Research conducted at the University of Guelph has shown, under certain conditions, pork producers can reduce feeding costs without impacting performance by feeding less complex diets in the nursery barn.
The vice chair of the Canadian Pork Council says, to be effective in helping Canada’s pork producers ride out the economic crisis being caused by high feed costs, government programs will need to be adjusted.
The director of risk management with H@MS Marketing Services says the decision by Maple Leaf to allow pork producers to deliver lighter weight hogs its Brandon hog slaughtering plant will make it easier for them to cope with dramatically higher feed costs.
In an effort to help those who supply its processing plants with hogs contend with higher feed costs, Maple Leaf is allowing contracted producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan the option of reverting back to previous lighter finishing weights.
A University of Manitoba Agricultural economist predicts improved profitability within Manitoba’s swine industry once the sell-off of breeding sows has been completed.
The chair of Manitoba Pork Council says it’s important that any government involvement in helping pork producers contend with the current downturn in profitability due to high feed costs and low hog prices is non-countervailable.
The manager of industry and policy analysis with the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board is predicting a return to profitability within the western Canadian hog industry by next May.
Reduced U.S. corn production due to drought combined with increasing demand for corn for ethanol is expected to shift the feed cost advantage for swine production back to western Canada in the coming year.
The Executive Director of the Western Canadian Feeds Innovation Institute says, as feed grain prices rise, livestock producers will be scrambling to source affordable feed grains.
An agricultural economist with the University of Missouri warns the prospects of lower feed costs could trigger an expansion of the U.S. sow herd that would aggravate the current over-supply of pork.
