space space
IPIC Home Page space
In the news space
Events space
Subjects/Topics space
Projects space
Related sites space
About IPIC space

Iowa Pork Industry Centerpig News archives 2001

 

Search by month:

2001: | December | November | October | September | August | July | | June | | May | | April | March | February | January |

Or enter a keyword to search this page:
   (press enter)

 

(View archives 2000)

December 2001:

  • Omsky Bacon is doing a big business in Russia. This company had a $9 million profit in 2000 and this year's sales are expected to be up 33 percent to $120 million. Quite a feat in a region where more than half the medium to large sized companies post a loss. Read a news release on the Moscow Times Web site. 12/20/2001
  • Composted manure becomes valuable fertilizer, thanks to research by Kansas State University scientists. A research site two miles from campus is combining swine, beef and dairy manure with straw to facilitate the composting process, and results to date are quite promising. Read a news release about the project. 12/13/2001
  • A new livestock/meat tracking system has been patented. AgInfoLink Global Inc. received the patent for its “Method and Apparatus For a Livestock Data Collection and Management System." The company says it is the worldwide leader in agricultural product tracking from farm to table. Read more about the system. 12/13/2001
  • A new swine fever outbreak in Spain causes changes in exports. The changes are in effect until the end of this year, according to this news release from the European Union Web site. 12/13/2001

November 2001:

  • IPIC is seeking a program coordinator to work with existing campus and field staff in four primary areas: coordinate initiative to network family swine farms with family grain farms in developing sustainable pork production systems for rural Iowa; evaluate potential value-added pork opportunities for Iowa; evaluate waste handling/environmental issues affecting pork production in Iowa; and coordinate a variety of research and demonstration projects. A master's degree in agriculture, life or biological sciences and three years related of experience is required. Candidate must have knowledge of pork production systems and computer skills. A master's or doctoral degree in agricultural economics, animal science, veterinary medicine or related field is preferred. This is a full time term appointment, ending June 30, 2004. To guarantee consideration, applications must be received by Nov. 30, 2001. For more information, read the vacancy announcement and application directions at this URL or contact IPIC director John Mabry at (515) 294-6325 or by e-mail at <jmabry@iastate.edu> 11/16/01
  • Hog revenue insurance is finally on its way. The first pilot price risk insurance program for livestock producers, known as "Livestock Risk Protection" (LRP) has been approved by the board of directors of the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. and should be available to Iowa pork producers in July 2002. Companies involved are Farm Bureau and American Agrinsurance, and policies will be for six months. This concept was the focus of a January 2001 ICN program sponsored by IPIC, the Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa Farm ureau Federation. Read more about the pilot program. 11/20/01
  • Anthrax is in the news everywhere you look. But what is anthrax and how concerned should we be about it? Here are some links to help you put this disease in perspective. 11/01/2001
  • Prairie Swine Centre, Inc. in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, is opening up the world of pig production to the public with their new Pork Industry Interpretive Centre. This center and viewing gallery provides an inside look into modern production and research facilities for producers, researchers, students, and industry representatives, and is the result of ooperation among several entities including PSCI, Sask Pork and Genex Swine Group. 11/13/01
  • Check out the new Integrated Farm/Livestock Management Demonstration Program web site 11/06/01

October 2001:

