responsible for ensuring pig and poultry producers throughout northern Europe maximise value from the latest developments in feed enzyme and betaine technology, as well as through the use of essential oil compounds. He will be based in the Netherlands and reports to Business Director, Kim Hjortstrøm.

Dr Armin Vikari

 His previous roles include Area Sales Manager for J. Rettenmair & Sons GmbH & Co KG, focussing on raw fibre concentrates in feed and later as Bioactives Product Manager for Pancosma. Armin’s previous experience and specialisation in natural growth promoters means that he is ideally placed to provide Danisco’s customers with advice over the alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters.

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, which is published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

Market share discussions killed Sanofi-Merck JV

Sanofi-Aventis plans to cut costs and expand its animal health business through acquisitions as it fully integrates Merial after the collapse of its longstanding joint venture with Merck of the US. As of Friday 6, May, Sanofi-Aventis shareholders approved a name change. From now on the company is known as Sanofi.

Chris Viehbacher, chief executive of the French pharmaceutical group, told the Financial Times there was scope for “synergy” in back office operations, manufacturing, marketing, and research and development. He said the failure of the partnership meant Sanofi-Aventis would seek new takeover targets in animal health and plan to grow, notably in emerging markets where animal health sales contributed a smaller proportion than other divisions in the group. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, which is published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

People: DSM CEO gets innovation award

DSM’s CEO Feike Sijbesma has received the prestigious George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology in recognition of his outstanding contribution and vision to the development and innovation in industrial biotechnology.

CEO Feike Sijbesma

"The so-called fossil-age will make a shift to the bio-based-economy. In two or three centuries from now, people will look back on our civilisation as a merely brief moment in history where we in a period of just about 250 years shifted our total economy to coal, oil and gas. To make the shift back to living with, and especially off, nature, we need to start this shift now. We are at a turning point towards a next green industrial revolution to secure our feed and fuel needs in the future." Read more ...
 
This blog is written by Martin Little, The Global Miller, which is published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers

DSM acquires the premixing unit in Romania

DSM Nutritional Products has acquired the premix unit of Fatrom, the leading premix manufacturer in Romania. When the competent authorities approve the takeover the move expands the company’s global network of premix facilities and offers DSM improved access to the growing Romanian livestock feed market.

With 21.5 million people, Romania has the seventh largest population of the European Union. Agriculture has traditionally been the backbone of the country’s economy. Romania has approximately 10 million hectares of actively cultivated arable land, producing ample resources of grains which favour livestock production. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine and International Milling Directory from Perendale Publishers