KPA News

May 2, 2008

Legislation introduced asking Congress to assist pork producers

At the KPA's request, Representative Sharon Schwartz, Washington, introduced HCR 5041 which urges Congress to support the United States Department of Agriculture in taking immediate action to examine a number of options to assist Kansas pork producers.

KPA staff, Tim Stroda, testified on the Resolution Thursday before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Committee. The Committee favorably recommended the measure to the House Appropriations Committee.

Later in the day, the pork industry received the positive news from USDA outlined in the story below.

At this point, no further action is planned on the measure.

To view the resolution, click on HCR 5041.

Agency Will Purchase Additional Pork Products For Food Assistance Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 1, 2008 – The National Pork Producers Council commended the Bush administration for its decision to lend assistance to U.S. pork producers to help them weather the current economic crisis in the hog business.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase up to $50 million of pork products, which will be donated to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs.

NPPC officers and top staff recently met with Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to urge him to take immediate action to address a crisis that over the past seven months has cost the pork industry more than $2.1 billion. Due mostly to a doubling of feed costs, producers have lost $30-$50 on each hog marketed over the last 30 days.

Economists have estimated that the industry will need to reduce production by at least 10 percent – meaning a reduction of 600,000 sows – to restore profitability. Such a cutback, however, could result in less-efficient packing plants closing, less manure for crop fertilizer and correspondingly a need for more man-made, foreign-produced fertilizer, a hike in pork retail prices because of a smaller supply and lost jobs.

“The action by USDA to buy additional pork will benefit America’s pork producers, the U.S. economy and the people who rely on the government’s various food programs,” said NPPC President Bryan Black, a pork producer from Canal Winchester, Ohio. “It will help our industry reduce the herd and thereby bring supply and demand back into balance and allow producers to continue to provide consumers with economical, nutritious pork.”

In its meeting with Schafer, NPPC requested that USDA purchase an additional 50.5 million pounds of pork – in 2007 it bought 43 million pounds – for various federal food programs. This would reduce the U.S. sow herd by nearly 163,600 animals. The organization also asked that the secretary implement emergency programs and loan guarantees to help producers purchase feed, consider allowing early release without penalty of non-environmentally sensitive Conservation Reserve Program acres back into crop production and support pork exports through USDA’s Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.

KPA Staff speaks to Kansas Ag Bankers meeting

Tim Stroda, KPA staff, spoke to about 125 members of the Kansas Ag Bankers Association at a conference held earlier this week in Manhattan. Stroda's presentation gave a review of the issues that have provided the current challenges facing the industry. He also provided information detailing the positive outlook provided by the demand for pork.

Stroda encouraged the group to educate themselves about the pork industry and work to communicate with their pork-producing clients to alleviate any surprise issues as the industry works toward profitability.

Risk Management:
An Interactive Educational Series for Pork Producers

The CME Group, Pork Checkoff and KPA have come together to develop this complimentary series of risk management Webinars – online, interactive presentations that give you direct
access to industry professionals.

Choose from the Introductory or Advanced Tracks based on your experience and educational needs. To see more information, click on Risk Management

Register by Friday, May 16 at www.cmegroup.com/porkwebinars.
Please contact your state pork association or Pork Checkoff at 800 456 7675 with questions.

New Youth Video Now Available

The KPA, working with the National Pork Board and other state associations, has created a new video showcasing the pork industry. The Kansas version includes information about the industry's economic contribution to the state. The video is aimed at the lower grade school level children. The KPA has been furnishing copies of the video to teachers participating in Ag Days across the state. To receive a copy, contact the KPA office at 785-776-0442 or kpa@kspork.org.

To view the video, click on The Amazing Pig

Please note: this version is very compacted. The DVD is much higher quality.

The Wichita River Festival will be the first stop on the National Pork Board's The Other White Meat Tour, a marketing campaign to educate consumers about all things pork.

Kansas producers are encouraged to be a part of the event. The drawing above shows the layout of the promotion with spaces for producers to grill and sample as well as interact with consumers (handing out recipe brochures, encouraging consumers to enter the drawing for a free grill, etc.).

The biggest benefit producers can provide is the interaction with consumers, answering questions and talking about pork production.