  • Have a question but not sure where to find the answer? Try E-answers, the online Extension source that provides reliable, research-based information to a variety of questions. 10/26/01
  • Read Fred Kirschenmann's keynote address from the Sept. 18 conference, "Niche and Value-added Marketing: What's in it for You?" This is a pdf document. 10/25/01
  • Looking for a great-tasting holiday gift where you can be assured of quality, too? Consider making your purchase from one of Iowa's own pork producers. The "2000 Iowa Family Farms Meat Directory" is available in printed form and online at this URL. Both formats include a state map, term definitions and product descriptions, and complete addresses for the included farms and licensed state and federal slaughtering and processing facilities in Iowa. 10/17/2001
  • Two food irradiation technology companies have combined their expertise to deliver a new system for x-ray irradiation called Palletron TM. According to a news release, MDS Nordion and IBA designed Palletron TM for processing meat, poultry, ready-to-eat products, and fruits and vegetables -- all while loaded on pallets. The system is the first of its kind to offer x-ray processing of intact pallets of food in its original packaging. Read the news release on the Nordion Web site at this URL (pdf) 10/17/2001
  • Judge rules city cannot fine farm for odor on a per-animal basis. This Kentucky case could have implications for the entire livestock industry. In the article on the Yahoo Web site the circuit court judge who ruled on the case said in part, "It is clearly the accumulation of thousands of chickens that creates the odor, and those thousands of animals can effect only one trespass," and he called the Marion, KY ordinance (which last year provided a daily fine of $250 per animal) "excessive to the point of absurdity." 10/17/2001
  • The National Pork Board (NPB) is soliciting research proposals for the 2002 year dealing with pork production (environment, swine health), and pork products (quality, safety and nutrition). Proposals must be received by the NPB no later than 5 p.m., Oct. 17, 2001. The NPB Web site provides project submission instructions and forms, and specific proposal contact information. (pdf) 09/25/2001

September 2001:

  • The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has been awarded a $35,000 grant from USDA that will, in the words of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge, "...further our organic market development, which will help our organic and natural foods producers." Read more about this matching grant on the IDALS Web site.
    To learn more about organic farming in Iowa, read Judge's Sept. 20 column or call the state's Organic Program at (515) 281-7656.     09/25/2001
  • Read a summary of the IPIC-funded dietary phytase study in the latest Odor and Nutrient Management newsletter. 09/21/2001
  • Accurate manure sampling might be easier than you think. Read about findings from a manure sampling and management project by two Iowa State University Extension agricultural engineers. 09/21/2001

 

August 2001:

  • Iowa senator Charles Grassley wants the state's pork (and beef) producers to be able to receive a production tax credit and start-up incentives for electricity generated from manure. Read more about his proposal, which would guarantee funds from the EQIP--Environmental Quality Incentives Program-- be made available to producers for cost-sharing on projects that involve implementing anaerobic digesters. 07/26/2001
  • Read ISU economist John Lawrence's latest hog industry paper, "Production and Marketing Characteristics of U.S. Pork Producers, 2000." Coauthor is Glen Grimes of the University of Missouri. 08/09/2001
  • The Iowa Pork Industry Center has an opening for a research associate to assist in a variety of projects, including research and demonstration, evaluation of production and manure handling systems, and development of computer-based decision aids. Applications are due Aug. 7. Check out the vacancy notice, by clicking on "Professional and Scientific" and then clicking on Iowa Pork Industry Center #013329 under the "RESEARCH ASSOCIATE I" heading. 08/06/2001

July 2001:

  • The three-member Worth County (Iowa) Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the third and final reading of the Rural Health and Family Farm Protection Ordinance. The first of its kind in Iowa, the ordinance is billed as a health ordinance. It regulates maximum allowable toxic gas emissions beyond the owner’s property line and includes an employee safety section intended to protect workers from dangerous amounts of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and dust. The ordinance also requires three monitoring wells around confinement operations to check for groundwater contamination from liquid waste storage. Read this news article from the Northwood Anchor newspaper to learn more. 07/11/2001
  • The National Pork Board (NPB) is beginning the process of using checkoff funds for promotion, research and consumer information for the 2002 year. If you're interested, read the news release from NPB. Note that preproposals are due July 20, 2001. Approximately $40 million will be available for national programs. 07/02/2001

June 2001:

