Pork Journal January/February 2012

PrintPost Approved PP243096/00002 ISSN 1032 3759

January/February 2012Volume 34, Number 1

The 2012 Ronald JLienert MemorialScholarship Dinner

2012 AlltechSymposium toEnvisage theWorld of 2050

Blantyre Farmsturns to biogas to reduce energy costs

Inaugural SouthAustralian PigIndustry Day 2012

PorkJournal

PJJanFeb2012:PJJanFeb09 10/03/12 4:47 PM

Virkon S_Press_Master with Hires.indd 1

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NEWS

4 Inaugural South Australian Pig Industry Day 2012

On February 17, 2012 the Department of Primary Industry & Regions SA held itsinaugural South Australian Pig Industry Day (2012) at the Roseworthy Campus,University of Adelaide.

16 2012 Alltech Symposium to Envisage the World of 2050

The world population is growing at an incredible rate, which means that peopleand industries alike must explore innovative ideas in order to plan for the future.During Alltech’s 28th Annual International Animal Health and Nutrition SymposiumMay 20-23, 2012, in Lexington, Kentucky, presenters will cover many topics related to feeding the world now and in the future.

18 Canada: Higher ethanol blends would hit livestock sector

Policies designed to cut Canada’s emissions from fossil fuels have instead madethe ethanol industry a “subsidised competitor” against the livestock sector, according to a new study from a well-known ag think tank.

19 Alltech appoints new Vice President for Europe

Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech has announced the promotion ofPatrick Charlton to the position of Vice President Europe.

19 Novus appointed Regional Sales Manager, South Australia and Victoria

Wayne Francis has joined Novus Nutrition Ltd as Regional Sales Manager,Australia. He will be responsible for the Regional sales activities mainly in Victoriaand South Australia.

19 NZ Pork Chief Executive praised by Otago Daily

New Zealand Pork Chief Executive Sam McIvor is leaving after nearly six years inthe role.

20 HelixX air washer for pig farms test positive for energy reduction

The new version of the decentral HelixX systems, manufactured and marketed byGerman livestock equipment company Big Dutchman, has received positive feed-back from the German Agricultural Society (DLG). The new version has been con-firmed to stand out in energy reduction.

21 The 2012 Ronald J Lienert Memorial Scholarship Dinner

Ronald Lienert’s son Nick Lienert, now the Managing Director of Lienert AustraliaPty Ltd, announced the winner of the 2012 Ronald J Lienert Memorial Scholarshipas Emma Greenwood, a student supervised by Dr Bob Hughes at Roseworthy.

8 COVER STORY Blantyre Farms turns to biogas to reduce energy costs

The first operational co-generation biogas scheme on a commercial pig farm in Australiais about to be completed at Blantyre Farms, owned by Michael and Edwina Beveridgeand situated near Young in NSW.

PORK JOURNAL, Jan/Feb 2012 3

Michael Beveridge, Blantyre Farms

PorkJournal

January/February 2012Volume 34, Number 1

Contents


4 PORK JOURNAL, Jan/Feb 2012

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NEWS

On February 17, 2012 the Department ofPrimary Industry & Regions SA held itsinaugural South Australian Pig IndustryDay (2012) at the Roseworthy Campus,University of Adelaide.

The event, with major sponsorsAustralian Pork Limited (APL) and ThePork CRC, consisted of three seminars followed by an Industry Partnership sessionand in the evening, The Ronald J LienertMemorial Scholarship Dinner.

Graeme Pope was the course presenterand a driving force behind the day’s eventsalong with the PIRSA’s Michael Moore.

The turnout from both local producersand the industry was impressive and thosewho made the effort to attend were notdisappointed by a well run and informationpacked day.

The seminars that ran from midday to4.00 pm were organised under three keytopics. They were: Group Sow Housing –options and developments, Optimisingherd feed use and effeciency, and APL marketing and policy update.

Emalyn Louden, APL’s ManagerTechnology Transfer and Adoption tookthe role of chair for the seminars and intro-duced the first speaker Megan Verdon whospoke on the ‘Science of Sow Housing.’

Megan, a PhD candidate working withthe University of Melbourne’s AnimalWelfare Science Centre (AWSC) reportedon the work being undertaken at thatorganisation into group sow housing.

Megan’s study hypothesises that pigsdisplay specific and consistent behaviours,such as aggressiveness, and that thesebehaviours can be used to classify the socialstrategy (dominant, sub-dominant and sub-missive) a pig adopts when group-housedunder stress. In addition, a relationshipshould exist between a pigs’ social strategyand its performance in terms of welfare andproductivity. Consequently, her study aimsto test whether the distribution of strategieswithin a group affects the performance ofindividuals in that group, as well as thegroup as a whole.

“Challenges,” she said, “were aggressioncausing injury and stress and the need toregulate the process of the sows establishingtheir heirachy.

“Competition for restricted resourceslike food called for careful thought aboutthe design of feeding areas: tests to establish cortisol release help to establishstress levels during specific periods andactivities,” Megan explained.

She refered to a study conducted in1998 where 48 sows were split into eightseparate groups “as allocated space for eachgroup increased there was a reduction inaggression lesions and cortisol levels.

“Allocated space per sow of 1.4 squaremetres is likely to be too small and an areaof around 1.8 m2 appears to be a morebeneficial but more study and understand-ing of the whole space question needs to beundertaken,” she said.

“Body stalls reduce aggression and inthe first four days after mixing, aggressive-ness is somewhat repeatable. Experienceand genetics of sows are important factorsand group composition in the mixing pensis important, as is staff training to enablethe best group formation.

“Be careful of space at mixing time andit is advisable to maintain small staticgroups if possible,” Megan concluded.

Megan’s paper was the first she haddelivered to a large industry group – thatshe thoughouly understood the topic ofgroup sow housing was obvious, but perhaps of equal importance was her abilityto transmit her knowledge to an audienceoutside the research community.

The next speaker was Greg Bisset, grower, and top multiplier for the Myoragroup which supplies the Top Pork Alliance.

