16 Days to the Launch of PPLAPP

Cotton as a potential supplement for other animal feeds

The quest to find a substitute for hay in animal feeds has led to some taking a closer look at cotton residues as a potential supplement for other animal feeds. Dr. Tyron Wickersham of Texas AgriLife Research, a nutrition scientist at Texas A&M University analysed the feed potential of cotton. They have been looking at whether the chemical pre treatment could affect the cotton residue's nutritional value. He has said that cotton residue could be given to livestock with some precautions. 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 rice damaged by disaster goes to animal feed

92,000 tons of rice in storage has been put up for auction by the Thai Commerce Ministry, the rice mainly deteriorated stock will be used for animal feed producers. Chanchai Rakthananon, the president of the Thai Rice Mills Association, said the auction might not be well received by the private sector, as deteriorated rice cannot be made into packed rice. More likely was that the government would have to sell at a loss to millers which the government originally contracted to keep the rice. 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.

MF global bankruptcy impacts agriculture industry

After the fall of MF Global Holdings Ltd, there is major concern for the agriculture the effect of the collapse MF Global Holdings has prompted many questions about the safety of futures trading. Part of this is due to the customers accounts of MF Global being frozen and the concern that the hard earned farmers and ranchers funds could be lost. MF Global has reportedly “lost” customer funds frequently cited in the US$1.2 billion (€900 million) range through a suspected series of unusual, perhaps illegal, transactions. Former MF Global Chairman and CEO, Jon Corzine (once New Jersey governor and senator) has a long list of questions to answer. 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.

17 days to PPLAPP

Culprits over the clenbuterol scandal dealt with in China

In Henan Province court, China the 113 people including government employees have been penalised, over a chemically tainted pork scandal that was discovered in March 2011. The chemical that was used to produce leaner pork was clenbuterol, the punishments they received ranged from jail terms to a reprieved death sentence. The main culprit, Liu Xiang, was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve on conviction of harming public safety. 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.

Award for feed conversion testing station

A cattle feed conversion testing station in Queensland, Australia, initiated, designed and built by two southeast beef producers has received a significant statewide environmental award in Queensland. Rathdowney producers Matthew Arkinstall and Warren Drynan are the men behind the creation of a feed efficiency test facility at the Drynan family property, Running Creek, designed to improve sustainable beef production. 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.

One Feed Supplements fined for accident

A UK based animal feed company called One Feed Supplements has been fined for failing to ensure safety measures were in place, when an employee sustained serious injury to his hand. The company was fined UK£15,000 (US$23,396.2) with costs of UK£2,594.30 (US$4,046.462). Paul Newton, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, stated: "The risk from contact with moving parts of machinery is well known in industry and should have been more so to this company as it was prosecuted in 2007 when another employee was injured." 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.

NZ research team reconstructs ancient enzyme

A research team from New Zealand have reconstructed an ancient enzyme from a bacterium that lived almost a billion years ago which is seven times more active than its modern descendants. Associate Professor Vic Arcus from Waikato University Biological Sciences said "There has been a lot of speculation in the last 10 years about how enzymes might evolve over time," he says. "Did ancient organisms live in really hot environments, or did they live at ambient temperature, and what were their enzymes doing under those conditions?". 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.

Poultry farmers in Canada told to cease using bovine antibiotic

British Columbia poultry farmers and veterinarians are being urged to stop using bovine antibiotics by the Public Health Agency of Canada (CIPARS) on chickens. The agency believes the practice is behind a significant spike in a strain of Campylobacter in chicken that is resistant to an antibiotic commonly used to treat respiratory infections in human beings and cattle. 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.

China leading rapeseed processor

The largest state owned grain trading house in China, Cofco has completed construction of four rapeseed plants in the country’s major growing areas, making it the largest national rapeseed processor. Cofco's four crushers, located in the provinces of Anhui and Hubei and the city of Chongqing, will be able to process three million tonnes of domestic rapeseed a year altogether. The import restriction has forced some companies to set up new facilities in non-major growing areas along the coast, which will spur more rapeseed imports this 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.