  • Piglet mortality rates might be going down, but the incidence of piglet crushing by their mothers is on the rise. Don Lay, animal behavior researcher with USDA-ARS and formerly with the animal science department at Iowa State University, is studying the causes and possible solutions to the problem. Read about his work. 06/26/2001
  • Is the pork checkoff on its way out, again? A recent Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of a mandatory mushroom promotional campaign seems to shed a dark cloud over all agricultural checkoff programs. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court said such a campaign violates the First Amendment right of free speech. 06/26/2001
  • Is it possible to objectively measure animal welfare? The Netherlands animal research council says yes. This article from thepigsite.com explains what the council did and how the scoring works.The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) is the central Dutch organization in the field of fundamental and strategic scientific research, and acts as the national research council in The Netherlands. Check out their Web site at http://www.nwo.nl/english/nwo/. 06/15/2001
  • The 2001 National Barrow Show, scheduled for Sept. 10-12 at the Mower County Fairgrounds in Austin, MN, has been cancelled. The 55th annual show, known as the "World Series of Swine Shows," was cancelled by organizers to protect against the possibility of foot and mouth disease. 06/02/2001
  • The Environmental Protection Agency has extended the comment period for proposed Clean Water Act rules that would re-write the regulations for animal feeding operations (AFOs) and would be significant for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Read about the proposed rules and how to comment on the Iowa Pork Producers Association Web site. 05/01/2001
    • Want to submit your comments? Here's a guide for preparing comments, courtesy of Iowa State University and ISU Extension faculty and staff. Comments may be sent through USPS (regular mail) and by e-mail. (Download guide in Word format) 05/04/2001
    • Agricultural producers in Iowa are invited to a series of informational meetings on proposed EPA regulations dealing with animal feeding operations (AFO) and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). Read about the meetings, sponsored by IPIC, ISU Extension, IPPA and nine other organizations. 05/22/2001
    • The Iowa Manure Management Action Group at ISU offers another source of information on these regulations. 05/23/2001
  • Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) has been confirmed for the first time in Scotland. Read an article about this new diagnosis. Iowa State University's veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine laboratory first diagnosed the disease in Iowa in 1996, and case numbers continue to climb. Read a news release about the Iowa incidence. 06/07/2001

May 2001:

  • A wrinkle in the Foot and Mouth Disease recovery efforts in Scotland: apparently the virus can survive for up to six months in manure slurry. Read this article from The Scotsman newspaper online. 05/16/2000
  • Interested in learning more about FMD? The Watt Publishing Co. and the Vance Food Systems Group are cosponsoring a "Summit on FMD" in Chicago on June 4. Read information on the summit and how to register at this url.  05/10/2001

April 2001:

  • Check out this new Web site on composting. Faculty members from Iowa State University's Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering have done extensive research in creating, developing and using compost facilities, and this Web site has all the information. 04/09/2001
  • The U.S. Agriculture Department is now publishing daily market reports detailing the prices large U.S. meatpacking firms are offering for cattle, pigs, lamb and other selected meat products. Read a news release on this new program that applies to large U.S. packers that slaughter an average of 125,000 cattle annually, or 100,000 swine or 75,000 lambs. 04/02/2001

March 2001:

  • Could plastic wrap on meat packages be a food safety indicator? One Canadian company, Toxin Alert, Inc., has developed a chemical test to identify bacteria pathogens in food stored in plastic wrap and hope to have it on the market by next year. Read about this unique product. 03/23/2001
  • Real world testing of odor control methods. Read how researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Illinois Odor and Nutrient Control Proving Center are working to determine what works and what doesn't, when it comes to odor control. 03/23/2001
  • A genetics company and a university are conducting a sexed semen research trial and results are expected this summer. The goal of the trial by Accelerated Genetics and Colorado State University is to introduce sexed semen to the North American artificial insemination industry in a real world environment. This is the first time that an AI organization in United States is performing such a research trial. Although this test involves heifers, implications could have wide ranging effects for the entire livestock industry. Read about the trial in this news release. 03/23/2001
  • The latest information on swine nutrition research is available at a March 26  ICN program at 34 locations around Iowa. This news release includes a list of speakers, topics and sites for the program. 03/07/2001
  • The USDA decides to continue the national pork checkoff. Read this news release that describes the decision and explains required changes in the administration of those funds. A question-and-answer section also is available. 03/01/2001
     Consequences:
    • Producer group picks leaders and selects task force for implementing new direction during the last joint session of the National Pork Producers Council and Pork Act Delegates. Read about this meeting, in which Early, Iowa pork producer Barb Determan was named NPPC president and chairperson of the NPPC transition team. 03/15/2001
    • Opponents announce plans to fight the reinstituted checkoff. Read this article in the Washington Post about plans by Minnesota senators and the Campaign for Family Farms. 03/05/2001

