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Sen. Franken’s Statement on Agriculture Secretary Calling For Poultry Insurance Program

U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) released the following statement in response to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack calling today for the creation of an insurance program to help poultry farmers facing avian flu:

"Avian flu was devastating to Minnesota's turkey growers and egg producers, which is why I was pleased to hear that the Department of Agriculture is calling for an insurance program to help protect poultry producers.

"When wild bird migrations resume in the fall, there is a very real possibility that avian flu will return, and we need to make sure that producers are able to manage that risk. That's why together with the Minnesota Congressional delegation, I urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to expedite the USDA's study looking at the feasibility of an insurance program for poultry producers to help protect them against catastrophic losses due to diseases-such as avian influenza.

"And you know, right now as a grower you can insure your barn against all kinds of damage, but the birds inside, at risk of avian flu and other disease outbreaks-well, there's nowhere to turn for that. Our poultry industry is so critical to rural communities in Minnesota, and we need to make sure it can continue to thrive."

Source:senate.gov


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US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”