Editorial: Farms Flocking to Assurance Scheme

More than three quarters of farms able to join the UK's Pig and Poultry Assurance Scheme have chosen to take part since its launch in April this year.

The scheme allows farmers with a high level of compliance with their Environmental (IPPC) Permit to receive one annual inspection by a certification body trained by the Environment Agency instead of two Environment Agency visits, saving them around £850 a year.

In Northern Ireland, the farm minister, Michelle Gildernew, has introduced the new Welfare of Animals Bill to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

US meat processing giant, Smithfield Foods, has made an offer to buy its joint venture partner's 51 per cent ownership interest in the turkey operation, Butterball, and its partner's related turkey production assets for approximately $200 million.

However, Smithfield could face a counter offer from its partner.

A deal is expected by September this year and if Smithfield becomes the owner, it will have to settle Butterball's $215 million debt.

In the US the National Chicken Council thanked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for USDA’s purchase programme for dark-meat chicken that has become necessary because of the long dispute with Russia over chicken meat exports.

Under normal circumstances, companies in the US chicken industry sell more than 700,000 metric tons of chicken legs to Russia every year – about 1.5 billion pounds. Russia closed its market to chicken imports from the US on 1 January 2010, ostensibly because Russian officials objected to the fact that American chicken processing plants use chlorinated water in processing chickens.

Last week the USDA revealed a new rule that changes the way that livestock and poultry are marketed and procured by processors in the US. However, the new rule has become the target of criticism from many of the meat packers' and processors' organisations.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

Company News

Aviagen’s Polish Seminar a Roaring Success
POLAND - Aviagen EPI was delighted to welcome representatives from all sectors of Poland’s poultry industry to a three-day technical seminar in the spa town of Dzwirzyno.

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Petersime Sells 1000th S-line Incubator to Gallus KTF
HUNGARY - Only a couple of months after the introduction of the S-line, Petersime is proud to announce that it has already received orders for over 1,000 machines of this latest generation of state-of-the-art single-stage incubators.

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Global Poultry Industry News

General

 » BIRD FLU: OIE Update on Myanmar AI Situation
 » Regulation of Food Markets Desirable

United States

 » High-Yield Agriculture Slows Pace of Global Warming
 » Smithfield Foods Cuts its Losses
 » Smithfield Bids for Full Control of Butterball
 » GIPSA Proposes Changes in Livestock, Poultry Rule
 » NCC Grateful for Chicken Purchase Programme
 » Weekly Outlook: Upcoming USDA Reports
 » USDA Chickens and Eggs Report - May 2010
 » Processors Endangered by New Regulatory Costs
 » CME: GIPSA's Livestock and Poultry Marketing Rule
 » Weekly US Broiler Hatchery Report
 » Benefits of Chicken Litter for Cotton Growers

Mongolia

 » No New Outbreaks of HPAI in Mongolia

Bangladesh

 » Bangladesh Reports One New HPAI Outbreak

United Kingdom

 » NFU Lobbying Success on Food Labelling
 » Irish Egg Sector Funding will Create Disadvantage
 » Targeting Innovations for the Food Chain
 » Minister Introduces New Animal Welfare Bill
 » Bringing Back the Real Egg
 » Pig, Poultry Scheme Off to a Flying Start
 » Practice Nurses Find Time for Eggs
 » New Opportunities for Farmers in South West

Egypt

 » Egypt: Ban on Live Poultry to Go Nationwide

Taiwan

 » Study: More Dioxins in Free-Range Eggs

Azerbaijan

 » Willingness to Establish Broiler Economy Voiced

Trinidad and Tobago

 » Pluck Shop Poultry Prices Keep Fluttering

India

 » Tamil Nadu Offers 8-Day Poultry Training Programme

Bahamas

 » Minister Touts Removal of Chicken Import Permit

Uganda

 » Poultry Farmers in Kampala to Receive Services

Thailand

 » GFPT JV Gearing Up to Process Chickens

Myanmar

 » No New H5N1 Outbreaks Reported in Myanmar

Indonesia

 » A/H1N1 Issue Hinders Exports of Poultry Products

Philippines

 » 15 July: Abolition of Retail Licence for Chicken
 » International Egg and Poultry Review: Philippines

Australia

 » Northern NSW Poultry Industry Faces Fee Turmoil

Malaysia

 » Fomca: Buy Less Chicken to Bring Prices Down

That's all for this week!

Ed.