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Online Hotel Booking Open for Moncton Convention Update on Avian Influenza in British Columbia Pilgrim’s Pride Closes 3 Chicken Plants Sanderson: Chicken Supply Cuts Necessary Russian Poultry Self-Sufficiency In 4 Years CPRC Request for Letters of Intent International Poultry Council To Meet In Rome US Country-Of-Origin Labeling to Take Effect as Scheduled Conferences, Courses and Workshops
Online Hotel Booking Open for Moncton Convention Planning for the CPEPC Convention June 7-9, 2009 in Moncton NB is now in high gear. This will be the first time that the convention will be held in New Brunswick and you will be greatly surprised and pleased with what the region has to offer. We have secured one of the best golf courses in the area, Fox Creek for the CPEPC golf tournament on June 7th. Golfers will be able to sleep in on Sunday morning as we have arranged for a late morning brunch and a 12:00 noon tee-off. We have also arranged for an off-site “Kitchen Party” for the Monday night of the convention. This should be great fun and you will certainly get a healthy portion of down east hospitality. We have made arrangements with the hotel for on-line booking of your accommodation. On line bookings at the Delta Beauséjour for the CPEPC Moncton Convention can now be made from the link at the CPEPC Convention web page. Be sure to book early to get your choice of accommodation. You are also encouraged to check our website frequently to keep abreast of the program as it firms up.
After 32 years, through 3 office locations, 4 secretaries, 4 presidents and an unknown number of Boards, Brian Dahms is retiring from full time industry issues work with CPEPC to be our meeting planner on a consulting basis. The Toronto office closed March 2, 2009 and all egg sector issues will be handled out of the Ottawa office by new Manager, Egg Sectors, André Patry (E-mail: andrepatry@cpepc.ca; Tel: 613 724-6605 Ext 4). Brian is working from home to get things ready for CPEPC's 2009 Convention, as well as future conventions and sectoral meetings, and members will see him in Moncton in June. Update on Avian Influenza in British Columbia Cleaning and disinfection activities on the first infected premises have been completed and approved by the CFIA. In-barn composting to inactivate any avian influenza virus on the second infected premises was completed on February 24. Preparation for cleaning and disinfection there has begun. In accordance with international guidelines, Canada can regain its notifiable-avian-influenza free status 3 months after all cleaning and disinfection activities on infected premises have been completed and approved by the CFIA, provided that surveillance has been carried out during that 3-month period. Surveillance continues on the commercial poultry premises within 3 km of the first and second infected premises and any in-contact premises still under movement restriction outside of the 3-km radius. The total number of quarantined premises as of February 27, 2009 was 43. Canadian Food Inspection Agency Update Mise à jour de l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments
Pilgrim’s Pride Closes 3 Chicken Plants Pilgrim's Pride has announced that it will idle 3 US chicken processing plants and lay off approx. 3,000 workers. The poultry processor, which is currently reorganizing under bankruptcy protection, says these measures will reduce production by as much as 10%. The chicken processing facilities in Douglas, Ga., El Dorado, Ark., and Farmerville, La, which are expected to shut by mid May, are estimated to generate savings of US$110 mln a year as the company works to slash costs in an effort to emerge from bankruptcy, Pilgrim's Pride said. "The idling of these three plants is a painful reflection of the unprecedented challenges facing our company and our industry from an excess supply of chicken and weakening consumer demand resulting from a crippled economy," said Pilgrim's Pride Chief Executive Don Jackson. www.worldpoultry.net Sanderson: Chicken Supply Cuts Necessary According to Sanderson Farms Chairman and CEO Joe. F Sanderson Jr., chicken market improvements will have to come from supply cuts. The poultry industry must get supply in line with demand if chicken prices are to improve, he said, adding that it is particularly important now as Americans are avoiding dining out. He continued in saying that it is unclear whether current declines in egg sets will be enough to bring supply into balance with the decreased demand. "We hope the economy will improve, but we suspect it might be well into 2010 before the American consumer returns to restaurants," Sanderson said. Production at all Sanderson Farms plants is running below capacity, and it is not yet sure when the chicken processor will resume full production. In December, the company posted the largest quarterly loss in its history. ww.worldpoultry.net
