China to host global forum on responsible soy

The Round Table on Responsible Soy Association (RTRS) will hold its International Forum on Responsible Development of the Soybean industry, in Beijing, China, May 28-29, 2013 under the theme “Building Global Bridges for Responsible Soy.”

Co-hosted by the China Soybean Industry Association (CSIA), the conference is the RTRS’ 8th annual conference, and the first held by the association in the Asia-Pacific. China was the first country to cultivate soy and produced approximately 12 million tons in 2012/13 (USDA).  It is also the world’s largest importer, having imported 59 million tons in 2012/13 (USDA). Soy is a major global commodity crop used in a wide range of consumer goods and livestock feeds. Read more...

Scotland announces details of £6 million weather fund

Farmers in Scotland who were hit by the extreme weather earlier this year will be able to apply for a share of UK£6 (US$9.045) million of financial help at the start of June.

The Scottish Government has announced application forms and detailed guidance will be available on its website on Monday June 3, although payments will not start to be processed until August 1.
Applications will be accepted from producers who:

• have lost 10% or more of breeding ewes/lambs put to the ram/goat
• will have over 20% fewer lambs/kids reared this year from equivalent breeding stock numbers
• have re-sown 20% of an arable crop
• have lost 5% or more of other breeding livestock
• will have more than 10% fewer calves/other livestock reared this year from equivalent breeding stock numbers. Read more...

Russia: Cherkizovo Group to increase grain harvest by 30 percent

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest integrated and diversified meat and fodder producer, announces that it has completed a sowing campaign, and if favourable weather conditions continue, it anticipates a 30 percent increase in yield, reaching 150,000 tons.

In 2013 the company will increase the planted land area from 35,000 to 40,000 hectares. Cherkizovo Group’s agricultural land is located in the Voronezh and Orel regions, which lie in the fertile Central Black Earth region. Like last year, the main crops planted will be wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, oats, pea, soy and rapeseed. Read more...

Global feed enzyme market to be $1.2 billion by 2018

The feed enzyme market was valued at US$781.7 (€606.674) million in 2012 and expected to increase to US$1,193.0 (€925.883) million by 2018, with a CAGR of 7.3 percent for the forecast period, according to a recent report by Market and Markets.

In 2012, Europe led the global feed enzyme market with a share of 46.0 percent, followed by Asia-Pacific (23.0 percent), and North America (21.0 percent) in terms of value. Read more...

Spanish dairy research partnership launched

Lucta, a Spanish feed additives company, has entered into a long-term dairy research agreement with Blanca from the Pyrenees (Blanca) in Spain, a dairy hub.

With a history of extensive swine research, this new relationship demonstrates the significant commitment Lucta is making to research in ruminants. Blanca is a state-of-the-art dairy center where Lucta will conduct experimental work aiming to enhance the health, performance and production efficiency of dairy cows. Read more...

AgGateway Members and NEEA Collaborate on Energy-Efficient Agricultural Irrigation

Ag industry comes together to create common set of data standards and protocols

AgGateway and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) are co-sponsoring the launch of a cross-industry collaboration project that will help growers better manage water and energy use by integrating weather, soil moisture, soil type, crop and other relevant data coming from a wide range of hardware and software programs. The Precision Agriculture Irrigation Leadership (PAIL) Project will improve agriculture irrigation by developing a common set of data standards and formats to convert data for use in irrigation data analysis and prescription programs.

“Ultimately, the objective of this project is have a common set of data standards and protocols used across the agriculture industry,” said Terry Schlitz, PAIL Project chairperson and AgSense president. “With those in place, industry can deliver much more efficient, easy-to-use solutions for producers, which in turn will help them use available water and energy more effectively.” Read more...

AFIA Board of Directors Conclude Spring Meeting, Capitol Hill Visits

Members of the American Feed Industry Association’s Board of Directors last week met to discuss issues of mutual concern and make those concerns known to their legislators during the annual spring meeting in the Washington, D.C. The Board also recognised Al Gunderson, Vita Plus, for his leadership as chairman this past year, welcomed his successor, Jeff Cannon, Diamond V Mills, and 16 new directors and elected 8 new members to the organization’s Executive Committee.

“It’s been a tremendous year under Al’s guidance. We have accomplished so many of our strategic priorities during this past year,” stated Joel G. Newman, AFIA president and CEO. “We are looking forward to Jeff’s leadership, which I know will continue this positive momentum,” Newman continued.
Gunderson has been an active member of AFIA, having previously served twice on the Board of Directors. He has also chaired the Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Committee and served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER). Read more...