Nyhedsklip 68:

December 2014

Technical Account Manager for Sweden, Finland & Denmark Purpose: • Technical support of Topigs Norsvin distributors and InGene clients in Scandinavia. • Grow sales in Scandinavia. Main Responsibilities: Technical support • Provide technical support for Topigs Norsvin InGene clients in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. • Provide production support and training of key persons in modern pig production and genetic management techniques. • Coordinate additional technical support from international product specialists. Sales and marketing • Increase customer base within target segments. • Stimulate knowledge transfer to distributors, industry partners and clients. • Build strong relationships with key decision makers of clients and prospects. Key Measures: Performance will be measured against the following parameters: • Successful implementation of the in house nucleus breeding concept InGene in Scandinavia; technical performance; genetic lag. • Increasing profitable customer base. • Customer satisfaction and complaint levels. The Candidate: • Proven track record in the pig industry preferably pig genetics. • Business experience within Scandinavia.

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• Strong verbal and written communication skills. • Fluent in at least one Scandinavian language (S, N or DK) and in English, written and spoken. • Team player with a high degree of initiative. • Currently living or able to relocate to Norway. Environment: • Reporting to the Regional Director. • A training and development program will be implemented according to the skills of the successful candidate. • Although the office is based at Hamar, Norway, a large part of time will be spent travelling to customer/prospect facilities. For CV submission and further information contact Regional Director Anders T. Øfsti. Phone +47 47 32 70 92 or email: [email protected] Poland, 23.000 sows, manager to our managementteam.

Poldanor S.A. is lookking for a new manager for our pigproduction management team. We are looking for a person with solid experience from management of service and farrowingdepartments, with documented results on a high level, as well as good communication abilities. You will be working with teams of a larger number of employees, so we expect that you have skills in terms of staff management and development.Your role besides this will be to give input of new knowledge, and effective implementation of this in the pig production. Present or previous experience from international large scale pigproduction will be a positive asset. In the beginning you will have assigned a larger sowfarm, where your task will be to improve workroutines, productiontecniques, maintaining of breedingprogram etc. If you want to know more about possibilities and jobcontent , then contact Niels Poulsen for further information ; telephone 0048 600 063 455, or mail ; [email protected] Poldanor S.A. have a pigproduction with 23.000 sows in full line, with own feedproduction and transportdept. We are app. 300 employees in the department. Besides we are farming 13.000 hektars of land, biagas activities, and our own service and building dept. Our activities are located in northwestern part of Poland where we have our headquater. Poldanor S.A. is part of Axzon group, which have similar activities in Ukraine and Russia.

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Agro Business manager – en engelsksproget landbrugsleder uddannelse fra Erhvervsakademi Aarhus Målgruppen er unge med ambitioner om en lederkarriere i landbruget i et internationalt miljø. Den retter sig mod udlændinge, enten de er i gang med et landbrugsstudie i et europæisk land eller de har arbejde på et dansk landbrug. Uddannelsens mål er at fremme landbrugsvirksomheders muligheder for at kunne rekruttere unge uddannede ledere til mellemlederstillinger på store landbrug. Status i udviklingsarbejdet er, at Erhvervsakademi Aarhus – det tidl. Vejlby Landbrugsskole har etableret et samarbejde med fire danskejede landbrug om at starte dette tiltag op. Kort fortalt er uddannelsen bygget op om en toårig økonomi- og lederuddannelse, som gennemføres i Århus og med praktik på landbrug i udlandet eller i Danmark. Erhvervsakademi Århus vil i løbet af 2015 opbygge et rekrutteringssystem i Polen, Slovakiet og Rumænien. I samarbejde med Poldanor, Dan-Slovakia, First Farms og Premium Porc vil vi søge at rekruttere 15 lederaspiranter til at starte på det første hold i september 2016.