EFSA updated its scientific advice on gm maize 1507

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) updated it scientific advice on the environmental safety of genetically modified maize 1507. The panel on genetically modified  organism (GMO) from the EFSA has concluded that maize 1507 (Pioneer) is unlikely to raise a safety concern for the environment as long as the correct procedures and management measures are implemented during cultivation. The Panel recognised the need to update its previous scientific opinions in light of recent advances in methodology and new scientific literature and thus initiated a reassessment of its environmental safety. 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 completes purchase of Provimi

Cargill has completed the purchase of Provimi, a global animal nutrition company to the value of €1.5 billion ((US$2.1 billion). The merger will bring together the complementary animal nutrition expertise and operations of the two companies. Cargill’s expertise in compound feed, supply chain and risk management will come together with Provimi’s wide range of nutritional expertise, technology and portfolio of premix, additives and ingredients. Cargill’s new animal nutrition business will be led by Ton van der Laan 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, Russia in wheat war with the US

A price war is brewing as former Russian countries Ukraine, and Kazakhstan and Australia are exporting more wheat than was projected. They are doing this by selling wheat below the US export prices, some export competitors countries, will set their prices below the US price irrespective of how low the US price goes. The US exporters and wheat producers probably don't want a price war. The former Russian countries are basically buying their way into North African and Middle Eastern wheat export markets. 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.

Russian compound feed industry looking at synthetic barley

The chief expert of the project "Deep processing of soybeans," presented a new project to manufacture a standardised feed product 'synthetic barley'. The representatives of the expert group note that the deficit of feed production in Russia and the CIS may be tackled by a new promising biotechnology of using biofuel crops deposit for the production of a standardised feed product "synthetic barley," historically a leading grain crop for feed industry. 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.

New Aminomax facility opened by Afgritech

A New York based company Afgritech has opened a new US$5 million (€3.732 million) facility at the old blue seal facility in Watertown. This new facility will manufacture its rumen bypass protein Aminomax, which is designed to meet dairy cows amino acid requirements. Which will allow the nutritionists to reduce the amount of crude protein in their diet, maximising use of forages and fermentable carbohydrates. The manufacturing process was patented by Kansas State University. Its goal is to improve milk production, improve milk components and reduce manure nitrogen levels. 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 International Feed Education Forum in Georgia

The American Feed Industry Association’s International Feed Education Forum will be hosted on, January 25, at the at the International Feed Expo/International Poultry Expo, the annual event organised by AFIA in conjunction with the US Poultry & Egg Association.

The International Feed Education Forum addresses issues unique to feed manufacturers. Three speakers will be featured at 2012 program. Tim Lease, WL Port-Land Systems, Inc, will present the opening session, “Selecting the Proper Equipment to Maximise Efficiency.” Richard Sellers, AFIA's vice president of feed regulation and nutrition, will give an update on the Food Safety Modernisation Act, and Keith Epperson, AFIA’s vice president of manufacturing and training, will conclude the program with an overview of Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.

The program will be held from 8:30 – 11:00 am in Conference Hall A, Room 404 of the Georgia World Conference Center.

For more information on the AFIA Education Program, contact Leslie Malone, AFIA's manager of communications at lmalone@afia.org or (703) 558-3579. For more information on the International Feed Expo/International Poultry Expo, visit www.ife12.org

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.

Shur-Gain shuts mill operations down

Shur-Gain a subsidiary of Nutreco and one of Canada's largest suppliers of animal feed is to permanently close down its livestock and poultry feed mill operation in Stephenville, Newfoundland at the end of the year, leaving four employees jobless. "The reasons for this closure are related to the low volume of finished feeds being manufactured and limited profitability at the operation," said Réjean Faubert, Shur-Gain's Atlantic region general manager. 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.

Hemp seed cake in organic broiler diet

M. Eriksson and H. Wall from the Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, University of Agricultural Science examined production and health of fast-growing broilers fed diets with and without hemp seed cake (HSC) in organic broiler production. Two diets, a control diet (C) and a diet including HSC (H), were fed to 1,200 Ross 308 chickens which were divided over 8 pens. The production performance was registered weekly, even though there was high mortality due to a short heat wave they found that the inclusion of hemp seed cake  did not affect total production performance or mortality. 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 long term study of organic agriculture can show higher returns

A long term research study of organic crop systems has shown that they can provide similar yields to conventional corn-soybean rotation, but can return much higher economic returns. The Long-Term Agroecological Research (LTAR) Experiment was established in 1998 at the Iowa State University Neely-Kinyon Farm in Greenfield, Iowa running as a side by side comparison in Iowa showed that organic crops can remain competitive with conventional crops. As well as the economical benefits, the study showed that the organic system also builds healthy soils as well as increased nitrogen and increases in carbon, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. 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.

