FEED Business Worldwide - July 2012

 

 

by Geraldine Ee

 

 

America's 24th annual World Pork Expo took place during 6-8 June at the Iowa State Fairgrounds at Des Moines, Iowa. This year, nearly 20,000 participants from 38 nations were represented. Over 400 commercial exhibits were on display at the world's largest pork-specific trade show.

Presented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the Expo offered the latest information about pork marketing and management, legislative updates, swine health, the environment, and other issues related to pork production.

 

"The Expo was again a time for producers to get together and share ideas, catch up with old friends and make new friends while reviewing new ideas and technology," says Dr Paul Matzat, nutrition and marketing director for PIC North America.

 

Despite US pork production nearly doubling over the last half-century, the industry has managed a 35% decrease in carbon footprint, 41% reduction in water usage and 78% fall in land needed per 1,000 pounds of pork produced in the United States. This achievement may be attributed in part to opportunities for pork producers to share experiences and progress together as an industry.

 

Neil Dierks, CEO of the NPPC says, "We want to continue the tradition and be a source of information… that kind of tradition of openness is an important aspiration."

 

To this end, eight business seminars featuring the latest in nutrition, herd health, manure management and price risk were organised to help producers to navigate this ever-changing industry and to keep their businesses sustainable.

 

Land O'Lakes Purina Feed LLC and Zinpro Corporation put together a sow nutrition forum based on its industry initiative – the Feed for 30™ Programme, built on the industry goal of achieving 30 pigs per sow per year. At the forum, sow nutrition is highlighted as a priority for the meeting of this fertility goal while maintaining longevity within herds.

 

The presentation "Improve your manure from the pit up" sponsored by SFP, featured on-farm research that looks at the phosphorus and nitrogen availability of manure applied as fertiliser. According to the presenters, findings reveal that MTM (More than Manure) liquid hog manure has helped farmers achieve a 13.9 bushel/acre increase in corn yields. It was an excellent example of using swine's waste products to enhance the industry's own feed supplies.

 

Cargill sponsored three seminars on ways to manage nutrition strategy, managing performance with quality-challenged grain and new marketing tools for managing price risk. Merck Animal Health also sponsored a series of presentations on factors affecting vaccination results, tips for medicating swine herds and deworming options.

 

Apart from business topics, the National Pork Board sponsored a series of PORK (Producers Opportunity for Revenue and Knowledge) Academy seminars. These covered the latest topics including PRRS outbreaks, feed ingredient availability and export issues. In response to a spate of events involving "undercover videos" found in farms, one seminar dealt with 'doing what's right vs. looking for the camera.'

 

According to Dierks, every expo has a theme, or a topic people talk about. This one obviously has been animal welfare, with a particularly strong emphasis sow housing. With the presentations, press conferences and general discussion generated among producers and attendees, he feels the expo this year has been a success. He adds, "We will continue to see issues related to the market place…one of the things is that we want to be fast enough when the topical information changes rapidly"

 

Products exhibited at the expo included a healthy mix of swine managing equipment, hog housings, farm management systems, computers and software that control housing conditions, environmental management, pig breeding stock, feed and feed additives, feed equipment and swine nutrition products. Of the products exhibited, Dr Matzat observed, "There was more focus on data capture and business analytics, both from an equipment and services perspective." 

 

Also, new technological innovation is fronted by Sexing Technologies, which allows semen to be sexed. While this technology has been more widely used in the beef industry, it made its debut this year at the expo after being adapted to the physical characteristics of swine. 

 

With a comprehensive range of topics and famous Midwestern hospitality, the World Pork Expo proved to be a perfect synthesis of business and pleasure. Highlights included pre-expo international tours to the Iowa countryside, junior showmen shows, hog races and a MusicFest featuring live music and refreshments.

 

Looking ahead, 2013 will mark the 25th silver anniversary of the World Pork Expo. Dierks comments that the number one challenge is keeping the quality and the interest in the World Pork Expo high. He says, "We are always striving for something wow, something new," and concludes with a laugh, "I expect we will have a run at creating another record burger."