I februar 2015 tager vi det første større skridt i den retning med etableringen af et Advisory Board med deltagelse af repræsentanter fra fire ovennævnte landbrug samt en repræsentant fra Dansk Landbrug. Med et statsligt tilskud fra Fonden for Entreprenørskab vil Erhvervsakademiet ambitiøst satse meget på at udforme en ABM uddannelse, som matcher de store landbrugs ønsker til faglige og ledelsesmæssige kompetencer hos mellemledere. Er du interesseret i at høre nærmere om vores planer for ABM og hvordan den kan indgå i et trainee-program, så kontakt: Lars Villemoes, uddannelseschef på Erhvervsakademi Aarhus. Tlf. + 45 7228 6401. Mail: [email protected], Pie Munksgaard, uddannelsesansvarlig for ABM International. Tlf. + 45 72286407 eller Povl Nørgaard, projektleder for ABM International. Tlf. + 45 3172 0145. Mail: [email protected]

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EU + Europe

Cereal production at all-time high in 2014 - FAO World cereal production in 2014 will reach an all-time record of more than 2.5 billion tonnes, show to the latest figures compiled by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

This should be at least 0.3% – around 7 million tonnes – more than the 2013 harvest, thanks to bumper crops in Europe and a record maize output in the US, the FAO announced yesterday (December 11). Indications put this year’s cereal production at 2.532 billion tonnes, according to the FAO’s latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report, issued quarterly. The estimated total includes rice in milled terms. The record harvest will outpace projected world cereal use in 2014/15, allowing stocks to rise to their highest level since 2000 and pushing the global stock-to-use ratio – a proxy measure for supply conditions – to rise to 25.2%, its highest level in 13 years, says the report. According to the FAO’s latest monthly Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released yesterday, the 2014 forecast is now 10mt higher than it was in November. The large upward adjustment is mostly due to a higher forecast for global production of coarse grains, set to reach 1.312mt, just above last year’s record and 8.5mt higher than previously anticipated. The maize output forecast has itself been raised by over 5mt since November, driven mainly by upward adjustments to production levels in China, the EU and Mexico. Source: Agrar Europe 12 December 2014

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Norway struggling to track antibiotic abuse in agriculture Five years after reporting obligations for veterinary medicine use were adopted, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority still lacks a proper overview of agricultural antibiotic abuse.

Since the reporting obligations were adopted, veterinarians, animal health personnel and pharmacies have had a duty to report how much medication is prescribed for animal use, Agra Europe's sister title EU Food Law reports. The information is collected in the Veterinary Drug Register (VetReg) to get an overview of the use of medicines and perform risk-based supervision. So far, however, technical problems and poor data quality have, according to the authority, made it difficult to keep track of who uses the most antibiotics in agriculture. “The register is still in something of an introductory phase. Part of the issue is IT solutions, and the fact that the introduction for pharmacies collided with the advent of their new electronic prescription solution. It's one of the reasons why this has taken time,” says authority functioning supervisory director Susanne Øyen to Norwegian agricultural newspaper Nationen.“The data quality still isn’t good enough to create reports that can provide accurate enough information.” Source: Agrar Europe 11 December 2014

Finland finds new pork markets to replace Russia Finland has begun shipping pork to new export markets as it looks to limit the damage caused by Russia’s import ban – in place since the end of January.

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Finnish pork is now being exported to Georgia and exports to Armenia are awaiting confirmation from the country’s authorities. Exports to Georgia got underway in July 2014 after the two countries agreed on veterinary certificate models drawn up by the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira). By the end of August, Georgia had already brought in around 150t of Finnish pork. "The volumes of pork exported from Finland to Russia have been so large that several new export countries must be found to replace it. Evira is helping operators to exploit alternative markets," says Senior Inspector Joni Haapanen from Evira.

Finnish pigmeat exports to selected destinations (January to August)

Source: Eurostat Russia closed its doors to pork from across the EU in late January following cases of African Swine Fever in Lithuania. The ban has weakened the profitability of Finnish meat industry. Customs statistics show that Finland exported around 5 000 tonnes of pork to Russia in 2013 and a further 2 000t of pig offal. Source: Agrar Europe 12 December 2014

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EU bans Mexican horsemeat after damning report The EU has imposed a temporary ban on horsemeat imports from Mexico after the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) found ‘serious shortcomings’ in the way products are checked for banned substances.