‘Producer perspectives on moving tostall free production’ was his topic and heexplained in some detail his methods andmotivation as he expanded his operationsfrom 600 to 950 sows.

“Coles requirements were a key factorin our decision to move to stall free hous-ing,” he said

“Considerations were use of existing

Inaugural South Australian Pig Industry Day 2012

1. Emalyn Louden, APL’s Manager, Technology Transfer & Adoption. 2. Megan Verdon,University of Melbourne. 3. Greg Bisset, Myora Group. 4. Jorge Pena and VanessaTaggart from Alltech with Graeme Crook.

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NEWSsheds, two sites with no electrical supplyand bedding systems preffered by our customer.

“Individual feeding in stalls whenexpanding from 600 to 950 sows increasedmanagement load significantly,” Gregexplained.

“On the topic of ad lib feeding compo-nent of the plan, Greg explained that thisstops fighting and reduces stress at criticalperiods.

Moving onto allocated space in his newsystem Greg had some concerns as they rangilts separate from sows.

“Two m2 per gilt was a bit tight and onthe topic of allocating 3.6 m2 per gestatingsow the main question was ‘what does thesupermarket want?”

“A lot of these strategies are driven byrecognising the requirement to sell ourproduct to city dwellers where perception isa vital marketing tool,” he said.

“Other production driven initiativesinclude water some distance from feedersand low energy diets and the use of remov-able walls to allow for the correct numberof spaces for free stalls.

In concluding Greg pointed out that“genetics and nutrition were important factors in group sow housing as was stock-manship, including the ability to under-stand group dynamics.

“On practical issues the design andreading of ear tags was critical as was theability to efficiently get sows to move outof their pens.

“Utilising available space was impor-tant as was the strength of construction ofshed infrastructure – sows in groups can bevery destructive,” he said.

Impacts of the changes were mixed,Greg revealed. “Farrowing rate was ‘terrible’but born alive was better with total bornrate increased to 13.2 piglets per litter from12.8

“Finally, you have to recognise that youare making monumental changes, preparecarefully, plan and take advice,” he con-cluded.

The final speakers in the Group SowHousing session were Shane Daykin fromStockyard Industries, Richard Boshoff fromMundigo and David Reu from VaucluseAPS who all offered advice on building andequipment supplies for shed conversionsand construction.

Amongst Shane Daykin’s recommenda-tions were the installation of freedom stallswith a gate at the rear for easier treatmentof individual animals.

“Drop ceiling sheds can improve venti-lation and drop feeding systems in pens are

1. Shane Daykin, Stockyard Industries.2. David Reu, Vaucluse APS. 3. TonyEdwards, ACE Livestock Consulting. 4. Dr Eugeni Toura, University ofQueensland. 5. Liam Silk, Senior BrandManager, APL.

not complicated and thus easy to operate,”he said.

“Individual electronic sow feeding wasvery beneficial and Shane pointed out thesuccess the Danish pig industry had madeof group sow housing in terms of designand feeding systems.

“In any production flow system avoidpinch points and when it came to slattedflooring, design and construction was veryimportant.

“Pigs need walls to lay against,” Shaneemphasised.

It is possible to mix modern technologywith existing infrastructure, and finally, onthe topic of bedding material, sawdust waspreferable to straw in helping to controldiets. “Pigs won’t eat sawdust,” Shanepointed out.

Richard Boshoff from Mundigo statedthat growers faced two basic options in anymove to group sow housing.

“Revamp existing or build fromscratch. Revamp results in a reduction incapacity and it is essential to refurbish allconcrete work – 30% of the floor area ingroup housing should be slatted in a moveto group sow feeding,” he stated.

“Trickle feed systems were useful increating a calmer shed and the US-builtautomated feed systems they recommendedhas the ability to repair software on line – avery useful benefit,” he concluded.

David Reu spoke on the benefits ofelectronic sow feeding systems. His companyhas been involved with ESF for three yearsbut in the UK where the system marketedby APS Vaucluse is built, the industry therehas been utilizing ESF for over 25 years.

“ESF delivers accurate individual feed-ing based on the sow’s condition and stateof pregnancy,” he said.

“It can be used in large social groupsand significantly reduces potential aggres-sion delivering easier management controlsaving time and thus, money.

“There is a need for staff training tofully understand the capabilities and correctuse of the system but benefits flow imme-diately.

“The sows no longer see humans asfeed carts and only take a couple of days toget used to the system,” he said.

“ESF can be retro fitted or be part of anew facility but success starts with plan-ning,” David emphasised.

In the ‘Optimising herd feed use effi-ciency session’, Tony Edwards of ACELivestock Consulting spoke first on ‘Howto improve feed efficiency in commercialsituations’.

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 w


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The first operational co-generationbiogas scheme on a commercial pig farm inAustralia is about to be completed atBlantyre Farms situated near Young inNSW.

Michael and Edwina Beveridge are nowthe owners and operators of Blantyre Farmsafter taking the operation over from

Blantyre Farms turnsto biogas to reduceenergy costs

By PETER BEDWELL

Edwina’s parents, Dugald and JeannieWalker in 2007.

“Blantyre Farms has undergone signifi-cant expansion in the past few years,including new dry sow sheds, a new farrowing house and an upgrade fromhand feeding most of our breeder pigs, to aWeda liquid feed system,” Edwina said.

“We thought that we could achievebetter performance from our straw/ricehulls based eco sheds for weaners andgrowers. The soaring cost of straw duringthe drought added to our decision to convert the eco sheds to fully slatted floorsand liquid feed. We also added 16 newweaner rooms.

“The liquid feed system utilises liquidwaste products; around 50% of our feed iswaste products in fact.

Though this feeding strategy createssignificant feed costs savings there is a fairbit of infrasructure and labour content tocontend with, including handling sizeablequantities of milk-based product containers.

Edwina observed that the pigs get

excited when chocolate and strawberryflavoured milk was in the feed mix !

“We became aware of the idea ofmethane digestion through APL and thebiogas group” she said.

