Terrence O'KeefeTerrence O'Keefe is content director at WATT Global Media. www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-usFrom the Author - Page 33Egg ProductionEgg producer looking for big growth in enhanced welfare categoryWhen asked about the impact of implementation of Proposition 2 in California on the growth of cage-free and free-range eggs sales, Matt Materazo, president, U.S. operations, the happy egg co., says that he sees this as a potential turning point for the U.S. egg industry. "It is still unclear what the rules will be. But what is clear is that the industry supplying California is going to have to change," he said.Egg ProductionSelecting a strategy for coping with Proposition 2The Farm Bill was signed into law in the first week of February without either the Egg Bill or King amendment attached. But now we have the Missouri attorney general's lawsuit to block the state of California from imposing Proposition 2-like standards of production on shell eggs brought into the state for sale.Egg ProductionCan innovation offset the cost of lower bird density?Julian Madeley, director general, International Egg Commission, told the audience at the recent United Egg Producers meeting in Atlanta that he believed egg producers and equipment suppliers would continue to innovate and that, within a decade, enriched colonies would produce eggs for the same or at a lesser cost than conventional cages. Besides the mandated additional square inches of floor space in enriched colonies, the colonies are somewhat taller than conventional cages, so enriched housing provides more three-dimensional space per bird.Egg ProductionChina could provide big opportunity for US eggs"You are sitting on top of the No. 1 business in the world with fantastic and phenomenal growth," Matt Tripodi, Euromonitor International, told listeners at the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council winter meeting in Washington.Tripodi was speaking of the market opportunity for U.S. poultry and egg producers in China.Broilers & TurkeysMissouri attorney general challenges California egg lawA lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster challenges a California law set to take effect January 1, 2015, that prohibits shell eggs from being sold in California if they were produced by hens raised in cages that don't comply with California's new size and space requirements. Koster said the California law infringes on the interstate commerce protections of the U.S. Constitution by effectively imposing new requirements on out-of-state farmers.Broilers & TurkeysUn vistazo al control de la salmonela y el campylobacter en productos avícolas en el mundoLaforma más sencilla de describir los dos principales métodos del control de la salmonelaen productos avícolas listos para cocinar es el método europeo, que consiste enerradicarla en la producción en vivo, mientras que el método estadounidense, secentra en la aplicación de intervenciones físicas, químicas y térmicas en elprocesamiento para reducir la incidencia de este microorganismo.Industria Avicola Guia AnnualActivists want answers that Foster Farms situation won’t provideThirtyactivist groups sent an open letter to Ron Foster, CEO, Foster Farms Inc.,asking him to release information about antibiotic use in his company’s broileroperations. A recent outbreak of human Salmonellosis has been linked toready-to-cook chicken products produced at three of Foster Farms’ facilities.Egg ProductionCan the egg industry learn from pork processors?The US layer and swine industries have developed quite differently, but they have some common challenges. Modern confinement housing systems have generally improved animal health and productivity over the free-range systems employed in the past.Processing & SlaughterFoster Farms temporarily suspends operations at Livingston plantFoster Farms announced that it voluntarily and temporarily put operations at its Livingston, Calif., fresh chicken production facility on hold to further expand its USDA-approved safe manufacturing procedures and monitoring systems. Livingston maintenance employees will remain on the job; the remainder of plant employees will be called back when the plant resumes full operations.Egg ProductionLower grain prices might cushion Proposition 2 impact for egg producers in 2014One thing that everyone can agree upon is that it will require more space per bird to meet Proposition 2 requirements, but there is still not a consensus on how many hens will be housed in California come January 1, 2015. National layer flock numbers have increased through 2013, but record levels of egg exports have helped offset a potential domestic oversupply situation. Throw in a dramatic drop in feed costs resulting from the 2013 U.S. grain harvest along with all of these other factors, and 2014 has the potential for lots of surprises.Egg ProductionOnline egg campaign targets consumers interested in health, breakfastThe Internet offers a means of more focused targeting of individual consumers who meet certain criteria with advertisements or selected editorial material. The shift from marketing to a broad audience, hoping that your target audience is tuned in and listening to your message, to using the Internet to target specific consumers who are online and engaged can provide marketing success at a lower cost to egg producers, according to Kevin Burkum, senior vice president, marketing, American Egg Board (AEB).Processing & SlaughterConsumer Reports not consistent when questioning motivesWhen I read the ConsumerReports’ article, "The high cost of cheap chicken,"on the testing organization’s latest sampling results for retail chickenproducts, I was struck by the lack of consistency in how opinions fromdifferent groups were presented. The article is quick to blame antibiotic use asa culprit in the presence of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics on thechicken sampled in the study, yet they do not share the resistance data for thebacteria collected from the chicken that was labeled “organic” or “noantibiotics.”Previous PagePage 33 of 59Next Page