In a decision published in the EU’s Official Journal, the Commission says recent audits found major deficiencies in the “capacity of the Mexican authorities to carry out reliable checks and in particular to attest the absence of substances prohibited by Council Directive 96/22/EC”. A highly critical new FVO report highlights weak controls over both traceability and veterinary medicine residues, noting “no significant improvements” since previous audits in 2011 and 2012. The report points out that the bulk of the horsemeat supplied by Mexico comes from US animals – many of which are brought into the country with invalid or questionable documentation. “Given the availability of veterinary medicinal products prohibited in the EU, the lack of controls on live animals, the unreliability of the food chain information and weaknesses in the traceability systems in place, the competent authority is not in a position to provide all the necessary guarantees specified in the export certificates,” it adds. The FVO team also found examples of serious animal welfare problems both during transport and when reaching slaughterhouses. Mexican trade data indicates that the country exported almost 10 000 tonnes of horsemeat to the EU in 2013, around half of which went to Belgium, with the balance going to the Netherlands and France.

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Campaign groups happy News of the ban was welcomed by animal protection group Humane Society International/Europe, which has long campaigned against trade in Mexican horsemeat primarily on animal welfare grounds. Source: Agrar Europe 10 December 2014

Romania: New food labeling rules come into force in Romania

New European food labeling rules have come into force starting on Saturday, seeking to inform consumers about allergy-inducing ingredients, and from 2016 labels will also include information on the nutritional value of the products, according to Romalimenta, the Romanian Federation of Food Industry Employers. This regulation – EU 1169/2011 – would help EU consumers to eat healthier food and would better protect those who suffer from intolerance to certain food products. The European Commission detailed these new measures on Thursday. The measures will progressively come into force starting on December 13, three years after their adoption, following numerous conflicts and compromises with the food industry.

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Romalimenta pointed out that it will not be mandatory for the products currently on shelves to have the new labels starting on December 13, those not living up to the requirements of the regulations continuing to be sold until stocks are depleted. In order to avoid food waste, the European regulations also allow the sale of products irrespective of how long their expiration date is. Some frozen, dried or canned products have longer expiration dates and can remain on the market for several years, so products with old labels can still be sold. According to Romalimenta, the changing of the labels will not result in a price hike. Source: Agrar Europe 12 December 2014

Ukraine: Ukraine lays out new strategy for agri-food sector By Eugene Vorotnikov and Max Green Published: 15 December 2014 03:01 PM The Ukrainian government has laid out a new set of measures aimed at strengthening the agri-food sector, which has paid a heavy price for the country’s economic crisis and ongoing conflict with Russia.

Presenting the package , Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the goal was to conquer foreign markets and boost the percentage of locally-produced goods sold to domestic consumers. “It is unacceptable that Europe’s number one agrarian state imports half of its food products. We should be exporting rather than importing,” Pravda quotes him as telling a ministerial meeting. To help take advantage of closer ties with the EU, the government is fast-tracking efforts to bring its own standards up to levels required by Brussels.

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Kiev believes this can be achieved by the third quarter of 2015, despite the fact that up to 90% Ukranian meat producers and processors do not currently comply with EU standards.

Farmland sales As part of moves to remove red-tape, the government aims to lift current restrictions on the sale of farmland, which ministers see as a major obstacle to agricultural development. According to government analysts, this will make it possible for land to be purchased and leased by large agricultural holdings, as well as small and medium farmers. Agriculture minister Alex Pavlenko said the changes would be a ‘big plus’ for both large and small investors, suggesting the necessary legal changes could be implemented within the next three to six months. At the same time, Kiev is planning a massive privatisation of state-owned enterprises and agricultural holdings, which will be sold to private investors, as the government does not have enough funds for their development. As well as creating move favourable conditions for investments in the national agricultural sector, the government plans to introduce newmechanisms for the promotion of Ukrainian farm goods in foreign markets - and in particular during international exhibitions. To achieve this, the government plans to establish a flagship "Product of Ukraine” brand for products sold on international markets. It also aims to set up a state agricultural reserve to help ensure the country’s food security.

