Ethanol and Meat: A Multi-Market Analysis

Posted in: Economics by admin on January 1, 2009 | No Comments

In this paper we study the linkage between the ethanol and the meat market by using a multi-market equilibrium displacement model (EDM) that considers six markets – beef, pork, chicken, corn, ethanol, and ethanol byproducts, and their interrelatedness. What we find is that a 10% percent shift in ethanol demand raises the corn price by 4.48%. This leads to a decline in corn demand by 4.05% for cattle, 2.38% for hogs, and 8.55% for chicken. The quantity supplied of byproducts rises by 5.7% and its price 15 declines 3.96%. The price decline leads to 9.5% increase byproduct utilization in cattle sector and 3.11% in the hog sector. We also provide total elasticities of prices and quantities in the meat marketing channel with respect to changes in the price of ethanol, the price of corn, and the price ethanol by products. In all cases the most sensitive sector is the poultry sector, followed by beef and pork.

Hog Outlook

Posted in: Economics by admin on | No Comments

The expectations for pork production in the United States in 2010 is for a reduction of 1.5
percent by the economist that participated in the 2009 Extension Annual outlooks survey of
the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Demand for live hogs in 2010 is expected to be stronger than in 2009 to result in prices for
hogs to average $48.44 per cwt live up nearly 12 percent from 2009. The quarterly prices for
51-52 percent lean live barrow and gilts for 2010 are estimated to be first quarter $45.55 per
cwt, second quarter $49.21 per cwt, third quarter $50.84 per cwt and fourth quarter $47.57
per cwt.

Facility design and transport: the welfare connection

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Powerpoint presentation, presented at the 2009 Livestock Transport Conference

Comparison of viraemia- and clinical-based estimates of within- and between-pen transmission of classical swine fever virus from three transmission experiments

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The purpose of this study was to combine disease transmission quantification methods with CSF clinical signs quantification tools to investigate whether clinical signs, considered as infectivity markers, may allow us to calculate reliable estimates for disease transmission parameters. It was concluded that a models comparison (Bayes information criterion) showed a better fit of the clinical-based models, for both strains.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781135

Echinacea purpurea as a potential immunostimulatory feed additive in laying hens and fattening pigs by intermittent application

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Echinacea purpurea is one of the most important medical herbs. It is widely used around the world to treat common
cold and other infectious disorders with the claim to have paramunity-inducing and non-specific immune responses
stimulating effects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to test a repeated short-time application regime for Echinacea juice as feed additive on phagocytosis, antibody response, and blood cell counts of layers and fattening pigs. It was found that that a repeated short time application of Echinacea juice has immune stimulating effects in layers and fattening pigs. It seems that the repeated 2 days-trickle stimulation is sufficient to increase immune response. In this application regime, it is an easy and economic method to enhance immune reactions in layers and fattening pigs. A different dosage adjustment and application regime for layers in further studies will likely optimize the benefit from using Echinacea as feed additive.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Dietary selection for lysine by piglets at differing feeding regimen

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The experiment in this study was conducted to compare dietary preference for lysine (Lys) in piglets when position of two diets offered for a choice was switched repeatedly between the feeders or when diet position remained unchanged throughout the experimental period. The data obtained from this experiment showed that piglets are able to differentiate between diets varying in their Lys concentration and to show preferences for a diet more adequate
in Lys concentration over a Lys-deficient diet. Under the experimental conditions given in this study it seems
not necessary to change diet position between feeders to exclude influences of positional cues on feeding behavior. However, for other choice feeding experiments possibly comparing feeds involving other mechanisms of choice than in the present study, it would probably be more rigorous to change frequently diet position between feeders to ensure conclusions.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Milk leptin in sows and blood leptin and growth of their offspring

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The objection of this study was to determine whether sow milk leptin at farrowing was related to neonatal serum leptin and pig growth to weaning. It was concluded that for all pigs’ serum leptin concentrations were not affected by sex of the pig. Milk serum leptin was not associated with litter size, parity, pig birth weight, ADG to weaning or weaning weight. Suckling status did not influence average daily gain (ADG)to weaning or weaning weight of pigs; neonatal pig serum leptin was not related to birth weight, weaning weight, or ADG to weaning. This indicates that leptin is not directly related to early neonatal growth in the pig, but more indepth studies are needed.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

The effect of weaner diet protein content and diet quality on the long-term performance of pigs to slaughter

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Short and long-term effects of manipulating dietary CP content and diet quality in weaner diets on health and performance of pigs were investigated in a 2 × 2 factorial combination of CP inclusion (high- CP, 230 g of CP/kg vs. low-CP, 170 g of CP/kg) and diet quality (high-quality, cooked cereals, and animal protein vs. low-quality, raw cereals, and plant protein). These results indicate that high-quality diets may protect pig gut health during the immediate postweaning period. However, it may be possible to use less expensive, decreased quality weaner diets without any adverse effects on longterm performance when weaning older, heavier pigs and where health status, environmental control, and stock management are all maintained to a high standard.

Myosin heavy chain isoform content and energy metabolism can be uncoupled in pig skeletal muscle

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The objective of this study was to determine the collective effects of the RN and Hal genes on genes and gene products associated with different muscle fiber types in pig skeletal muscle. At the tissue level, these mutations influence energy metabolism in skeletal muscle and muscle fiber type composition, yet also influence total body composition. To overcome potential pitfalls associated with traditional muscle fiber typing, real-time PCR, gel electrophoresis, and Western blotting were used to evaluate MyHC composition and several energy-related gene expressions in muscles from wild-type, RN, Hal, and Hal-RN mutant pigs. The data collected shows that the RN and Hal gene mutations do alter muscle fibre type and suggest energy metabolism and speed of contraction, can be uncoupled.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

Reporting 678 putative cSNPs from full-length enriched cDNA sequences of the Korean native pig

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In this study they analysed 1970 high-quality chromatograms (Phred value ‡ 30) that were obtained from sequencing the 5′ ends of brainstem, liver, neocortex and spleen clones derived from full-length enriched cDNA libraries from Korean native pigs. The study showed that analysing genetically diverse pig breeds including the Korean native pig could serve as a useful strategy for generating a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms.

For more information the full article can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1439-0388/issues