Dugald Walker has always been aninnovator in the pig industry and hashelped Michael and Edwina with the construction of their methane capture andpower generation set up.

“Blantyre’s system includes a coveredpond and electricity generation machineryat both the breeder site (Golden Grove)and the grower site (Dead Horse Gully).

“The larger anaerobic dam at DeadHorse Gully is 115m x 40m and holds 15megalitres of waste while the Golden Grovepond is 60m x 30m and contains 5.5megalitres,” she explained.

“The dams have been covered with2mm LLPE material covers and a 3.5 kmpipeline runs between the two sites andallows excess gas produced at our growerfacility to be available for use at the breedersheds.

“The Brisbane based companyQuantum Power has supplied three fullyself contained 80 kW biogas fueled genera-tor units and between them they will generate enough electricity to fully powerboth farm sites and give us the ability tosell excess power to the main power gridsystem.

“A heat exchanger system on thegensets will be used to heat water whichwill be circulated through hot water tiles in

Covered pond at Dead Horse Gullycaptures enough methane to run atleast 2 80 kW generators.


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1. Blantyre Farms growersheds – part of an extensiveupgrade to the property. 2. Owners of Blantyre Farms,Edwina and MichaelBeveridge. 3. Liquid feedusing dairy waste products.Happy Monday is chocolatemilk day! 4. Cummins basedgenerator power unit showing flame trap bottomright and induction system.

the farrowing house and in Delta pipe inour weaner rooms,” Edwina added.

When Pork Journal visited the DeadHorse Gully grow-out facility at BlantyreFarms in early February, the final stages ofsetting up the digestor units and connect-ing the methane gas supply to the genera-tor units was well underway.

We have had a keen interest in thepotential of converting farm waste to energysince APL hosted an open day at JeremyWhitby’s farm at Grantham in Queenslandwhere a methane capture pilot scheme hadbeen constructed to examine the specificmethodology of covering a waste pond andcapturing, then flaring the methane gener-ated under the bladder.

We covered that story in ourJuly/August 2010 issue. By comparison, theBlantyre farm methane capture, power generation and shed heating scheme is on atotally different scale altogether.

Apart from the far greater volume ofwaste containment and methane genera-tion, the Blantyre farm equipment cleansthe raw methane as it emerges from theponds, removing both water (caused mainlyby condensation) and hydrogen sulphideusing ‘scrubber’ units situated next to theponds.

This cleaning process results in theproduction of an efficient fuel that is notonly ideal for specifically designed gensetslike the Quantum Power supplied units toproduce electricity, but also for reducingoverall critical emissions: around two thirdsof methane emissions created on typical pigfarms are consumed in the co-generationprocess.

“It has been an expensive project butwe expect the payback period to be abouttwo years. We are very excited aboutbecoming ‘energy self sufficient’ and withthe system up and running we should beable to eliminate our power bills in just afew weeks.

“We have registered with the CarbonFarming Initiative and look forward toearning credits,” Edwina said.

As with all complex enterprises thereare always some hitches and though theinstallation of the gensets and methane‘scrubber units’ was going to plan, a minorhitch was evident in the paint scheme usedon the skid mounted shipping containerstyle genset units.

“We wanted an olive green to blend inwith the background. What arrived was arather more vibrant tone of green.

“I suppose it was one of those thingsthat got lost in translation,” she surmised.

The paint job apart, the engineeringstandards in these units is top class. TheQuantum biogas gensets use a Cumminspower unit driving Leroy Somer alternators;both key components being ‘gold standard’

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Above: In the weaner sheds straw has been abandoned and fully slatted floors areused. Right: Quantum Power supplied 80 kW biogas fueled generator units.

in power generation equipment.This combination has been proven

successful for a long period in remote andchallenging conditions around the world.

In the US, compressed natural gas andbiofuel have been in use for both roadtransport and power generation for manyyears.

While harnessing biofuel from inten-sive livestock industries may be a relativelynew technology in Australia, it has beenwell proven elsewhere and particularly inEurope.

For Quantum Power Limited, a leadingAustralian biogas company, the BlantyreFarms installation will be its third biogasfired power plant sold in Australia.

“The biogas produced from the cov-ered anaerobic lagoons at the rate of 125cubic meters of biogas per hour, will beharvested and used as fuel for three 80kWbiogas gensets.

“In addition to the fully containerisedgensets, the installation also features remotemanagement functionality and two biogasscrubbing systems to remove contaminantsfrom the biogas,” explained Justin Vianello,the Commercial Director of QuantumPower Limited.

Quantum Power CEO RichardBrimblecombe said, “this particular projectis very exciting for our company because itleverages our considerable experience indelivering renewable energy projects in thefood processing industry and applies ourtechnology to the pig industry for the firsttime,” he said.

“This project will take advantage of thefinancial incentives available to pig produc-ers from the Federal Government’s CarbonFarming Initiative.

“This legislation provides financialincentives for pig producers to cover anaer-obic lagoons and use the biogas to generaterenewable energy.

“It’s a common sense approach to theproblem of rising energy costs and con-cerns about greenhouse gas emissions,” headded.

“Pig producers can now use the biogasproduced from their anaerobic lagoons togenerate renewable energy and co-generat-ed heat for use in the piggery operation,while also creating Large GenerationCertificates and Australian Carbon CreditUnits, which can be sold to provide areturn on the capital invested in the powergeneration equipment.

“It’s a win for Blantyre Farms because

they can generate their own cost effectiveenergy and a win for the environmentbecause the process abates significant vol-umes of carbon, which would otherwise beemitted into the atmosphere.

“Following the successful commission-ing of the Blantyre Farms project it’s ourintention to now focus on the pig industryto assist producers to access the benefits ofour proven technology package and exclu-sive biogas genset distribution rights,” MrBrimblecombe said.

“Quantum Power is Australia’s leadingbiogas based renewable energy company.

“It’s technology is suitable for food pro-cessing plants and intensive livestock opera-tions where anaerobic lagoons are used tobreak down the organic load in wastestreams.