The KPA is asking for volunteers for the following dates and times. There is room for up to seven producer volunteers on each shift. The KPA will pay mileage to the event. Please note: producer volunteers must be 16 years of age. To volunteer, please call the KPA office at 785-776-0442 or e-mail to kpa@kspork.org.

Saturday, May 10th
Shift 1
8am – 2pm

Shift 2
2pm – 8pm

Sunday, May 11th
Shift 1
11am – 4pm

Shift 2
4pm – 9pm

In response to a producer request, the KPA has developed a spreadsheet aimed at providing a livestock producer a simple tool to help estimate the value of the operation's manure. To utilize the tool, you will need to have a manure analysis. The tool uses your local cost of anhydrous and 11-52-0 to find the value of either liquid or solid manure. The type of application is also a part of the calculations. While the spreadsheet was designed for pork producers, the value of any type of livestock manure can be found. If you have questions, please call Garry Keeler at 785-594-2166.

To download, place click on Manure Value

KPA Community Outreach Program

The Pork Community Outreach is designed to assist individual pork producers in becoming more involved and positively visible in their local communities. The KPA is offering matching funds on the expenses on selected community relations activities. The purpose of this program is to multiply the positive effects of pork producer involvement in the communities where hogs are raised.

To be eligible you must:

Fill out a cost share request form and submit it to the KPA at least two weeks prior to your event and submit design ideas to the KPA so that appropriate logos and messages may be included.

The KPA provides promotional signs for each event.

To find more information about the program, click on Community Outreach

Garry Keeler, program coordinator for Kansas GOLD Inc., is now working to update the yearly information needed to recertify facilities. Kansas GOLD Inc. will be contacting producers as their certification becomes due. The program has also recently started working with several producers to begin the process of applying for new permits.

The GOLD program is designed to ensure that when a regulator visits your farm, the information they request can be found easily and is packaged in a pre-approved format. The process begins with a visit to your farm by the Kansas GOLD coordinator, who will begin by examining your KDHE permit for each facility number. This permit tells the coordinator what information needs to be collected and kept on file.

Kansas GOLD Inc. provides a cost-effective manner to ensure your operation is in compliance. For information, please click on GOLD or contact the KPA office at (785) 776-0442 or e-mail to kpa@kspork.org



NPPC News

WEEK ENDING May 2, 2008

FARM BILL NEARING COMPLETION

U.S. House and Senate Farm Bill negotiators this week closed talks on most titles of the 2008 Farm Bill, including the new Livestock Title. NPPC secured a number of provisions beneficial to the U.S. pork industry and kept out of the legislation several detrimental ones, including a ban on packers owning livestock. Congress also this week approved a two-week extension of the 2002 Farm Bill until May 16.

USDA AGREES TO HELP U.S. PORK PRODUCERS

The Bush administration yesterday agreed to NPPC’s request for assistance to U.S. pork producers to help them weather the current economic crisis in the hog business. The president announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase up to $50 million of pork products, which will be donated to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs. NPPC officers and top staff last week met with Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to urge him to take immediate action to address a crisis that over the past seven months has cost the pork industry more than $2.1 billion. Due mostly to a doubling of feed costs, producers have lost $30-$50 on each hog marketed over the last 30 days. Economists have estimated that the industry will need to reduce production by at least 10 percent – meaning a reduction of 600,000 sows – to restore profitability. Such a cutback, however, could result in less-efficient packing plants closing, less manure for crop fertilizer and correspondingly a need for more man-made, foreign-produced fertilizer, a hike in pork retail prices because of a smaller supply and lost jobs. In its meeting with Schafer, NPPC requested that USDA purchase an additional 50.5 million pounds of pork – in 2007 it bought 43 million pounds – for various federal food programs. This would reduce the U.S. sow herd by nearly 163,600 animals. The organization also asked that the secretary implement emergency programs and loan guarantees to help producers purchase feed, consider allowing early release without penalty of non-environmentally sensitive Conservation Reserve Program acres back into crop production and support pork exports through USDA’s Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program. NPPC will continue to urge USDA to adopt the other recommendations.

