TheDairySite Newsletter - 11 November 2011

Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Need For Balanced Energy Policy

Corn production for 2011-12 is forecast at 146.7 bushels per acre, the lowest since 2003-04. The government has also reduced the estimated feed and residual usage by 100 million bushels.

More and more of the US corn crop is being used for corn-ethanol production, increasing the pressure on livestock producers.

Corn prices have roughly tripled since the government, in 2006, mandated ethanol be blended into gasoline. The price of meat has risen steadily alongside this.

American Meat Institute President, J. Patrick Boyle, says that "the government urgently needs to implement a more balanced energy policy that doesn't cause as much friction between human food, animal feed and fuel."

EU regulations, in particular Regulation (EC) 1/2005, have led to an improvement in animal welfare during transport, according to a report released by the European Commission.

The report highlighted that there are huge differences between Member States in the progress they have made in implementing the Regulation.

With this in mind, it suggests that the implementation, enforcement and infringement penalties within the EU should be harmonised.

Standards regarding animal welfare differ greatly across Europe. With massive social and economic differences between countries it seems unlikely that animal welfare standards will ever be a level playing field in Europe.

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Setting Health & Safety Standards For The World
International standards for food safety and animal health and welfare can be and often are contentious issues, writes TheCattleSite Editor in Chief Chris Harris.

Challenging Developments For EU Dairy
The European Dairy Association (EDA) discusses fairness in trade relations, biotechnology and its potential impact, and the generic promotion of milk, as it picks three challenging topics for the EU dairy sector at the World Dairy Forum (WDF), Luxembourg.

Toxocara Vitulorum Found In Calves - VLA Report
The most commonly diagnosed causes of diarrhoea were cryptosporidiosis and rotavirus in young calves, coccidiosis in older calves and Johne’s disease in adult cattle, reports the UK's Veterinary Laboratory report for August 2011.

Algeria Dairy and Products Annual Report 2011
Algerian dairy market reopens to US product with newly negotiated sanitary certificate, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. US dairy exports continue to suffer from lack of strong US presence in this market. Development of the domestic dairy sector remains one of the government’s main priorities.

Company News

Animax Announces New Appointments
UK - Animax, an animal health company which is doubling production in response to sales growth, has announced two new appointments.

Global Dairy Cattle Industry News