“In addition to providing turnkey solu-tions, Quantum Power also owns and oper-ates a 1,100kW biogas power plant inBeaudesert, Queensland and the companyhas exclusive distribution rights for thehighly regarded biogas gensets, which fea-ture Cummins engines and Leroy Someralternators,” Mr Brimblecombe concluded.

The co-generation biogas schemeinstalled at the Blantyre Farms receivedsome funding from APL as part of researchbeing conducted under its Carbon FarmingInitiative (CFI) that was first established inApril 2010.

Janine Price, Manager Environment &Climate Change - Research & Innovationat APL explained what the CFI meant forAustralian pig farmers when Pork Journalvisited APL offices in Canberra on the dayfollowing the trip to Blantyre Farms.

Janine is also the subprogram leaderfor the Pork CRC research into ‘Carbon–Neutral Pork Production, an initiative set

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up under Program 4 - Carbon-Conscious Nutrient Inputsand Outputs’?lead overall by Dr Rob Wilson.

“Subprogram 4c researching??carbon-neutral pork pro-duction will involve highly novel research to maximisemethane production from effluent ponds so that collec-tion and use of gas is economically viable.

“Alternative approaches to waste management will alsobe studied to develop solid-waste pork production systemsthat mitigate carbon outputs,” Janine explained.

So what does the CFI mean for pig producers?“Pig producers can potentially generate carbon credits

based on reducing or avoiding methane (CH4) andnitrous oxide (N2O) on site,” Janine explained

“They will be included under the initiative as an ‘agri-cultural emissions avoidance project’. That is a project toavoid emissions of nitrous oxide and methane from thedecomposition of livestock urine and dung or from landapplication and there is also the opportunity for revegeta-tion projects.

“The majority of projects for pig producers will fallunder the additionality component of the scheme, wherethe projects must prove that they create additional reduc-tions in green house gas (GHG) emissions that wouldotherwise not have occurred on a day to day running ofthe business and the emissions need to be measurable andverified,” she said.

“The Australian Pork Industry was the first industryto have a methodology endorsed and approved by theDomestic Offsets committee (DOIC) for CFI inAustralia.

“This methodology is titled ‘Destruction of methanegenerated from manure in piggeries’. The industry devel-oped the methodology in conjunction with theDepartment of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency(DCCEE) as well as a technical working group made upof industry experts,” Janine explained.

“The protocols contain the requirements for imple-menting and monitoring the GHG abatement in order togenerate carbon credits.

“Credits for GHG destruction qualify for Kyoto cred-its, whereas sequestration (ie forestry credits) are non-Kyoto,” Janine pointed out.

“The two main CFI areas for pig producers that arerecognised practises, are

manure management which includes building coveredponds, flaring and utilisation (eg power and or heat pro-duction) and nitrogen and fertiliser management withland application.

“To a lesser extent, producers could claim credits for w



Above: New growout sheds, part ofthe comprehensiveupgrade undertakenat Blantyre Farms.Left: The scrubberunits situated nextto the ponds whichclean the rawmethane, removingwater and hydrogensulphide.

sequestration projects such as revegetationand soil carbon,” Janine said.

“As 66% of emissions from a pork sup-ply chain come from effluent ponds, cover-ing and flaring of methane generated offersgreat potential as it will eliminate a signifi-cantly large proportion of emissions from apiggery.

“For this project an existing (if suitable- sometimes a new smaller deeper pond ischeaper than covering a larger pond thatwill need to be desludged prior to covering)or new effluent pond is covered with apolypropylene or low density polypropy-lene cover that is trenched in around thesides of the pond.

“Then a perforated pipe is laid aroundthe perimeter of the pond under the coverto capture and convey the biogas to a‘landfill’ flare. The flare is operated by asolar spark that continuously burns theCH4 and turns it CO2 and H2O,” Janineexplained.

“A covered pond with flaring eliminatesodour, is a low cost initiative and is simpleto operate and maintain. Further effluentcan be recycled for washdown, enable cap-ture of rainwater from the pond cover andfinally, the result is improved sludge,reduced odour and improved potential fer-tiliser value.”

“Covering and utilising biogas for co-generation is a project that is the next stepup from covering and flaring but has thesame objective in terms of the destructionof methane,” Janine said.

“The pond is covered but instead offlaring, the biogas is utilised to generateheat and or electricity. Additional infra-structure is needed such as a scrubber, toremove the corrosive hydrogen sulphide, aboiler to convert to heat and or a gen-set toconvert the biogas to electricity.

On the topic of nitrogen and fertilisermanagement, Janine suggested that, “thereduction in fertiliser/manure applicationto land and the use of nitrous oxideinhibitors may also be a likely source ofcredits for pig producers.

“Carbon sequestration via soil carbonor revegetation are to a lesser extent pro-jects that could be undertaken by pig pro-ducers although we don’t envisage thesebeing widely taken up,” she said.

Australian Pork Industry Biogas Program

“APL has identified transferable lowcost biogas systems based on NZ research,”Janine explained.

“From this, APL initiated the develop-ment of a biogas group with interested pro-ducers who have now developed five feasibility and implementation plans andone farm implementation review.

“The projects have identified a range ofsystems and uses including heat generation,offsetting electricity use from the grid andreplacement of LPG and diesel sources.“These projects have all come back withpayback periods of 12 months to fouryears. (not including CFI credits or renew-able energy certificates RECs).

“At present it is understood that five ofthe projects are likely to go ahead with theco-generation and one is likely to cover andflare as part of a staged project.”

“APL is supporting the Biogas programby coordinating the Biogas group andresearchers, disseminating information andholding workshops for interested producers.

“APL is also currently facilitatingopportunities to work with NZ researcherson collaborative projects to benefit bothindustries, as well as Australian specificindustry needs such as Biogas cooling sys-tems,” Janine revealed.

“On the topics of returns to growersthrough CFI based on CO2 being priced at$23 pet tonne, approximately $3.45 perfinished pig is a reasonable expectation,

though this figure does not take intoaccount potential brokerage fees and audit-ing costs.