Russian Poultry Self-Sufficiency In 4 Years Russia will be able to produce as much poultry meat as it needs within about 4 years, an official has reported. According to first Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, the country would be able to fill its poultry meat needs "within the next 2-3 years". Additionally, he announced that Russia produced 18% more poultry in 2008 than in 2007. www.worldpoultry.net CPRC Request for Letters of Intent Spring is the time when the Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) prepares to call on the poultry research community of Canada with their annual request for Letters of Intent. Each year the focus changes based on the current research needs of the industry. The Board of Directors makes the final decision for research areas of focus. This year CPRC requests research in two areas of importance. 1) Poultry welfare and behaviour, including but not limited to: euthanasia, transportation, beak trimming, relationship between productivity and bird welfare, effect of housing, aggression, feed restriction, studies on pain, fear, frustration and emotional states, economic impact of improving poultry welfare. (2) Food Safety and quality, with respect to the impact of poultry health and disease, including but not limited to: new and rapid diagnostic testing for food-borne bacteria (on-farm and in product), ability to eradicate pathogens, development of new vaccines and treatments for disease, differentiating birds exposed to a disease and those with antibodies from a vaccine, methods of disease transmission, preparedness for disease outbreaks, effects of toxins/bacteria on bird and human health. As is the case every year, the open ad-hoc category exists for research projects not fitting into the current CPRC requests but still deemed a worthy area of study. All research funding applications are rigorously screened by a poultry science committee who recommend projects for approval to the CPRC Board of Directors. The Board approves worthy studies and government funding matches (as high as 7:1) are sourced by CPRC. Research projects may take 2-3 years and the scientists report the ongoing progress of their studies to CPRC. CPEPC is a member of the CPRC Board of Directors.
International Poultry Council To Meet In Rome Members of the International Poultry Council (IPC), representing the poultry industries in more than 20 countries, will gather in Rome on April 30 and May 1 for the organization’s spring meeting. The meeting will be held at the Ambasciatori Palace hotel in Rome’s historic city center. The IPC Executive Committee will meet on the morning of April 30, and the general session will commence that afternoon. IPC President Jim Sumner said invited speakers include representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and Rabobank. The meeting will also include an update on the international study on salmonella testing procedures, along with industry updates presented by individual IPC members. The Italian Poultry Association, which is an IPC member, will act as host organization for the meeting. Registration cost for the meeting is $530, or approximately €418. A special group rate on hotel rooms is also available to attendees. Information on registering for the meeting and for the hotel is posted on the IPC web site, at www.internationalpoultrycouncil.org. Deadline for making hotel reservations is March 9. Headquartered in Paris, the IPC was organized in 2005 and is comprised of 22 countries representing approximately 90 percent of the world’s poultry production. IPC also has a growing number of associate members, which includes poultry companies from around the world. Companies interested in associate membership are encouraged to contact Executive Secretary George Winn at gaw@ellijay.com. US Country-Of-Origin Labeling to Take Effect as Scheduled Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the final rule for the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program will go into effect as scheduled on March 16, 2009. A letter from Vilsack was sent to companies inviting them to follow additional voluntary labeling practices. The rule, published in the Federal Register on Jan.15, 2009, has been under regulatory review by USDA pursuant to a Jan. 20, 2009, memorandum from Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff. “I strongly support country-of- origin labeling—it’s a critical step toward providing consumers with additional information about the origin of their food,” said Vilsack. “The Department of Agriculture will be closely reviewing industry compliance with the rule and will evaluate the practicality of the suggestions for voluntary action in my letter.” During the regulatory review process, Secretary Vilsack determined that allowing the rule to go into effect and carefully monitoring implementation and compliance by retailers and their suppliers would provide the best avenue to evaluate the program. The results of the evaluation period will help Vilsack determine whether additional rulemaking may be necessary to provide consumers with adequate information. The COOL regulation requires country-of-origin labeling for muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), pork, lamb, goat and chicken; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables; peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and ginseng sold by designated retailers. These commodities must be labeled at retail to indicate the country of origin. The final rule outlines requirements for labeling covered commodities and the recordkeeping requirements for retailers and suppliers. The rule prescribes specific criteria that must be met for a commodity to bear a “United States Country of Origin” declaration. The rule also contains provisions for labeling covered commodities of foreign origin. For complete information on the COOL statute and regulation, go to www.ams.usda.gov/cool. Watt Poultry
Conferences, Courses and Workshops
To find out more about the work of OFAC, see www.ofac.org. |
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The Ontario Farm Animal Council
and AFCare 2009 Annual Meeting will take place
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at Guelph Place.