February 2001

  • Swine ultrasonic evaluation at 2001 county fairs in Iowa is being offered as a joint project by IPIC and the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Certified ultrasound technicians use the Aloka machine to provide backfat and loin eye scanning as appropriate for individual contests. Applications from Iowa counties must be returned by March 1, 2001. For more information, contact Jay Lampe at <lampej@iastate.edu>. 02/05/2001
  • Are your pigs on "the patch?" Check out research on two potential methods of vaccinating livestock without the use of needles.
  • Swine ultrasonic evaluation at 2001 county fairs in Iowa is being offered as a joint project by IPIC and the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Certified ultrasound technicians use the Aloka machine to provide backfat and loin eye scanning as appropriate for individual contests. Applications from Iowa counties must be returned by March 1, 2001. For more information, contact Jay Lampe at <lampej@iastate.edu>. 02/05/2001
  • Phosphorus as a limiting factor in manure application in Iowa? The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants the legislature to require nitrogen and phosphorus limits in manure application rates. Read this article from Iowa Farmer Today. 02/08/2001

January 2001

  • Remember that Iowa Pseudorabies (PRV) rules remain in effect. This means Stage II producers, including 4-H members, are required to vaccinate all pigs, and maintain proof of vaccination and proof of a negative herd test within the past six months. Check our updated PRV section for more information. 1/31/2001
  • The USDA has delayed the implementation date of the livestock mandatory reporting program from Jan. 30 until April 2. Read about it in this USDA news release. 1/31/2001
  • The world's first non-surgical swine embryo transfer set for today in the Philippines. Read this article for more information. The technique was developed by the U.S.-based Legred Struthers Genetics firm with the patented Gourley Scope delivery system.02/06/2001
  • U.S. pork producers vote down the pork referendum, by a vote of 15,951 to 14,396
    Read this statement from Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.    1/12/2001
     To join in an online discussion about the results or just read what others are saying, go to this message board on the National Pork Producers Council Web site.1/16/2001
     Consequences of the referendum failure:
    • At their annual meeting last week, members of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association voted to support a state checkoff system. Read more in this article.  02/05/2001
    • U.S. District Judge Richard A. Enslen has postponed the hearing until March 16. Read this article for more information. 02/05/2001
    • Michigan federal court judge grants a temporary restraining order preserving the status quo and enjoining the termination of the pork checkoff program until a full and fair hearing has occurred. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Feb. 2, 2001. Read this news release from the NPPC. 1/22/2001
    • More commodities than just pork are affected by the negative vote. Read reactions from Nebraska. 1/18/2001
  • Learn more about the proposed hog pricing insurance program to be piloted in Iowa later this year.  1/18/2001
  • USDA scientists have identified 40,000 swine DNA segments that eventually could help breeders identify animals with superior qualities. Read this story from Farm and Dairy Online. 1/16/2001
  • Iowa Farm Bureau Federation plans cosponsored swine risk management seminars around the state in December and January. The two-hour seminars will present current and projected fourth quarter 2000 hog prices with emphasis on price risk, ideas and strategies on marketing risk management, and a look at the new swine revenue insurance planned for availability in 2001. Find a list of meetings.
    Contact Ed Kordick at IFBF for more information.     11/22/2000
  • Pseudorabies compliance enforcement efforts in Iowa are being stepped up. Read this news release from Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge on enforcement changes, including higher civil penalties for those violating state PRV requirements. Good news: the number of PRV-infected herds in Iowa continues to decline. There are just 157 known infected herds in Iowa, down from nearly 600 in August 2000, according to the release. 1/05/2001
  • Premium Standard Farms has ordered its first shipment of detectable needles. Read this article on how the company is moving toward being the industry leader in food safety. 1/04/2001
  • A University of Illinois Extension agricultural engineer is working a way for producers to control slurry flow rates. Read this news release to learn more about Ted Funk's research. 1/04/2001
  • Check out the Pork Quality Assurance materials from the National Pork Producers Council at this URL. Information on obtaining youth education material also is available. 12/28/2000

Page last updated: 8/25/04

line

Iowa State University Extension College of Agriculture College of Veterinary Medicine

| Home Page | News | Events | Subjects/Topics | Projects |
| Related sites | About the Center |
| Please send comments or questions to Sherry Hoyer |

| Iowa State University Extension | | Iowa State University College of Agriculture|
| Comments on web site |

line