Possibly the ‘elephant in the room’ onthe whole topic of any carbon capture ini-tiatives for agriculture generally and the pigindustry specifically is the successful intro-duction of an Australian Emissions tradingscheme.

“Tradability and subsequent value willaffect viability of the CFI initiative for producers, and the likely impact of whatwill be essentially political issues are currently unknown,” Janine concluded.

While the future of carbon trading andmaybe even the carbon tax may be at thisstage unclear, it is gratifying to see thatinnovative producers like Edwina andMichael Beveridge have just gone aheadand committed to making their businessesfit for operation in a 21st Century scenario.

Whatever governments at both stateand federal levels decide, one thing is forsure, energy costs will rise and Michael andEdwina have made the best of what currenttechnology can offer to fix that problem.

v



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NEWS

2012 Alltech Symposium to Envisage the World of 2050

The world population is growing at an incredible rate, whichmeans that people and industries alike must explore innovativeideas in order to plan for the future.

Agriculture will play a tremendous role in shaping thatfuture as producers grapple with the challenges of feeding thebooming global population – projected to reach 9 billion peopleby 2050 – while dealing with diminishing resources and environ-mental concerns.

To feed that population, the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations reports that global food pro-duction must double by 2050 to avoid mass hunger. According toAlltech, this can only be achieved through improved technology.

During Alltech’s 28th Annual International Animal Healthand Nutrition Symposium May 20-23, 2012, in Lexington,Kentucky, presenters will cover many topics related to feeding

the world now and in the future. The event is expected to draw more than 2,000 participants from

around the world. Participants will explore innovative solutions togrowing industry and global challenges as they attend sessions and network with other professionals from across borders and industry segments.

Dr Pearse Lyons, President and founder of Alltech, described someof the issues that must be addressed by the agriculture industry. “As welook to our future, we have some major questions that we need tocome together and answer through innovative solutions,” Dr Lyonssaid.

“For example, what does the future hold for our children’s world?What role will you play in it? Where will you be? As we look to ourchildren’s future, we must revolutionise how we think about the business of food production.”

Through more than 100 presentations by industry experts, includ-ing speakers from major industry leaders such as Domino’s Pizza, Jackin the Box, Wendy’s, Nestle, Murphy-Brown, Future Farmers ofAmerica, PetSmart and the Harvard School of Business, Alltech’sSymposium will examine innovative strategies and focus on ideas forbetter use of resources, improved business practices and natural nutri-tional solutions.

In addition to general sessions, the Symposium will provide

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NEWS

Corn prices in USset to decline

opportunities for professionals to attendbreakout sessions in areas such as aquacul-ture, beef, dairy, equine, poultry, pig production, pet food and regulatory alongwith new focus areas offered for this yearon food quality, traceability, crop science,legal, marketing, information technologyand designer food.

The Symposium will explore possibleanswers to questions facing the agriculturalindustry today such as:• How can we feed a world with 9 billionpeople?• Why does China succeed while theeconomies of Europe and America struggle?• What are the implications of a $100 bil-lion Facebook?• How can agriculture benefit from the firstglobal youth network?• Is aquaculture the future of protein?• Why does Alltech predict that epigeneticsand programmed nutrition are the futureof meat production?• Why is salesmanship fundamental to

building a business?• What does the next generation of lawyers,marketers and economists need to knowabout a growing new economy and a pri-mary requirement of life – food?

“When we come together through edu-cation and discussion, we create synergythat allows us to develop revolutionary newideas for sustainability in food productionand to share market-oriented businessstrategies, agribusiness training and scientif-ic research. This will lead us to technologi-cal solutions to the issues our industryfaces,” said Dr Lyons.

“As an industry and as good citizens,

we must address these issues now for thefuture generations who will inherit ourworld.”

Alltech’s prestigious Medal ofExcellence and Young Scientist Awards willalso be presented during the Symposium.

To learn more about the Alltech 28thAnnual International Animal Health andNutrition Symposium and to register toattend, visit www.alltech.com/symposiumwww.alltech.com/symposium or contact [email protected].

Additional details about speakers andsessions will be announced in the comingmonths.

Corn prices, which averaged $6 per bushelin 2011, may decline in the next decade asUS production begins to catch up withdemand, according to reports.

The average cash price is predicted tofall to $4.54 in the 2013 marketing yearbeginning September 1, then rise to $4.82by 2022, according to analysts from the USCongressional Budget Office.

Corn futures closed at $6.3175 perbushel on January 30 on the ChicagoBoard of Trade.

Slower growth in the use of corn forethanol is “giving trend corn production achance to catch up and surpass demandgrowth,” said Keith Collins, a former USDepartment of Agriculture economist.Yield gains may not keep up withCongressional Budget Office predictions,and year-to-year variations in supply anddemand may be greater than forecast.

Corn use is expected to rise by 14% to15.198 billion bushels by 2022. Productionis predicted to rise 8.6%, to 15.19 billionbushels, as a 12% gain in yields absorbs a42% hike in exports (to 2.63 billionbushels) and an 8.5% gain in ethanol use(to 5.425 billion bushels) by 2022, analystspredicted.



NEWS

Canada: Higher ethanol blends would hit livestock sector

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Policies designed to cut Canada’s emissionsfrom fossil fuels have instead made theethanol industry a “subsidised competitor”against the livestock sector, according to anew study from a well-known ag thinktank.

The George Morris Centre at Guelph,Ontario released a report by Senior MarketAnalyst Kevin Grier, Senior ResearchAssociate Al Mussell and Analyst IrenaRajcan, urging the federal and provincialgovernments to reconsider their programsproviding capital grants for additionalethanol plants and capacity.

The policies and programs sustainingCanada’s ethanol industry must be “cur-tailed or eliminated,” the authors wrote,adding ethanol policy should not expand torequire a 10% national blend.

“Governments must recognise the significance of the Canadian livestock andmeat industry, and that it is vulnerable toexpansions in ethanol policy,” the studyauthors wrote.

