Terrence O'KeefeTerrence O'Keefe is content director at WATT Global Media. www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-usFrom the Author - Page 35Egg ProductionEgg Bill isn’t dead yet, says United Egg Producers presidentPerhaps one of the biggest surprises for me at the United Egg Producers' (UEP) annual meeting in Asheville, N.C., was that the association hadn't given up on passage of the Egg Bill. Chad Gregory, president and CEO, UEP, said, "We haven't thrown in the towel yet on the Egg Bill.Egg ProductionCost of producing eggs sets new record highs around the globe"Over the last twelve months, the cost of producing eggs has reached all-time record high levels across the globe due to high grain costs, new housing systems in Europe and regulations or legislation in many countries," said Peter van Horne, economist, Wageningen University and the International Egg Commission (IEC). Data presented by van Horne at the IEC conference in Cape Town, South Africa, was derived from Wageningen University research, company information collected by Iowa State's Egg Industry Center and data collected by the IEC.Egg ProductionAmerican Egg Board campaign addressing Beyond EggsThe American Egg Board has launched a marketing campaign to counter the remarkable amount of attention that Beyond Eggs has garnered in popular media outlets. The focus of the campaign is that eggs are one simple ingredient with over 20 functional properties that provide the natural, clean label solution that consumers want and food processors need.Broilers & TurkeysPasture-raised egg producer vies for Super Bowl ad spotTens of thousands of small businesses from around the United States submitted videos to enter Intuit's Small Business Big Game contest. Locally Laid, a small pasture-raised egg company located near Duluth, Minn., was named one of the lucky 20 companies that are still in the running for the big prize, a professionally produced television advertisement airing during Super Bowl coverage.Broilers & TurkeysEl éxito del control de plagas en la producción avícolaUn especialista en control de plagas de IVESCO, explica que el éxito del control de las plagas que ha tenido la industria del huevo no se va a mantener por sí sola si no se continúa con el énfasis de los productores. Los roedores son la principal plaga y la más difícil.Broilers & TurkeysFormer USDA officials challenge Pew reportThe Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production report released in 2008 was highly critical of most aspects of modern livestock and poultry production systems. The Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming has petitioned Congress to enact legislation significantly restricting the use of antibiotics in food producing animals as a means of reducing the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria that are human pathogens.Broilers & TurkeysUS researcher receives Brazilian grant for laying hen researchDr. Richard Gates, agricultural and biological engineering professor, University of Illinois, has been awarded a grant for special visiting researchers, Pesquisadors Visitante Especial (PVE), by the Brazilian government. The PVE program aims to attract senior foreign researchers recognized internationally as leaders in priority areas, such as engineering, technology and health sciences.Egg ProductionAdding cage-free production was good for businessMidwest Poultry Services has added capacity to house 500,000 cage-free hens over the last five years to meet existing customers’ needs. Bob Krouse, president, Midwest Poultry Services, and former United Egg Producers chairman, said that the company had existing supermarket accounts who wanted to be able to offer their retail customers eggs from cage-free hens and that they preferred to get these eggs from their regular supplier.Broilers & TurkeysSalmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms raises questions on when to recallThe recent outbreak of human Salmonellosis cases that have been linked to consuming chicken from three Foster Farms facilities and the actions by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foster Farms and some of Foster Farms’ customers have been difficult for some legislators, media and consumers to understand. I don’t claim to have any special knowledge of the events before and after the USDA issued a public health alert stating Foster Farms' chicken products were associated with the outbreak, but I hope I can help some people gain a better understanding of why some of the parties have taken the steps that they have.Broilers & TurkeysEconomist says protein prices down in 2014, but profits to riseWhile the weather in the Corn Belt has not been ideal this year, analysts are still expecting a record-high corn crop. Dr. Thomas Elam, economist, FarmEcon LLC, forecast at the Farm Journal/Watt Grain and Meat Outlook webinar the average farm price for corn at $4.50 per bushel for the 2013-2104 crop year, a drop of over $2.25 per bushel from 2012-2013.Egg ProductionMarket driving growth in cage-free productionI have been asked whether I am against cage-free production of eggs, because, I suppose, I have championed the U.S. egg industry taking steps to preserve the option of housing hens in cages. My reply is always the same: I have nothing against cage-free egg production.Broilers & TurkeysConsumers think they know how farmers care for livestock, poultryIn consumer surveys conducted both in 2003 and 2013, consumers were asked the question, "How knowledgeable do you consider yourself about animal care issues by meat, poultry, fish, egg and dairy farmers and food processors?" The results reveal that people think they know more about animal care issues today than they thought they did 10 years ago.Previous PagePage 35 of 59Next Page