COMMISSION REPORT OVERLOOKS PORK PRODUCERS’ PROGRESS ON CHALLENGES

Recommendations issued Tuesday by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production if implemented likely would raise the cost of producing food animals and increase meat prices in the face of a global food crisis, according NPPC. Based on a $3.4 million, two-year “study” of the affects of livestock production on the environment, public health and rural economies, the recommendations include phasing out certain production practices, banning certain animal antibiotics and placing new restrictions on the use of manure. The commission overlooked the substantial progress made by the nation’s pork producers in addressing all of those issues, said NPPC. Data from eight of the top 10 swine-producing states show, for example, that since 2000 less than 1 percent of hog farms have had a manure release. Additionally, NPPC pointed out, a tough new federal water pollution regulation covering CAFOs, which is due out late this summer, will protect water supplies from pollution from all large livestock operations by imposing a zero-discharge policy. Most swine CAFOs already comply with the rule. The organization disputed the commission’s characterization that large animal feeding operations are bad for the rural economy, pointing out that pork operations alone are major contributors to farm communities, generating more than 550,000 mostly rural jobs and contributing an estimated $20.7 billion of personal income and $34.5 billion of gross national product to the economy. NPPC also questioned the objectivity of the commission, whose work was directed by the Center for a Livable Future, which is part of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Among the center’s projects is “Meatless Mondays.”

NPPC PARTICIPATES IN USDA/DHS AGRICULTURE INSPECTIONS CONFERENCE

At the invitation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Agriculture, NPPC this week participated in a Joint Stakeholders Conference to review the effectiveness of agriculture inspection functions transferred from USDA to DHS when it was created in March 2003. NPPC has long maintained a keen interest in inspection activities at ports of entry because of the threat of foreign animal diseases being introduced through transiting passengers and cargo. USDA Secretary Ed Schafer and DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff updated conferees on the renewed commitment of both agencies to fulfilling their mission of safeguarding American agriculture. Other high level officials of both agencies gave presentations on their efforts to improve agriculture inspections. Stakeholders were asked for their input on needed improvements as the agencies work to assimilate the agriculture inspection activities into the existing functions of DHS’s Customs and Border Protection. NPPC was able to make its views known on the importance of excluding exotic pests and diseases by focusing more attention on ports in the country of origin rather than having the U.S. border as the first line of defense. Suggestions also were made for how to measure the effectiveness of Customs and Border Protection inspections.

NPPC PARTICIPATES IN NAFB ‘WASHINGTON WATCH’

NPPC’s Kirk Ferrell, vice president for public policy; Nick Giordano, vice president and international trade counsel; and Dr. Jen Greiner, director of science and technology, Monday participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasters’ “Washington Watch.” They conducted a number of interviews with the broadcasters in attendance, getting out NPPC’s messages on the Farm Bill, the current economic crisis in the hog business, free trade agreements and legislation to reauthorize the Animal Drug User Fee Act.

WHAT’S AHEAD

WORLD PORK EXPO

The 20th annual World Pork Expo will be held June 5-7 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. As the largest pork-industry trade show and exhibition in the world, the expo draws more than 30,000 pork producers, exhibitors and visitors from across the country and around the globe. For more information, visit the World Pork Expo Web site at http://www.worldpork.org.

National Pork Board News

May 6 PorkCast Offers Estate Planning Tips

You know the survival of your operation depends on proper farm transfer planning, and the next online PorkCast slated for May 6 from 1-2 p.m. can help jumpstart the estate planning process.

“This PorkCast will provide basic information that farm families and individuals need to know,” says Trudy Wastweet, education director for the Minnesota Pork Board. “We encourage you to include your family members and business partners when you view this PorkCast, because it’s an important topic for everyone.”

PorkCast seminars, which are delivered by the Minnesota Pork Board, the Pork Checkoff and University of Minnesota Extension, are free and require no pre-registration. During the May 6 PorkCast, Gary Hachfeld, a University of Minnesota Extension educator, will discuss:

• how to establish a transfer and estate planning team
• business entities and transfer strategies
• tax issues for farm businesses
• treatment of heirs
• financial assistance programs for the next generation

To take part in the “Farm Transfer and Estate Planning” PorkCast, log onto the University of Minnesota's Swine Extension Web site http://www.extension.umn.edu/swine/porkcast/. Click on the Farm Transfer Estate Planning link and follow the instructions.