Brazilian study quantified mycotoxin levels

A three year survey on commercial wheat grains aimed at quantifying the intensity of Fusarium head blight epidemics related to kernel quality and levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV). The grain samples were obtained from 38 municipalities throughout the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results of the survey showed some interesting results, for the first time, the presence of NIV in levels comparable to DON is reported from a multi-year regional epidemiological survey in the country which should be of concern to the small grains industry. 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.

Advice about mycotoxins in pig feeds

A lot of pig farmers in the US and other countries grow their own corn, depending on the harvest conditions crops can be infected by Aspergillus flavus, causing aflatoxin contamination. This is a concern which can cause major problems for pig farmers. Kansas State University Extension swine specialists Mike Tokach and Joel DeRouchey offer the following advice  regarding mycotoxin issues and swine. They recommend cleaning the grain (removing damaged kernels) before storage, this can reduce toxins levels by up to 50 percent. 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 New Hope Group Co sets up investment arm

China's largest animal feed producers New Hope Group Co are to launch an overseas investment arm this month with international investors, including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, New Hope Chairman Liu Yonghao said. "The investment will focus on agricultural products and related businesses overseas and in China," Liu said. "China has 800 million farmers, of which 300-400 million are moving to cities," he said. "That will increase the demand for agricultural products while decrease the supply. This is positive to agricultural companies, like us." Read more ...

ESFSA director not happy

Executive Director of the European Feed Safety Authority (ESFSA) Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle is not pleased. Her main concern for the coming years is to maintain and improve the scientific expertise of EFSA in an environment of continuous pressure on feed and food safety budgets in member states. “We received around 3,000 requests for a health claim on a product,” Geslain-Lanéelle says. “Eighty percent of these claims are rejected, mostly because of incomplete dossiers. The opinion on botanicals is not complete yet. Some 1,500 requests are put on hold.” 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.

Ukraine making an impact on the export market again

According to the US grain council, the Ukraine is showing signs of becoming a strong force on the export market again. Corn and feed wheat from the Ukraine are becoming strong competitors according to USGC regional director Cary Sifferath.“With a record corn crop this year and plenty of feed quality wheat to sell, I would now say Ukraine will have 10 million tons to as much as 12 million tons of corn and 7 million tons of feed wheat available for export,” he said. “It wasn’t that long ago that the multinational grain companies were wondering if Ukraine was a safe place to invest in facilities, since the government can restrict exports, as it did in 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.

Cargill get approval to purchase Provimi

Cargill the US agricultural giants secured European Union approval to purchase animal feed producers Provimi for €1.5 billion (US$2.037 billion). The EU said after an investigation that the deal to buy Provimi's holding company KoroFrance would not create competition issues. "The investigation showed that the horizontal overlaps between the activities of Cargill and KoroFrance in animal compound feed and feed mixes would not raise competition concerns given the relatively limited combined market position of the merging parties and the presence of a sufficient number of alternative suppliers," the EU's executive said in a statement. 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 cause of Dioxin in German beet pulp identified

Animal feed has turned up in ten states of Germany contaminated with Dioxin Residues were blocked and may not be fed, the cause has been identified. According to authorities, there is no danger to humans, animals and the environment. "Since we are dealing with minor violations, we assume that hazards from the consumption of products so meat and dairy are not to be feared," said Environment Minister Hermann Ono Aeikens of Saxony-Anhalt. 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 canola faces stiff competition from Canada

Australian canola seed can only maintain its favourable market while it continues to complete on price in Europe. The canola a non GM crop from Australia has been one of the crops sold to Europe, but the worry is that with the importing of Canadian seed and the possibility of the European crops recovering, this could result in lower imports to Europe. Cargill's Katie Colvin  said "If we see a recovery in the European crop, and less import volumes are required, Australian seed will be competing against Canadian seed, which will result in the spreads narrowing." 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.

