Follow IPICNEWS ARCHIVES
2009: January February March April May June July August September October November December
- Applying manure this fall? Be sure to read this Top Ten list from Angie Rieck-Hinz on the Iowa Manure Management Action Group Web site. 09/03/2009
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Ireland’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) has confirmed that a herd from Northern Ireland has tested positive for the novel H1N1 virus. DARD representatives said the finding was not unexpected. Read more in this release on the DARD Web site. 09/30/2009
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The national Food Safety Working Group has announced a new consumer Web site designed to help people access the latest information on food safety and food recalls. Find links to all federal agencies that deal with food and food safety information, and sign up for e-mail or RSS alerts on the Food Safety site. 09/30/2009
- Continuing poor economic conditions can mean difficult decisions for pork producers, and many are looking for information as they make those choices in their operations. A free Pig Cents for the Future program set for early September in two eastern Iowa locations will present information on options and opportunities available. See more in the program brochure. 08/18/2009
- IPIC, IPPA and ISU Extension cooperate to provide a special series of free PQAPlus and TQA certification sessions. Producers and others who need certification in either program should check out the schedule and preregister for the site nearest them. 07/29/2009
- First known victim of H1N1 influenza identified. Celia Alpuche of the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference in Mexico City says the then six-month-old girl (who is alive) had no known contact with pig farms. Read more on the Timesonline Web site. 07/27/2009
- Long-standing networks of pork producers, owners, contractors, and managers are under financial stress, and many are being forced to consider new arrangements. A Swine Transition Seminar set for Aug. 5 in Sheldon will present information on options and opportunities available. See more in the seminar brochure. 07/13/2009
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Register soon for the Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open. Individuals pay $85, teams pay $340 for the entire day’s events. Attendance at just the evening meal, award and auction is $25 per person. Read more in this release. Download the registration form. 06/30/2009
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Chinese researchers say they have successfully bred piglets whose sex was specifically selected prior to breeding. Scientist Lu Kehuan said two litters (one all male and one all female) have been born and two additional sows are due to farrow soon. Read more in this article on PigProgress.net. 06/30/2009
- Two southeast Iowa pork producers are making wind energy work for them. Andy McCall and Wayne Zieser say their use of this renewable resource has been a good move. Read more about their choice of equipment and funding in this release. 06/02/2009
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Registration is now open for the 2009 Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open. The event benefits the Lauren L. Christian Endowment, which provides financial support for undergraduate and graduate students and continued swine and pork educational opportunities through Iowa State University. Registration deadline is July 6. 05/21/2009
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Considering a switch to organic pork production? Read about some things to consider in this release. 05/18/2009
- IPIC and the Iowa Pork Producers Association will offer PQA PlusTM and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) training at this year’s World Pork Expo. One session of each will be held on June 4, with PQA PlusTM in the morning and TQA in the afternoon. No charge, but preregistration is necessary and attendance is limited to the first 100 preregistered. See the IPPA Web site for more info. To pre-register or for more info, contact IPPA at 800-372-7675 or e-mail Tyler Bettin. 04/24/2009
- New Iowa State University animal science associate professor John Patience says that pork producers who don’t include nutrition and diet information as part of their whole farm plan are missing the boat. Read more in a news release about the former Prairie Swine Centre president/CEO and his ISU research program. 04/24/2009
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ISU animal science professor Jim Reecy was named ISU’s director of Office of Biotechnology. He’ll be associate director effective April 1, and move to the director position on July 1 of this year. He succeeds Walt Fehr, director since the office’s creation 25 years ago. Although his research program has focused on beef genetics, his work with livestock bioinformatics in general helped with his appointment by the USDA as its national bioinformatics coordinator. Read more about Reecy in this ISU news release. Learn more about ISU's Office of Biotechnology. 03/27/2009
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Check out these streaming audio files on financial risk and marketing strategies. From the Feb. 2009 ISU Extension Webcast, these presenters shared information and knowledge. Each presentation provides contact information for that speaker.
If you have more questions, contact IPIC. 03/09/2009Introduction by John Lawrence
Chad Hart, grain economist
John Patience, swine nutritionist
Questions for John Patience
John Lawrence, livestock economist
For those with beef operations, here are links for Dan Loy’s parts of the program.
Dan Loy, beef nutritionist - A request for a “pork checkoff” referendum was held from December 8, 2008, through January 2, 2009, at USDA's county Farm Service Agency offices, and just 94 valid requests for the referendum were cast. According to the USDA, at least 15 percent of the country’s 69,446 eligible pork producers and importers – that’s 10,417 – would have needed to vote for the referendum in order for it to be held. Iowa had the highest number of “yes” votes cast at 39, more than ½ of the total. See the state-by-state results of the vote on the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Web site. 03/09/2009
- At 1.925 million metric tons (4.2 billion pounds), last year China became the single-year record holder of pork imports from the U.S. Officials with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) say the numbers show the extent of influence China can have on world markets. However, this strong showing in 2008 is unlikely to be repeated this year. China’s herd is increasing in size dramatically due to increased profitability, subsidies for producers and lower hog prices. More information is on the USMEF Web site. 03/09/2009
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EPA releases final rule that provides full exemption to the federal government and partial exemption to state and local governments for reporting air releases of hazardous substances from animal waste at farms. Learn more on this portion of the ISU Animal Agriculture and Air Quality Web site. Be sure to note the addendum to the CERCLA/EPCRA Procedures. Contact information for Robert Burns and Steve Hoff is available on this page as well. 01/20/2009
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The final rule on Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling was published in the Jan. 15 Federal Register, and takes effect March 16, 2009. The final rule outlines the requirements for labeling covered commodities and the recordkeeping requirements for retailers and suppliers. Currently, USDA has cooperative agreements with 42 states to conduct retail surveillance reviews. USDA’s COOL Web site has more information. 01/15/2009
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Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack’s confirmation hearing for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture was held Jan. 14 by the U.S. Senate ag committee. Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin chairs the committee. Watch the Webcast of the session which lasted a little less than three hours. 01/15/2009
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Iowa law requires counties to decide annually between January 1 and January 31 whether to adopt the construction evaluation resolution. Those that adopt it can use the master matrix, a scoring system that can be used to evaluate the siting of permitted confinement feeding operations. This map on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Web site shows which counties have adopted the resolution for 2009. 01/13/2009
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As ISU faculty and staff, including those in IPIC, continue to work on air quality topics, the knowledge is collected and quantified, and results are clarified and shared with producers and others in various agricultural industries. A recent report from the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences summarizes and describes five years worth of related research and extension activities. 01/13/2009