“Don’t worry if you miss the May 6th PorkCast because you’re busy with fieldwork,” says Wastweet, who notes that all PorkCast presentations are archived online at http://www.extension.umn.edu/swine/porkcast/. “You can view past webcasts whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Keeping current
Online participants will need either broadband or high speed Internet access, a web browser, Macromedia Flash player and sound capability (speakers) to access PorkCast seminars. Prior to the PorkCast, you’re encouraged to test your connection and verify availability of Flash on your computer. Go to https://umconnect.umn.edu/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm and follow the testing connection prompts.

For technical support, go to http://umconnect-support.umn.edu.

More PorkCast seminars are being planned for 2008, Wastweet adds. “We keep our finger on the pulse of the swine industry, so PorkCast seminars address timely issues affecting producers.”

Pork Hooks Publicity at World Sailfish Championship

One of the largest fishing tournaments in the world has reeled in a great catch when it comes to exceptional cuisine.

“Ironically, a lot of people who fish competitively prefer to eat pork rather than fish,” says Mike Walser, retail marketing manager, eastern division, for the National Pork Board. “As official meat of the 2008 World Sailfish Tournament in Key West, Fla., pork received great exposure through national television, web site advertising and print advertising, with no Pork Checkoff investment required.”

Dubbed the “Super Bowl of Sailfishing,” the sailfish challenge has become one of South Florida’s most prestigious sailfish tournaments. At the 6th annual competition, elite anglers competed for $125,000 in prizes, including a $100,000 first-place cash award. In 2008, Hormel Foods and America’s Pork Producers joined together to sponsor the mid-April tournament, which featured three days of hard-fought fishing complemented by three evenings filled with celebrities, gourmet meals and VIP parties.

“The World Sailfish Tournament is known for taking care of corporate America and serving top-notch cuisine,” says Christopher King, tournament chairman. “It was fantastic to have American’s Pork Producers back on board. From the ribs at the kickoff party to the tenderloin at the banquet, the pork was amazing.”

Plans are already underway to help pork make a splash at the 2009 World Sailfish Tournament. In addition to sponsorship opportunities, the Pork Checkoff will invite one of its Celebrated Chefs to present the main pork entrée at the awards banquet. As the 2008 World Sailfish Tournament proved, a successful Pork Checkoff event isn’t always measured by how much money exchanges hands or how many pounds of pork are sold. Leveraging resources is the key, Walser says.

“There are a lot of big names who attend the World Sailfish Tournament, including hotel owners, and the Pork Checkoff made a lot of good contacts here this spring. These connections are creating exciting opportunities to promote pork in new venues.”

Culinary Professionals Party with Pork

With its popular trade show booth and two pork producers available to answer questions, the pork industry stood out in the crowd at the 30th annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in New Orleans.

“I was glad to see that we were almost preaching to the choir there,” says Steve Weaver, vice president of the National Pork Board, who owns a 60-sow farrow-to-feeder pig operation near Elk Grove, Calif. “IACP members are a key group of influencers, and it’s important that the Pork Checkoff continues to provide them with a source of credible information.”

With a global membership of nearly 4,000, IACP boasts a “Who’s Who” of the world of food. More than 1,000 chefs, cookbook authors, food editors and other culinary professionals who attended the IACP conference in mid-April had the opportunity to visit with Weaver and fellow pork producer John Adams. The pair promoted The Other White Meat at the Checkoff’s Mardi Gras-themed exhibit, which offered the latest in pork information and recipes and materials, along with samples of Ham Jambalaya and Cajun Pork Dry Rub.

“We appreciated the opportunity to keep pork top-of-mind and present pork production in a positive light,” says Adams, who finishes approximately 5,000 hogs each year on his farm near Snow Hill, N.C.

More than fun and games
To entice IACP members to visit the Pork Checkoff’s booth, the Pork Checkoff mailed a pre-conference invitation, complete with a purple, glittery Mardi Gras mask and a plastic pig snout. To sweeten the deal, attendees who visited the pork booth wearing their swine snout were given two chances to enter in a drawing to win a gift certificate for the IACP bookstore.