Second Alltech's Global Beef 500 set for December

With the success of the first Global Beef 500 in 2010, Alltech have announced the Second Global Beef 500 taking place in Lexington, Kentucky, USA on  December 6 -8. The world leaders in the beef industry will gather once again to discuss their collective futures and how to brand beef better. “We are faced with a world that is now more demanding than ever. There is a higher demand for food, fuel and other commodities, as well as a demand for transparency and sustainability. Because of this, it is now necessary to adopt new technologies and increase the focus on communication, or risk falling behind,” said Dr Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. 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.

ForFarmers takeover of Hendrix makes European giant

ForFarmers and Nutreco have signed an agreement, that ForFarmers takes over Hendrix UTD, the feed business of Nutreco in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, creating the largest feed firm in Europe. The sale of Hendrix is agreed for a total consideration of €92.5 million (US$124.459 million), resulting in a book profit for Nutreco at completion. As part of the transaction, Nutreco and ForFarmers have entered into a long term strategic partnership, including a know-how agreement. 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.

Feed production subsidies to be increased in Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Agriculture in Kazakhstan have received a request from the Kazakhstan Parliament to increase subsidies for the production of animal feed in 2012. "There is a need to strengthen public support for harvesting haylage, as well as to increase subsidies for compound feed production, as the existing limits cover the cost of production process by only five to seven percent," was said in an official request for deputies of the Parliament of 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.

Fusion Marine and Northern Isles Salmon work together

Northern Isles Salmon and Fusion Marine are working together on a project which involves replacing the salmon farm pens in Shetland, the pens are to be recycled into stronger units. Old polyethylene two-ring pens at the Northern Isles Salmon site in Basta Voe, which had reached the end of their useful lifespan, are now being converted into 18 modern three-ring Fusion Marine 90m circumference Oceanflex pens in an environmentally friendly refurbishment project. “Refurbishing existing pens is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way of upgrading our farm operations.” said Iain Forbes of Fusion Marine. 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.

Alltech Vietnam gets ISO certification

Alltech has received an ISO 22000:2005 certification for its plant in Dong Nai, Vietnam. Alltech Vietnam moved to Dong Nai in 2006, where it expanded its operations and built the production plant, which includes a state-of-the-art solid-state fermentation facility. Alltech vice-president Steve Bourne said “Operating under our strict AQS quality control system, which exceeds global standards and regulations, we can ensure that we are at the forefront to provide the technologies and quality assured solutions our customers need in order to address these future challenges”. 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.

Expanding feed amino acids capacity

Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Group is to increase the production capacity of feed use amino acids. They intend to increase L-Lysine production capacity by 150,000 ton s, L-Threonine by 80,000 tons, and L-Tryptophan by 7,000 tons. Feed-use amino acid products will be used to produce L-Valine and L-Isoleucine, AminoGut, a combination of L-Glutamine and Glutamic acid for intestinal gut function optimisation, and AjiPro-L, a rumen protected L-Lysine product. The company also introduced new pricing for its pharmaceutical and food-grade bulk amino acids due to global increases in raw materials and energy costs. 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 project to decrease methane emission of a dairy cow

Nine companies are to receive subsidies as part of a financial support on research to reduce methane emission of a dairy cow. Agentschap NL, part of the Ministry of Economics, Agriculture and Innovation has revealed which companies will be subsidised for research on feeds which result in lower emission of green house gases. The aim of the research projects is to decrease five percent of the methane emission of a dairy cow, by at least, by 2020, a target that is part of the project Innovation and Action program for Clean and Economical Agri Sectors. 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.

Bayer and AgraQuest expand collaboration

AgraQuest and Bayer Animal Health are to expand their collaboration this means that bayer will become the exclusive distributor of AgraQuest’s Bacillus subtilis QST 713 in selected countries for poultry applications. The product to be distributed under the agreement will be Baymix Grobig BS, a feed additive based on AgraQuest’s patented strain of Bacillus subtilis and co-branded with AgraQuest’s trademark Sympatic. 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.

First round of Poultry feed trails completed

The First round of Poultry feed trails has been completed by Green Plains Renewable Energy and BioProcess Algae. The algal feed produced for the trails showed high energy and protein contents that was readily available and similar to high value feed products. The test was conducted in conjunction with the University of Illinois led by Dr Carl M Parsons, a leading expert in the field of poultry sciences. "This was the first time we tested algae as a poultry feed-product and many of the qualities found were similar to high protein soymeal, but with higher energy content," said Dr. Parsons. 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.