“Government has demonstrated that ina short time, it can create a large ethanolindustry. The same cannot be said for thelivestock and meat industry.”

Specifically, the study finds Canadianethanol production increases the price offeed grains in Eastern Canada by about$15 to $20 per tonne, and in the West by

$5 to $10 per tonne.That translates into tighter livestock

feeding margins and/or increased losses forCanadian producers, totalling about $130million per year, the study said.

“We aren’t against high grain prices,but we want to compete on a level playingfield,” said Travis Toews, President of theCanadian Cattlemen’s Association, whichalong with the Canadian Pork Council andCanadian Meat Council co-funded theMorris Centre study.

The cattle industry, Toews said, “fullyappreciates how important a vibrantCanadian grain industry is to our sustain-ability” but the association also calls for theremoval of ethanol subsidies and tariffs andthe ethanol blending mandate.

“This would let the market decide thebest usage of feed grain in Canada,” he saidin a separate release.

Need to rationaliseEthanol production in this country, the

study authors said, has resulted in lowerfeeder livestock prices for Canadian producers, meaning more feeder animalsthat could have been fed by Canadian producers were instead exported.

The livestock sector in Canada’s East isparticularly vulnerable, the study said, predicting that the expansion of mandatory

ethanol content in gasoline to a 10% blendwould lead to a “serious reduction” in feedavailability there, and a “dramatic reduc-tion” in cattle and hog feeding as a result.

The ethanol industry is estimated touse about two million tonnes of grain cornin Ontario, which alone could impact localsupply and demand enough to swing theprice spread by about $17 per tonne, froma negative $10 to positive $7.

Even if record corn production andimports are assumed, Eastern Canada’s cattle and hog sector “would need to ratio-nalize by up to 40% to conform to avail-able feed supplies” if ethanol were alloweda 10% mandate in fuel blends, the studysaid.

Given that Prairie wheat and barleyexports are about two times greater thanfeed use for those two crops in the West,the supply situation “does not make (theWest’s) cattle and hog production vulnera-ble under a 10% mandate.” However, thestudy said, the West’s livestock industrywould “continue to suffer under anincreased price impact.”

Limited inclusionThe study authors blame such develop-

ments on the strengthening in the grainbasis due to Canadian ethanol policy,rather than the world price of grain.

It’s not that the use of mandates andsubsidies to support ethanol developmentbroadly boosts grain prices, the study said,but that it “increases relative grain prices inthe local Canadian markets.”

The study also disputes any claim thatCanadian ethanol poses no threat to thelivestock sector due to relatively lower grainprices in Ontario and Western Canadacompared to those in the US during 2010and 2011.

Such a claim, the authors wrote, wouldbe “simply based on a fortuitous increase inproduction relative to demand in Canadacompared to the US” and besides, “even inthese circumstances, the data and economictheory still demonstrate a negative livestockimpact.”

The study acknowledges production ofdistillers’ grains as a feed byproduct is “ofmaterial benefit in livestock feeding” andthat the byproduct’s price has dropped asethanol production rises – but the studyalso notes a “limited inclusion rate” for thebyproduct.

The Canadian Renewable FuelsAssociation had no official comment.



NEWS

Patrick Charlton, Alltech’s New Vice President Europe.

Global animal health and nutrition companyAlltech has announced the promotion ofPatrick Charlton to the position of VicePresident Europe.

Mr Charlton has been with the companyfor 21 years, most recently serving asEuropean Regional Director. He will takethe reins from Marc Larousse who has beenpromoted to the position of Vice PresidentBusiness Development.

Commenting on the appointment,Alltech founder and President, Dr PearseLyons said, “Alltech is experiencing tremen-dous progress in Europe.

“This region has been a vital part ofAlltech’s core strategy for many years andnow it is time for us to expand.

“With Patrick’s considerable experienceand leadership we are anticipating strong

growth and development throughout theEurope region.”

Mr Charlton has worked extensively inAfrica, Canada and the Middle East, andwas also Global Bioplex Manager responsiblefor the Bioplex series of organic minerals.

“European agriculture is changingrapidly in response to a growing exportmarket and increased internal regulationand Alltech Europe must grow and expandto keep up with these developments,” saidMr Charlton.

“We have a fantastic team in place witha firm devotion to the future of Europeanagriculture, with un-paralleled knowledgeand experience in the agriculture industry.Together we will further the developmentof new technologies, while continuing tomeet the needs of local customers.”

Alltech appoints new Vice President for Europe

Novus appointed Regional Sales Manager,South Australia and Victoria

NZ Pork chief executive praised by Otago Daily

Wayne Francis has joined Novus NutritionLtd as Regional Sales Manager, Australia.He will be responsible for the Regionalsales activities mainly in Victoria and SouthAustralia.

Wayne has more than 20 years of experience in the vitamin and mineral premix industry and animal nutritionindustry. His working life has always beeninvolved in agriculture from 1981 to thethe present.

Wayne was employed by Agribusinesswhich was purchased by Provimi in the late1990s. Agribusiness specialised in swine nutrition although most species werecatered for; they also manufactured and

distributed vitamin and mineral additives.Over the years with Agribusiness and

Provimi, his roles developed from beinginvolved with the manufacture of the product to sales, developing business bothdomestically and internationally, managingsales as well as production and delivery.

From 2003 onwards, Wayne remainedin the agricultural industry primarily inmanagement, business development andsales roles for livestock nutritional products, almond processing, and grainstorage and packing.

Wayne can be contacted at [email protected] or mobile+614 1731 7963.

Wayne Francis, Regional SalesManager, Novus Nutrition.

New Zealand Pork Chief Executive SamMcIvor is leaving after nearly six years inthe role.

Board Chairman Ian Carter acknowl-edged Mr McIvor’s contribution to theindustry during an “action-packed tenure”,during which there was a global economiccrisis and, domestically, the industry hadfaced some big issues.

