Terrence O'KeefeTerrence O'Keefe is content director at WATT Global Media. www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-usFrom the Author - Page 32Egg ProductionWill California egg consumers be able to sue HSUS?On my recent visit to the Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, the supply of eggs for California in 2015 was a hot topic of conversation. There seems to be two schools of thought on what will happen in California after the January 1, 2015 implementation of Proposition 2. One group projects that California authorities will not be able to enforce state laws requiring that shell eggs brought into the state must meet Proposition 2 standards and this will result in a California marketplace with an ample supply of shell eggs and with California producers operating at a competitive disadvantage.HomeMaximizing feed efficiency in antibiotic-free swine diets and precision feedingAfter the EU banned the use of antibiotic growth promotersin swine feeds, careful feed formulation has become more important for pigproducers.Egg ProductionChina presents massive opportunities for pork, poultry exportersPork is still the leading meat protein consumed globally, although chicken is catching up. China, which produces and consumes just over half of all the world's pork, plays a big role in making pork the No. 1 animal protein.Egg ProductionEgg production costs in enriched systems coming downOn January 1, 2012, all hens in the E.U. were supposed to be out of conventional cages. This transition didn't happen precisely on January 1, but by year's end it was mostly complete.Broilers & TurkeysCDC: More human illness cases linked to Foster Farms’ chickenThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that it investigation of the foodborne illness outbreak associated with Foster Farms chicken is continuing. The agency previously reported that the outbreak appeared to be over, but recent findings indicate otherwise.Processing & SlaughterEgg packaging pioneer Richard Reifers dies at age 95Richard Reifers who, in addition to his pioneering work with egg cartons, invented the button lock used on all paper and Styrofoam cartons today including Pactiv, Hartmann, Dolco, Omni Pak and many others, died February 22. He had patents on egg trays, meat trays, McDonald's beverage carriers, and on manufacturing and drying molded pulp cartons and trays.Egg ProductionWith organic poultry, sustainability is in the eye of the beholderNationalPublic Radio (NPR) ran a story recently on how high organic soybean prices hadled to a shortage of organic eggs in the U.S. Biofuels policies in the U.S. andE.U. may not make sense from an environmental or energy independencestandpoint, but they have worked wonders at driving up incomes for grainfarmers.Antibiotic-Free MeatCan Chick-fil-A’s cows make antibiotic-free chicken mainstream?Chick-fil-A recently announced its intention to serve only chicken products from birds raised without antibiotics in all of its restaurants within five years. The company currently serves all white meat products processed from chickens that are conventionally raised, which means they may have received antibiotics at some point in their growing cycle.Broilers & TurkeysLower cost, better protection obtained from hatchery vaccinationSelective breeding programs and good house management allowed broiler producers to reduce the time required to raise broilers to 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) to 42 days in 2012. Speaking at an MSD Animal Health & WATTAgnet.com webinar, Dr. Rik Koopman, global technical director, MSD Animal Health, said that the number of days required to raise a 2.5 kilogram broiler is expected to drop to 35 days by 2022.Egg ProductionConsumers say they care where their food comes fromThe US egg industry has been engaged in a struggle with activist groups for a number of years over what the future of the industry will look like, will hens still be predominantly kept in cages or will they be cage-free? The one "stakeholder" group that isn't heard from often in this debate is the consumer.Broilers & TurkeysUnited Egg Producers officially ends efforts to pass Egg BillThe United Egg Producers (UEP) announced that UEP will notseek passage of the national hen housing and welfare legislation known as theEgg Bill.Egg Production2013 Egg Industry Survey: Industry prepares for major changes in 2014The 60 egg companies listed in the 2013 Egg Industry Survey had a total of 263.9 million hens housed on December 31, 2013. With 32 million hens in lay on December 31, 2013, Cal-Maine Foods ranks No. 1.Previous PagePage 32 of 59Next Page