Wrapping up February: What’s new in the world of pigs?
February 2020 was an unusual month with the new coronavirus causing nervousness in international markets. Yet that other virus, African Swine Fever, caused some companies to achieve good profits.
Biomin: EU zootechnical authorisation of Digestarom DC Duplex
Animal nutrition firm Biomin has achieved EU authorisation for the Digestarom DC Duplex capsule in its next-generation phytogenic feed additive, Digestarom DC Xcel, as a zootechnical feed additive in weaned piglets. Such phytogenic feed additives contain substances found in herbs and essential oils that improve swine feed digestibility, reduce inflammation and promote growth, according to Dr Antonia Tacconi from Biomin.
Agrifirm and MS Schippers join forces
Agrifirm and MS Schippers agreed to form a partnership to improve piglet quality. The HyCare method developed by MS Schippers, which has become part of Agrifirm’s piglet concept, leads to a significant reduction in infection pressure, according to the company. Both parties believe that the integration of HyCare in Agrifirm’s TOP approach to piglets benefits the return of investment, animal health, and work satisfaction at every pig farm.
Victam International and VIV Europe in 2022
VIV worldwide and Victam Corporation will organise Victam International and VIV Europe together at the Jaarbeurs exhibition grounds in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 31 May until 2 June 2022. The Victam International exhibition will move back from Cologne, Germany, to its home country where it all started in 1965 in Utrecht. The set-up is different from the set-up in Asia as VIV Europe and Victam International will be co-located but in their own halls. Victam International will be held every 3 years.
Ceva reorganises its shareholding structure
Ceva Santé Animale has renewed its shareholding structure. Management, led by Marc Prikazsky, has reinforced its controlling position, supported by a core group of long-term investors, known as Ceva friends. The new investors in this block are: Téthys Invest of France, PSP Investments of Canada, Mitsui & Co. of Japan, and Klocke Gruppe of Germany. They will join forces with long-standing French shareholders who will reinvest in this new round, in particular Sofiproteol and Merieux Equity Partners.
Nucleus welcomes new agent for Romania
Nucleus has signed a distribution contract with Daniel Banica for the Romanian market. Daniel Banica is a Romanian who has worked in the swine production sector for many decades. With experience in swine semen equipment and in animal nutrition, Daniel is now extending his network by collaborating with the first French genetic company.
Thomas’ new solutions for pigs
Thomas has introduced several new solutions for pig houses. The new ventilation solution, Multiplexer, can measure CO2 and NH3 in 6 rooms simultaneously from one central location. The company’s new MODbus control makes it possible to determine the valve position in the ventilation duct more precisely, ensuring that exactly the right amount of fresh air enters the room for the pigs. In addition, the ‘soaking in production’ control allows the sprayer system in the room to be activated.
CPF and Muyuan: ASF causes strong profit figures
Thai-based Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) saw a very good 4th quarter in 2019. Prasit Boondoungprasert, the company’s CEO, said that in the quarter, CPF’s net profit jumped 139% to 4,010 million baht (US$126 million) year-on-year, thanks mainly to the performance of overseas businesses, mainly in Vietnam. He added that CPF expected the performance to remain rosy in 2020 due to pork shortages in China and Vietnam, pushing up prices.
Similar sounds from China, where the country’s number 2 pig producer farmer Muyuan Foods said that full-year profits for 2019 surged more than 1,000% to 6.1 billion yuan ($869.84 million) thanks to record hog prices last year caused by a plunge in supplies. The company sold more than 10 million pigs last year and benefited from an ASF-related 140% increase in hog prices.
Cargill’s Diamond V expands production footprint
Cargill’s Diamond V has expanded its Cedar Rapids, IA manufacturing plant to complete all production and packaging of its natural immune support products in one facility. The city’s mayor Brad Hart attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the $29.1 million, 9,200 m2 expansion at Diamond V’s south plant production facility. Production at the facility started in February 2020. The expansion adds 2 production lines and is large enough to house up to 8 production lines.
AgriSyst winning an innovation prize
Dutch-based AgriSyst has won the Golden Leave in the category Animal Husbandry at the third edition of the ‘Fieragricola Innovation Awards’ in Verona, Italy earlier this month. At the Fieragricola, in total 10 of these golden prizes were awarded to innovative products in agriculture. The company received the prize for PigExpert, the company’s management programme.
Innovation prize for PigChamp Pro Europa
More prize-winning news as Spanish-based PigChamp Pro Europa has received a Quality Innovation Award for its project Biorisk. That is a new system that monitors and evaluates the level of internal biosafety of a farm, slaughterhouse, feed mill or any other company / group of companies related objectively, data and in real time.
Smithfield: more dollars into alternative energy
Smithfield Foods and Roeslein Alternative Energy have announced an additional US$45 million investment in their Monarch Bioenergy joint venture, which captures methane from hog manure to produce renewable natural gas in Missouri, USA. The additional investment will enable the continued implementation of ‘manure-to-energy’ projects on Smithfield’s farms, resulting in RNG generation across 85% of the company’s hog finishing spaces in the state.