“Championing the industry’s strong

environmental standing, progressing theanimal welfare changes, and maintainingthe industry’s disease-free status have beensignificant pieces of work, and Sam hasshown strong leadership and the ability towork effectively with farmers through topoliticians in this process,” Mr Carter said.

Mr McIvor had also led value-chain-wide initiatives focused on all parties work-ing together to improve product quality

and drive consumer demand for locallyproduced product.

There was no doubt consumers weremuch more aware now of the 700,000kg ofimported pork coming into the countryeach week and they were looking for products labelled as New Zealand-grown.Mr McIvor, who leaves New Zealand Porkin mid-March, is joining family-ownedWellington meat business Preston’s.



PRODUCT NEWS

HelixX air washer for pig farms tests positive for energy reduction

The new version of the decentral HelixX systems, manufacturedand marketed by German livestock equipment company BigDutchman, has received positive feedback from the GermanAgricultural Society (DLG). The new version has been confirmedto stand out in energy reduction.

The DLG’s so-called ‘Signum’ tests confirmed the energy reduc-tion claim. They showed that the new air washer system was certi-fied to have an air washing capacity of around twice as high (vol-ume flow of 17,500 m3/h) and it also reaches very profitable energyusage values.

Andreas Kerssens, Product Manager, Big Dutchman, said, “TheHelixX has now become a real alternative to external central airwashers from a perspective of farm costs. This comes on top ofalready existing favourable investment costs.”

This type of air washer system works without filling and filtermaterial which leads to reduced maintenance costs. HelixX can beadded to a pig house without external construction and subsequentexternal construction works and costs.

On top of that, the decentral air washer has shown good resultswhen it comes down to filtering dust and ammonia from the air.Figures by DLG show: “The dust emission reduction is 85%, and

ammonia reduction is 87.5%.”“Apart from energy reduction we have also managed to reduce

ammonia emissions,” Mr Kerssens said.In essence, HelixX consists of many nozzles on top of a spiral

fan. The nozzles moisturise the emerging air, thus absorbing bothdust and ammonia. The decentrally located air washer units are con-nected to each other as well as with the central water cleaning sta-tion.

Every air washer unit works individually. This way, the operatingcosts, especially power costs for recirculation of the wash water, canbe reduced to a minimum.

The company’s product development team also considered secu-rity issues, as in the case of a power cut, natural thermical processesinside the chimney will continue to guarantee that a part of the airwill still be transported outside.

In addition, security fire valves, compulsory in at least someregions in Germany, can be adjusted inside the air channel.

The German company writes in a press release: “For many pigproducers in regions having a high livestock density, the supplemen-tary air washer is one of the options to consider in order to continuebusiness in the same location within the boundaries of the law.”

Cost effective air washing using HelixX: The air washer for pighouses can easily be built in, inside existing chimneys.HelixX consists of many nozzles on top of a spiral fan.

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He displayed personal support for people making a start in the pig industry.

The Ronald J Lienert MemorialScholarship program was struck withAdelaide University Roseworthy Campus togenerate an Honours student program forpig R&D.

Graeme Pope introduced last year’sinaugural scholarship winner AnthonyMartynuik who described his findings intohigh fibre diets in gestating sows whichlead to reduced aggression (by up to 75%).

“I was well aware of the pressures inthe industry to move towards group housing of pigs and how reducing aggres-sion amongst sows was a key to increased profitability as well as better welfare out-comes,” Anthony said.

Next Anthony is starting his Mastersdegree studies into ‘housing group lactationtrials’ conducted at local commercial piggeries with a small pilot study atRoseworthy.

“What I like most about working withpigs is that you get to see outcomes quicklyand you can project the future based onyour research,” Anthony explained.

After Graeme Pope described the selection process for the 2012 winner,whereby a committee interviewed appli-cants who had to display academic meritand a real interest in the pig industry andthe ability to create a relevant researchenterprise.

Ronald Lienert’s son Nick Lienert, nowthe Managing Director of Lienert AustraliaPty Ltd, announced the winner of The2012 Ronald J Lienert MemorialScholarship.

Emma Greenwood, a student super-vised by Dr Bob Hughes, stated that notonly was she comfortable working withpigs but that when organising her studiesdiary any day involving pigs was circled asan event to be celebrated.

“I particularly enjoy farm work andhave benefited from my time on Jimmyand Rhonda Davis’s operation,” she said.

Emma will be working with Dr PaulHughes focusing on late gestation (last fourweeks) and an extra feed study also out-comes from lower and high levels ofhygiene. She will be conducting herresearch at Roseworthy.



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He explained the importance ofimproving overall herd feed conversionratios (HFCR).

Critical factors were avoiding feedwastage with optimal feeder design, main-taining temperature control through goodventilation and paying attention toimmune function, the ‘big sleeper’ in thearrangement,” Mr Edwards said.

“The value of maintaining hygiene,good biosecurity and vaccination is hard toaccess but certainly significant,” he said.

“Genetic improvement is fundamental,as is the adoption of current proven tech-nology, improved overall and feed manage-ment and finally, removing market imposedrestraints on the use of key products likePaylean,” he concluded.

Dr Eugeni Roura from the Universityof Queensland in his paper ‘Latest researchon feed preference and intake ingredientchoices, manipulating intake and feed efficiency’ spoke on the umani (or savouri-ness) effect in livestock diets.

His work is included in the Pork CRCprogram 1B.

Dr Roger Campbell CEO of the PorkCRC next reported on ‘Grain processingand feed efficiency, the biggest factors inhow well pigs use feed.’

Quoting Dr Mike Gidley fromQueensland University, “how a grain isprocessed will have a bigger effect on energy than the actual grain used,” DrCampbell revealed.

Test results on particle size of sorghumand barley and advantages of using discmills instead of roller mills were also discussed.

“Lupins can be useful in diets if yougrind them and sorghum has the highestDE levels but worst feed efficiency,” andfinally Dr Campbell concluded, “how yourgrain is processed is going to have a majoreffect.”