Support for farmers Meanwhile, Yatsenyuk said a new version of the law on state support for agriculture would shortly be submitted to Parliament. The government plans to keep the current system of preferential taxation of farmers until January 1, 2018. It also plans to extend subsidised loans to help farmers pay for equipment, fuel and other resources. Agriculture ministry data suggests the value of loans taken out by Ukrainian farmers fell to UAH8.7 billion in the first ten months of this year – down by around UAH3 billion compared with January-October 2014. Source: Agrar Europe 15 December 2014

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Russia: ASF outbreaks: Russian pig farms recovering In the aftermath of the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks, the pig industry in the southern part of Russia, the Kuban Area, is now recovering, according to a report from the region’s Ministry of Economy and Development.

Photo: AFP Photo / Petras Malukas The report indicates that since the beginning of this year the number of pigs in Krasnodar Krai, which had dropped significantly due to ASF outbreaks in 2008-2012, has risen by 10% - up to 327.8 thousand head. During the outbreak period it is estimated that the spread of the disease claimed 200,000 head of pigs – about 40% of the total pig population in the region. Before the epidemic the total pig population in Kuban Area was 500,000 head. Source: Pig Progress 12 December 2014

New Zealand: NZ farmers tighten tap on milk production FARMERS in New Zealand, the world’s largest dairy exporter, are reining in milk production as a flood of supply from Europe and the United States pummels prices, a sign the “white gold” rush that has fuelled the New Zealand economy for years is over. Last season’s record-high prices have fallen well out of reach as the supply glut and a

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slowdown in buying from China and Russia batter New Zealand’s largest export industry. New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra Cooperative Group — the world’s biggest dairy processor — is expected to cut its farmgate milk price forecast yesterday to a six-year low of less than NZ$5 (US$4.20) per kg of milk solids, from NZ$5.30 currently. In a huge blow to farmers, economists expect the new price to fall well below the average cost of production and will knock around NZ$5.5 billion from New Zealand’s US$180 billion agriculture-based economy. “What we’re going to see is quite weak trade numbers over the next six months or so as the price fall to date comes through the official data, and that will show up in the current account and the terms of trade,” BNZ economist Doug Steel said. Steel said, however, that it was too early to detect a fall in annualized production. Lower output may mark the end of a six-year, China-driven boom during which both prices and production hit record highs. The dairy industry last year accounted for about a third of New Zealand’s economic growth and about a quarter of its exports.

Source: Agrar Europe 15 December 2014

Canada: Strong Canadian pig sector facing uncertain 2015 Canadian pig farmers are facing an uncertain future from a marketing perspective heading into 2015, with a number of factors on both the supply and demand sides of the equation that could swing prices one way or the other.

“After a very profitable 2014 . . . we’re at pivot point,” said Tyler Fulton, director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services. He said porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), and the resulting decline in pig supplies in North America, was behind much of the strength over the past year.

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Reported PEDv cases in the US have moved up slightly in recent weeks, but instances of the virus are still running well behind the levels seen at this time a year ago. “I think that’s an indication that the effect from the disease will be muted, compared to year-ago levels,” said Fulton. Meanwhile, other factors at play on the supply side have been camouflaged by the ongoing effect of PEDv. Fulton said there was talk in the industry about a growth in the US breeding herd, with upwards of 100 000 more sows coming on stream within the next year. Together with productivity gains, that haven’t been detected due to losses from PEDv, Fulton said there was solid evidence that suggests that there will be a significant increase in the pig supply by midsummer 2015.

