A Queensland piggery that released around 4,000 sows due to waters from the Burnett River in north Queensland flooding has since been rewarded with loyalty from its pigs. The manager of the piggery in Mundubbera, west of Bundaberg, told ABC Radio National today that the majority of sows had found their way back to the operation, many walking back into their homely captivity with new piglets. Piggery shareholder Russell Bishop said that many of the pregnant sows had found higher ground and the sows... ...Read more »

Researchers from the US have found a flu virus that is prevalent in pig populations that is easily spread and highly lethal in ferrets, a recognized model of human influenza infection and transmissibility. The researchers used the ferret model to assess the pathogenicity and transmissibility of H1N2 and H3N2 influenza viruses. The researchers found that one virus in particular [A/Swine/Korea/1204/2009; Sw/1204 (H1N2)] was particularly deadly in ferrets, causing death within 10 days of inoculation,... ...Read more »

KR Castlemaine has  launched a campaign for a pre-packaged ham product with the claim to be “natural”, using new technologies to become the “first Australian pre-packaged ham that is artificially preservative-free”. This new range of ham is said to be produced using cutting-edge High Pressure Pasteurisation (HPP) technology. The company claims that it “does not use heat”, thereby preserving texture and nutritional value for the product. HR Castlemaine also says  the new technology ... ...Read more »

Australia’s peak pork industry organisation, Australian Pork Limited, has criticised the Australian Government for failing to notify the industry of illegal pork imports from South Korea in 2010, when South Korea was in the midst of a serious outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Chief executive officer of Australian Pork Limited (APL), Andrew Spencer said the APL only found out about the illegal imports through a government report published last week by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and... ...Read more »

The Australian Government will provide pig farmers with the opportunity to earn carbon credits for burning their pig manure, if proposed new legislation is approved under the government’s new Carbon Farming Initiative. The Federal Government has established the Carbon Farming Initiative to develop carbon offsetting methodologies so Australia’s farmers can receive credits for reducing their carbon output. Under the Federal Government’s ‘Methodology for the Destruction of Methane Generated... ...Read more »

Concerns that the German dioxin crisis could force European pigmeat producers into losses have pushed the EU into offering emergency storage subsidies. Handouts will vary by products being stored and the European Commission is offering storage options of 90, 120 or 150 days. A Brussels report said pigmeat prices fell 2.4% across the EU (7.2% in Germany) immediately after the dioxin crisis in Saxony, and the Commission fears “a further price decline”. German pig farmer group Interessengemeinschaft... ...Read more »

Western Australian farmer Sue Middleton has won the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award in recognition of her work turning piggery waste into usable energy. Middleton, who runs a diverse pork, citrus and grain-farming operation at Wongan Hills, north of Perth, has a vision  of creating a more sustainable pork industry by converting the waste produced at piggeries into biogas. “Sue’s ambition to investigate the enormous potential of piggery waste to be converted into energy epitomises the efforts... ...Read more »

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a survey on Salmonella levels detected in slaughtered pigs across the EU in 2006-07 indicating that Salmonella was found in one in ten pigs for human consumption. Salmonella was estimated on average to be present in 10.3 per cent of pigs slaughtered for human consumption, according to the EU-wide report from an EFSA Task Force. Levels for Salmonella detected in pigs varied from 0% to 29% between Member States. Among all Salmonella detected,... ...Read more »