The final session of the seminar wasthe APL marketing update delivered byLiam Silk, Senior Brand Manager at APLand Peter Smith, Marketing Manager atAPL

Liam stated that not only had therebeen more fresh pork demand but also anincrease in inclusion of Australian pork inthe processed sector. The Christmas period,in particular, had been good for the industry.

“This and other factors like producersbeing able to build production to meetdemand had resulted in an increase of $44million to profits in 2011,” he said.

“Consumer recall of pork advertisingwas running at more than 65% of consumers and recall of the Pork logo was

up from 24% to 45%,” he added.“Winning in retail – a butcher’s battle

plan, another APL initiative to hold andimprove retail butcher’s market againstsupermarket domination, was also showingsigns of success,” Liam revealed.

Much of Peter Smith’s talk was devotedto strategies for the industry if freshimports are allowed to enter Australia andhow the industry can prepare for such aneventuality.

“Up to 40% of consumers buy on priceand imports are estimated to undercut localproduction by around 15%, leading to avolume loss of between 15% to 35%,” hestated.

“The APL strategy is to ‘defend, delayand differentiate’. Layers of armour will berequired that includes developing brands,customer tailored pigs, and developingindividual producer relationships withretailers and consumers.

“If the import threat doesn’t eventuatewe can use the capability to attack rival

protein suppliers,” he concluded.Following the seminar was the ‘Trade

partnership program from 4 to 6 pm.Company representatives had the

opportunity to present short informationsessions to small groups of growers and students.

This session worked well with growersbeing able to access information on animalhealth, building and shed equipment,breeding and genetics as well as pig nutri-tion.

The South Australian Pig Industry Daywas without doubt a great success and acredit to the organisers and seminar partici-pants – the grower turnout in particularwas exceptional.

Apart from Pork Journal being in attendence representatives from The StockJournal and ABC radio Country Hour wereon hand.

Dr Roger Campbell and Greg Bissetwere interviewed by the ABC live for anational audience.

v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Above: RogerCampbell, CEO ofthe Pork CRC wasinterviewed live forthe ABC’s CountryHour program.Left: Neil Gannon(right) who hasrecently joinedBiomin chats togrowers at the SouthAustralian PigIndustry Day.


Breeding better pigs for AustraliaThe world’s most advanced genetic resources to enhance our customers’ profits

PICBOAR 500 is ideal for:• Maximising weight gain in a fixed time

through excellent feed conversion ratio

• Heavier market weights

• Higher shed throughput – progeny reach target weights quicker

• Reduced weight variationin finished pigs

Improve feed conversion withthis high performance sire

PICBOAR500

PICBOAR 427 is ideal for:• Maximising saleable meat yield

• Producing a carcass with superiorconformation, highly acceptableto the Singapore market

• Low backfat, high leanpercentage and high muscle

• Reduced variation infinished pigs

Add muscle to your operationwith this top performing boar

PICBOAR427

Camborough 42 is the mostprolific pig available and offers:• Reproductive consistency and efficiency

• Good mothering withexceptional milking ability

• Docile temperament

• High conception ratesand efficient progeny

Take advantage of the world standardin female reproduction performance

CAMBOROUGH™ 42

Camborough 29’s hybrid vigourallows customers to focus onefficient production through:• More born alive and more pigs weaned

• Durability and longevity

• Reduced carcass variation

• Reduced multiplication costs

Add efficiency to your operationwith this new Camborough sow

CAMBOROUGH™ 29

PICBOAR 400 offers:• High yielding progeny with

excellent carcass characteristics

• Superior carcass conformation,highly acceptable to theSingapore market

• Suitability for a range ofintensive and extensivepiggery operations

Add value to your operationwith this high lean performer

PICBOAR400

Widen your competitive advantage,by calling 1800 622 660

or 02 6956 2105 or contact your local PICrepresentative on 0418 575 101

1250

027S

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www.picaustralia.com.au


M+PAC A technologically advanced vaccine with higher efficacy, higher antibody titres, reduced lung lesion scores and less coughing. M+PAC offers fast acting, long lasting protection against M.hyopneumoniae.

Porcilis APPvac Inactivated vaccine containing serovars 1, 7 and 15, that aids in the control of pleuropneumonia caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infection in grower pigs.

PLEvac Only 3-in-1 vaccine to protect sows and baby pigs against parvo, lepto and erysipelas.

ECOvac Inactivated vaccine for sows and gilts to protect against E.coli scours in neonatal piglets.

ECOvacLE Inactivated vaccine for sows and gilts to protect against E.coli scours in neonatal piglets and erysipelas and leptospiral infections in sows and gilts.

Trust our comprehensive range of products. Trust our ongoing and committed service. Trust our consistency of supply.

Trust

MSD Animal Health91-105 Harpin Street, Bendigo East VIC 3550Free Call: 1800 033 461www.msd-animal-health.com.au

ECOvacLE Inactivated vaccine for sows and gilts to protect against E.coli scours in neonatal piglets and erysipelas and leptospiral infections in sows and gilts.

RRA/MSD11778

REPRODUCTIVE SOLUTIONS

Plan, organise and control your herd’s breeding cycle to time and increase production.

RESPIRATORY DISEASE SOLUTIONSFlexible and fast acting antimicrobial medications

with high level efficacy and prolonged tissue levels.Ask your vet for more information.

cycle to time and increase production. Plan, organise and control your herd’

EPROR

cycle to time and increase production. s breeding Plan, organise and control your herd’

NSOITUOL SEIVCTDUEPRO

Ask your vet for more information.with high level efFlexible and fast acting antimicrobial medications

TORRARATORIPSRE

cycle to time and increase production. s breeding

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Ask your vet for more information.ficacy and prolonged tissue levels.with high level ef

Flexible and fast acting antimicrobial medications

TUOLSE SEADISY TOR

Ask your vet for more information.ficacy and prolonged tissue levels.

Flexible and fast acting antimicrobial medications

NSOIT

RRA/MSD11778

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3550VIC East Bendigo

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Pork Journal January/February 2012

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Transcript of Pork Journal January/February 2012