December 10, 2007

US Pork Checkoff programme to use new web page for feed efficiency usage

A new Web page aimed at helping producers optimize feed costs and maximize production efficiencies was added to the Pork Checkoff Web site in December 2007.

The new Nutritional Efficiency section includes information about the recently founded nutritional efficiency consortium; the consortium research and activity priorities; the research funded by the consortium and a subsection with links to additional information or resources.

Twenty four organizations have joined to form the nutritional efficiency consortium. Included in those are state pork associations, state and national corn grower associations and several allied industry partners. Their objectives are to determine research and producer educational opportunities that will help alleviate the increasing costs of producing pork, specifically addressing feed costs and maximizing growth and performance efficiencies. The programme specific objectives can be found in the introductory page to the new online resource.

Resources that are available include the video and audio presentations offered at the Distillers Grains: Implications for the US Pork Industry conference that took place in Nov. 2006 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The nutritional efficiency consortium approved funding for eleven research projects in 2007, totalling more than US$560,000. These projects are listed on the Web site. As research is completed, applicable tools resulting from it will be provided through this site and through other National Pork Checkoff Board tools. Approximately US$600,000 in funds will be available for research in 2008.

The Nutritional Efficiency section can be found online at pork.org following the Pork Science tab or by typing http://www.pork.org/PorkScience/NutritionalEfficiency/NutritionalEfficiency.aspx on a Web browser.