Price volatility On the demand side, the beneficial effect of extremely high beef prices has favoured pork over the past 10 months, said Fulton. However, the beef market has declined recently. If that decline in beef continues, it would weigh on the pork sector as well. Also on the demand front, the US economy is looking relatively strong and consumers will conceivably have more disposable income given the latest weakness in crude oil. Fulton said both factors would be supportive for demand for red meat. The weaker Canadian dollar was another favourable factor for Canadian producers. All of these things, independently, are big features, and each could create price swings of up to 15%, said Fulton. “If everything aligned, we could be looking at really volatile markets with 30% to 40% price moves,” he added. “It could go both ways, it could go higher or lower,” said Fulton. “This past year, the question was ‘will we have good prices, or will we have phenomenal prices?’” said Fulton. “Now there is the potential for us to be looking at unprofitable hog production at this time next year.” He said it was

South America: Argentina’s government allows exports of 1 mln tons of wheat Argentina’s Ministry of Economy announced the permission for farmers to export one million tons of wheat planted in the 2014/2015 season. So farmers are allow to sell this volume since January 1st. This new quota is added to a previous permission of one million

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tons – set up in November. Yesterday, a group of 400 wheat growers from the Buenos Aires province threatened to do a “wheat strike” – not proving the cereal in the domestic market. They accused the government of producing a cartel that results in a discount of US$ 70 of the price paid for the grain. Most farmers were from the region of Tres Arroyos, which accounts for 25 percent of the wheat output of Argentina. Source: Meltwather 15 December 2014

Africa: Nigeria sees mobile technology as key to agricultural success Already this year, an estimated 14 million Nigerian farmers have received support payments by mobile phone. This system is now being replicated across the African continent.

There are an estimated 635 million mobile phone users in sub-Saharan Africa, a figure set to reach 930 million conservatively by the end of 2019. Nigeria alone has some 177 million mobile phone owners, the seventh highest ownership level in the world, representing almost 95% of its population. As Nigeria’s agriculture and rural minister Dr Akinwumi Adesina told the Chatham House Food Security forum in London, “agriculture is a business, not a development activity, so we must add value to every single thing we produce”. “For too long we have seen agriculture as a way of managing poverty, but to create wealth, you need the private sector,” he said.

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Africa is now targeting US$1 trillion in agriculture and agri-business growth by 2030, according to Adesina, with billionaires now arriving on the scene to invest in new processing zones. Although the African Development Bank has revised its continental-wide growth forecast down to 5.1% for 2014, investors remain optimistic on future returns.

Processing capacity Nigeria has opened several new ‘Staple Crop Processing Zones’ in recent years, offering land, infrastructure and tax incentives to private investors. “We are the largest in West Africa in the production of pineapples and tomatoes, but we don’t process them. We are allowing our products to rot away because we are not processing them,” Adesina said. So replacing tomato paste imports by local production would be an obvious solution. Cargill and other agribusiness giants are here for the long-term, as it may be some time before significant returns emerge in some sub-Saharan countries. In Nigeria, for example, Cargill is investing in starch and sweeteners to realise the huge potential for cassava, also commonly known as tapioca, which is used for both food and animal feed, and mainly exported by Thailand and Brazil. By buying cassava from smallholder farmers and also investing in a sweetener plant in Kogi state, Cargill will be working with smallholder farmers to create a local market, from which a vibrant processing and by-products industry can also be developed. Dry cassava chips could be shipped to China, while cassava flour could be sold domestically. Others looking at cassava include Unilever, to process cassava roots into sorbitol, a key component in making toothpaste. But Adasina said that Nigeria would avoid using foodcrops for biofuels, instead looking at cellulosic and non-food sources, possibly cassava.

Introducing technology Nigeria has some 84 million hectares of land, of which 40% is cultivated, and just 10% of it with modern technology. As a result, the government has removed import duties on agricultural machinery. Farm equipment, as well as seeds and other farm inputs, can now also be purchased or hired by mobile phone services, Adesina said. Finance is similarly available by phone. Nigeria has also reformed its notoriously corrupt fertiliser sector. Now, rather than directly participating in the delivery system for fertiliser, the government leaves that to the private sector and only provides the subsidy, he added. But Nigeria currently lacks the proper infrastructure to keep produce fresh (in chilled trucks or rail cars) and get it to market quickly (via good roads and reliable train service). Source: Agrar Europe 15 December 2014

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