Press Release: Company Announcement Gleadell

Gleadell Agriculture Ltd are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement in principle to buy Tabmellow Ltd, the holding company of Dunns (Long Sutton) Ltd. The acquisition is subject to due diligence and completion of legal documentation, and is expected to be concluded in the next three months.

Gleadell is the UK’s leading independent grain merchant and a significant supplier of seed and fertiliser to UK farmers. Dunns are specialists in premium pulse products for the human consumption market and a major UK agricultural seed processor.

The companies have traded together for over ten years and see clear benefits for Dunns from the support provided by Gleadell’s shareholders Toepfer International and Invivo.

In addition, Dunns’ expertise in both the seed and pulse sectors will provide good synergy alongside Gleadell’s international export pulse trading activities and growing seed business.

No further comments will be made by either company until legal
documentation and due diligence is completed.

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.

Norel's appoints Dr Torrealba

Dr Hector Torrealba

Norel, has appointed Dr Hector Torrealba, Hector will be responsible for the growth of Norel in the Latin America region, giving technical support to our customers and distributors, organising technical seminars, and managing local experiments. Hector has a vast experience gained over a career of more than 18 years which include the management of large cattle farms and experimental farms, as well as being head of the purchasing department of an important feed mill in Venezuela. 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.

New dioxin scare in Germany poses no danger?

Pfeifer & Langen German sugar producers recently reported that they had produced sugar pulp with dioxin level above the permitted levels. A spokesman for the agriculture ministry in the state government of North Rhine Westphalia said, "We see a problem in part of the process chain which is being investigated. Currently we see no necessity to issue a warning," the ministry spokesman added. 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.

Trouw Nutrition get approval for Novasil Plus-TX

The state of Texas in the US has given approval to Trouw Nutrition for Novasil Plus-TX, as a certified aflatoxinbinder with in the state of Texas. Novasil Plus-TX has a high ability to bind aflatoxins, preventing the harmful effects on animal performance. The office of the State of Texas Chemist made a special effort for well researched aflatoxin binders to become certified for sale in Texas. 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.

Delacon Biotechnik opens animal feed research centre in Czech Republic

A new research and development center has been opened near Znojmo in the Czech Republic by Delacon Biotechnik Ges mbH. "We decided to set up the test center in order to find a way of improving livestock keeping and performance while reducing emissions at the same time," explains Markus Dedl, Managing Director of the company Delacon Biotechnik. "The main goal now for Delacon Biotechnik is to find new plant-based active ingredients, their combination and type of application and to test whether they can be used successfully in animal production". 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 government lifts import quotas

The Thai government is to give a boost to Thailand's animal feed producers by lifting import quotas for animal feed raw materials for up to three years, this is to help the animal feed producers make longer term business plans. This means that import quotas for soybean meal and fishmeal are normally reviewed every year but will now be reviewed every three years. Pornsil Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feedmill Association, welcomed the decisions, saying producers would no longer have to wait for import permission every 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.

Second Commercial Farm Africa, January 31 to February 1, 2012, Dubai

Ethiopia has set aside three million hectares of land for investors developing large-scale commercial farms. This land has been made available to foreign and local investors said Esayas Kebede director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 3.6 million hectares were made available for foreign direct investment from the National Land Bank. Commercial farming initiatives are expected to help solving food shortage in the country

Rising commodity prices and growing global concerns over food security are driving increased investment in African commercial farming. Africa is the only huge mass of land that has agricultural potential and needs to be used effectively. Food security is now a major focus. There is a huge demand for food which will not diminish and Africa has the capacity to provide this.

This is both a challenge and an opportunity for Africa. As Africa is the one relatively untapped potential source of food it is attracting a wide variety of investors. Attracting foreign investors can facilitate growth of the agricultural sector through commercial expansion. Investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture has seen tremendous growth recently, with several private equity funds injecting large amounts in the agribusiness sector.

