Page 6 - APN March 2017

How quickly the tide turns
TWELVE months ago, pork producers in Queensland and around the country were investing in their businesses, renovat- ing sheds and increas- ing production on the back of increased de- mand and good market prices.
Over the past few weeks, the key question and concern of Queens- land pork farmers was: “Where are prices going to end up?”
As everyone knows, price in the marketplace is a relationship between supply and demand, and while there has and continues to be growth in demand for pork as one of the main protein sources, there have been a number of counter-im- pacting influences.
The increase in pro- duction on almost all farms to take advantage of increased prices seen last year has resulted in a slight over-supply, giving rise to reduced prices at the farm gate, however there is an ad- ditional factor adding pressure to the supply side of the equation.
That is the increase of imported pork into the foodservice side of the market, not only for ham and bacon, which has been the case for some years now, but also for a range of cooked and ready to reheat and serve products, such as ribs and pulled pork.
The compounding im- pact hits the domestic market when wholesal- ers can’t sell cuts that have now been replaced by imported fresh and cooked products.
Traditionally, primal cuts not sold the week of slaughter would be fro- zen pending use later in the year by smallgoods
operators and foodser- vice providers.
Now with more of these imported value- added products hit- ting the market, frozen stocks have built to lev- els not previously seen.
To be competitive against the value of the imported products, prices for carcasses have dropped dramatically across the domestic market, with producers being offered prices be- low the cost of produc- tion.
Queensland has had the additional impact of high grain prices, with the state experiencing another severe drought and now just when early summer rains had pro- vided a glimpse of good- value local grain, espe- cially in central Queens- land, cyclone Debbie has flooded many such crops.
A number of producers have reported they will or have reduced produc- tion because they can- not sustain the impact of current carcass prices.
As for the longer-term position, additional mar- keting by Australian Pork Limited and key Australian players on the use of Australian pork is essential, as is support for the development of overseas markets to pro- vide greater balance to support a growing pork industry.
Producers who have contractual arrangements with their wholesalers
have had some relief to falling prices but now find themselves back at the negotiation table.
It is an interesting and dynamic industry with as few as a thousand extra pigs in the weekly Australian east coast market having the abil- ity to move the market pressure.
While contract pricing has flattened the sea- sonal price curve, this new impact from addi- tional imported product will have a longer-term result.
Some relief may also come from producers who are not intending to adopt the new regula- tions around the limited use of gestation stalls and as such with the pressure of reduced re- turns will exit the in- dustry and provide more balance to the market, resulting in a more sus- tainable position.
Heading further into 2017, Pork Queensland Inc will continue to ad- vocate for producers in Queensland and will maintain the pressure on government to revise the fees relating to pig farming and other areas such as the recovery of biogas.
Pork Queensland Inc maintains its association with Queensland Farm- ers’ Federation and to- gether with other inten- sive farming operations pushes for the review of energy and other costs.
President’s Perspective
by JOHN COWARD
Climate control.

Talk to Mundigo – the experts

controlled pig housing.

3
3

or need a new climate contolled

Pig Farm Perspective
by Bruce the brainy pig
OF late, there has been some discussion with- in the pig industry re- garding the impact of circovirus on breeding herds.
Porcine circovirus is the agent causing por- cine circovirus-associ- ated disease.
While PCVAD has long been recognised as a cause of reduced growth rates and in- creased mortality lead- ing to significant eco- nomic losses in grow- ing pigs, there is very little Australian data available on the effect of PCV2 on breeding herds.
PCV2 is relatively sta- ble in the environment and can be transmitted vertically during gesta- tion (in-utero) or lacta- tion.
It can also be spread between pigs through nasal secretions and faeces.
Internationally, there are reports from as ear- ly as the 1990s linking reproductive failures and abortions to PCV2-
related disease within the breeding herd, man- ifesting predominantly as increased rates of mummified and still- born foetuses, late-term abortions and weak/ non-viable piglets at birth.
In all these cases, PCV2 has been either isolated as the sole cause or in conjunction with other reproductive disease causes.
Most incidences of reproductive failure as a result of PCV2 have been due to a change in gilt source or other ad- justments to the breed- ing herd.
It has also been shown that experimental infec- tion of sows naive to PCV2 can result in re- productive disease.
Diagnosis of PCV2 as a cause of reproductive failure relies on:
• Increased late-term abortions/stillbirths/ mummified piglets;
• Microscopic lesions consistent with PCV2 in the heart of the foe- tus; or
•Detection of PCV2 within the foetus.
When should you think about PCV2 and the risk that it might pose to your breeding herd?
Well, vaccination of replacement gilts to PCV2 should be con- sidered if:
•Source of replace- ment gilts is changing;
• The breeding herd has low immunity to PCV2;
• The breeding herd is at high risk (such as gilt herds or herds with a low-parity structure);
• Herds have high re- placement rates;
• There are any un- diagnosed causes of reproductive failure within the herd; and
• Virus is detected in umbilical cords of new- born pigs.
While often not iden- tified as a cause of re- productive failure, it is well worth considering circovirus as a possibil- ity if you are having issues with reproductive losses.
Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, April 2017 www.porknews.com.au