“A writer at Betty Crocker.com also blogged about this fun promotion, which gave pork more publicity,” says Pamela Johnson, director of consumer communications for the National Pork Board.

At the Culinary Showcase, visitors had the opportunity to learn pork facts and win a pork-themed t-shirt by playing the “Pork Word Jumble-laya” game. As they waited in line, IACP members could watch a DVD of pork producers and industry experts answering questions about pork.

Pork says “Bon Appetit, Y’all”
As an added bonus at this year’s IACP conference, the Pork Checkoff teamed up with Atlanta resident Virginia Willis, a regional winner of the 2007 “Grilling Grates from the 50 States” Checkoff-sponsored pork grilling contest. To celebrate the launch of Willis’ new cookbook, “Bon Appétit, Y’all!,” the Checkoff provided pork to feature Coca-Cola Glazed Ribs, ham sandwiches and other Southern classics.

“Once we meet IACP members at the annual meeting, they contact us throughout the year for pork-related information, recipes, photography and more,” says Johnson, who notes that plans are underway to attend the 2009 IACP conference in Denver, Colo. “We want IACP members to know that the Pork Checkoff is their trusted resource for all things pork.”

Market Analysis

The KPA provides comments from analysts on a periodic basis. Their opinions and comments represent the opinions of the commentators--they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Kansas Pork Association.

Glenn Grimes & Ron Plain,
University of Missouri - Columbia
May 2, 2008

Demand for pork from January-March of this year was up slightly from a year earlier at the consumer level. However, demand for beef at the consumer level was down 3 percent from the same three months in 2007.

Demand for broilers for January-March was up 3.2 percent and turkey was up 7.7 percent from twelve months earlier.

Demand for live hogs for the first three months of 2008 was up a whopping 8.0 percent from the same months in 2007. For these three months, the demand for live fed cattle was up 0.2 percent from a year earlier. The large increase in live hog demand was due to the sharply higher pork exports in 2008 than in 2007. The stronger live fed cattle demand then consumer demand for beef was also largely a result of larger exports and smaller imports.

Live hog weights for barrows and gilts last week in Iowa-Minnesota at 264.6 pounds were down one pound from a week earlier and down 2.9 pounds from a year earlier. Average carcass weight for barrows and gilts finally dropped to a year earlier level for the week ending April 12th and 19th. Hopefully we will continue to see a bigger decline in weights than normal as we move from spring to summer.

On Tuesday, the Food, Safety and Inspection service, a branch of the USDA, announced they were notified last week that four pork plants will be ineligible to export pork to Russia because of violations of Russia’s drug tolerances. The futures market responded by being 200-290 points lower at the close then a day earlier. On Wednesday, the futures market rallied and on Thursday was $5.26 per cwt to $0.90 per cwt lower than the close on Friday, April 25th.

Sow and gilt slaughter continues to run well above a year earlier. Gilt slaughter since the 1st of March through the week ending April 26 has been up over 2 percent and sow slaughter through the week ending April 19th from March 1 has been up 11.9 percent from twelve months earlier. This data continues to indicate some sell-off of the breeding herd is occurring.

Pork product prices pushed higher again this week with the cut-out per 100 pounds of carcass at $74.38 per cwt Thursday afternoon up $2.17 per cwt from a week earlier. Loins were at $104.67 up $9.59 per cwt, Boston butts were at $77.96 up $0.18 per cwt, hams were at $54.20 down $6.73 per cwt and bellies were at $84.98 per cwt up $4.08 from seven days earlier.

Live hog prices Friday morning were up $3-4 per cwt compared to a week earlier. Weighted average negotiated carcass prices Friday morning were up $1.13-1.80 per cwt compared to seven days earlier.

The weighted average negotiated carcass prices were western Cornbelt $72.55 cwt, eastern Cornbelt $70.18 per cwt, Iowa-Minnesota $72.63 per cwt and nation $71.27 per cwt.

The top live hog prices at select markets were Peoria $45 per cwt, Zumbrota Minn. $51 per cwt and interior Missouri $52.75 per cwt.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 2155 thousand head up 9.3 percent from a year earlier but down 4.3 percent from a week earlier.

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