Middle East investors are ploughing increasing amounts of cash into African farmlands as global concerns over food security continue to rise. CMT’s Second Commercial Farm Africa to be held on January 31 -  February 1, 2012 in Dubai will provide deep insights into opportunities, land utilisation & investment policies in African countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Sudan, Namibia, Ghana & Ethiopia. Go to cmtevents page.

Finalised program details will be released shortly, meanwhile one can email Ms Grace Oh, grace@cmtsp.com.sg

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.

Danisco fined for patent infringement

Danisco, the largest producer of food additives and the second largest industrial enzyme producer has lost a court case to Novozymes over an infringement of a patent relating to biofuel production. A jury has ordered Danisco to pay US$18.3 million (€13.27 million) to Novozymes. Danisco is to challenge the ruling, Daniel Turner a spokesman for Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont said “We are confident in our position that Novozymes’s patent is invalid”. 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.

Russia begins construction of largest feed mill

In the Northwestern federal district of Russia known as Komi republic construction has started on a new large feed mill, which could cost about 1.5 billion rubles (US$50 million). The new construction is aimed at supporting and developing the livestock industry in the region. “Construction of such plant in every region of Russia will significantly increase the stock number in the sectors of poultry and pig farming, because due to lack of forage producers are often forced to artificially constrain the growth of livestock, as there will be animals with simply no food," the Ministry of Agriculture of the Region. 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 Publish.

Immunity affected in poultry due to Nutrition

Nutrition has an important impact on the immune system of a chicken. On the third day of the European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Cesme, Turkey, this subject was discussed by three well known scientists in the poultry industry. “Interrelationship between nutrition and immunity in commercial poultry" was the topic started by Gary Butcher of the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, USA. 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.

New report from the USDA on DDGS

A new report from the US Department of Agriculture found that in livestock feed rations more DDGS from ethanol plants is actually replacing corn and soybean in meals for livestock. This has important implications for discussions regarding ethanol’s impact on feed grains availability, feed prices, land use effects, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of producing corn ethanol. The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) also stated: “Feed market impacts of increased corn use for ethanol are smaller than that indicated by the total amount of corn used for ethanol production because of DDGS.” 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.

Royal DSM grants Nutrition Award 2011 for research

Dr. Yves Nys of INRA

Royal DSM the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company announced that the DSM Nutrition award for 2011 has been awarded to Dr. Yves Nys of INRA, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research in the field of poultry nutrition. The award  which carries a cash prize of €50,000 (US$69,154.954) was presented to Dr. Nys in the presence of a large audience at the 18th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition 2011 in Cesme (Izmir), Turkey, on 2 November. 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.

Canada: research into methane emissions in grain fed pigs

Researchers at the University of Alberta's Swine Research and Technology Center have found that methane production in finisher pigs is affected by dietary crude protein contents of barley grain. This same problem was not seen using corn based diets. So reducing the crude protein (CP) contents in pigs diets altered its dietary content and fibre along with the composition of fibre. The object of the study was to measure the effects of decreasing crude protein concentration on CH4 production, C retention efficiency and performance by finisher pigs. 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.

USPOULTRY Announces New “Introduction to Management Workshop”

A new Introduction to Management Workshop, sponsored by US Poultry & Egg Association, will be offered in January following the upcoming 2012 International Poultry Expo. The workshop is focused on basic business skills for new managers and will provide a fundamental understanding of the financial and accounting tools available to help manage effectively, as well as the people management skills needed to succeed in today’s business environment. The program will be presented by Seals Burdell, USPOULTRY Controller, and Paul Pressley, Executive Vice President, Industry Programs, who represent a combined 60 plus years of poultry industry experience. 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.

Airtight grain storage Increases nutrient digestibility in finisher pigs

Scientists from Aarhus University have carried out studies showing that airtight stored grain has a higher phosphorus and protein digestibility than traditionally stored grain. Their research showed that phosphorus and protein in airtight stored grain have a higher digestibility in finisher pigs compared to grain stored under traditional conditions. This is good news for pigs and 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.

The European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Turkey gets off to a good start

A good start to the 18 European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN), hosted by the Turkish branch of the World Poultry Science Association, with over 900 delegates traveling to Cesme in Turkey. Robert Renema one of the first day key note speakers from the Poultry Research Centre of the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada discussed “Breeder nutrition and early growth traits of broiler chicks”. 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.