Dear readers,

Some good news for the beginning:

• Jordbruksveret, the Swedish Board of Agriculture announced that the intensive control programme against African Swine Fever(ASF) had been successful. An application has now been submitted to the European Commission so that Sweden can be officially declared free of the disease and the authorities can lift the infection zone and all remaining restrictions.
• French farmers unions have demanded the mass culling of all wild boar in a wide zone along the border with Germany in order to avoid ASF from coming into the country. The nearest case in Germany is at 78 kilometers from the border with France. The organizations ask the government to have a ‘preventive stock’ of gates and other material ready and to organize a systematic biosecurity audit of all the pig holdings in the border regions. Farms that have not taken enough measures to prevent an infection should be ordered to stop all activities. I am curios, how will the free range farmers adapt to biosecurity?!
• According to a press release, the Spanish Vall Companys Group became the largest food company in Spain: ”With a turnover exceeding 4,000 million euros and a 38% growth in the last fiscal year, we not only celebrate a significant economic growth, but also a strategic advance in our international expansion, especially in Latin America.” According to market data, the pig production consists of 260,000 sows and almost 6 million pigs, resulting  481 thousand tons in the pork division; the largest pig producer in Europe.
• A Michigan Republican state representative, who also is a cattle farmer, has introduced a bill intended to ban cultivated meat from being sold in the state.

Events calendar:

• „Tecnología de Alimentos Fidta”(Tecno Fidta), is an international trade fair for food technology. As one of the leading platforms in Latin America, it offers innovations and solutions in food processing. The event takes place at the La Rural Convention & Exhibition Center in Buenos Aires, on 4 days from Tuesday, 17. September to Friday, 20. September.
• The program of the international conference Asia Grains & Oils Conference in Tashkent 2024 (September 18-19) will pay considerable attention to the grain market and its products. Viktor Aslanov, Chairman of the Union of Farmers of Kazakhstan, will moderate and speak at the session “Grain and processed products market in the season 2024/25”. Mr. Aslanov will present the scenarios of the global grain market development in 2024/25 MY and will talk about the impact on the situation in the Central Asia region.
• On September 19 and 20, the first edition of Alimentaria will take place in the Chinese city of Chengdu , an event with which Fira Barcelona International and Alimentaria  want to expand their activity to the Asian country through an alliance with the government of the province of Sichuan.
• The 40th Teruel Ham and Quality Food Fairwill serve as a celebration for the 40th anniversary of the the Protected Designation of Origin for Teruel Ham and Shoulder. The fair will begin on Thursday, September 19  with one of the most eagerly awaited events: the Teruel Ham Quality Competition, and will last until Saturday, September 21.

Doctor

Even with so many good news from Spain, recent data show an increase in the number of piglets imported from the Netherlands, expected to reach 1,1 million. But the Dutch pig farmers are on continuous political pressure(manure, animal welfare) and sow numbers are expected to decrease further. Will Spain be able to solve the PRRS meanwhile and find a new supplier?

The Italian neighbors are not doing good in their fight against ASF. Italian news websites estimate cullings between 41,000 and 75,609 pigs for ASF this year. The exact number of pigs culled is difficult to pinpoint, as official ASF-related updates to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WHO) in 2024 no longer include precise details on the size of affected farms. Of the 24 farms, 13 are in Pavia province. In a report at RAI Uno, a farm in Vernate, Pavia province was identified as being the origin of the epidemic. It would have been the 4th recorded outbreak, but most likely the 1st to be truly infected. Poor biosecurity measures led to the entry of the disease and there was a very significant delay in reporting about it. All in all, 20 carcasses would have been found buried at the back of the farm, all  positive for the virus. Unknowing about the infection, the farm’s veterinarian had moved to other farm, spreading the disease. Not surprisingly, Italy has now the highest pig price in Europe.

Dr. Geoff Mullan, endocrinology graduate from King’s College London, researcher in functional medicine, writes that seniors in particular should consume more meat to counteract the malnutrition that is now widespread. „Basically, we are not made to be vegan ,” and consumers who eat a vegan diet consume too little vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. These are important for memory, concentration and mood.

US pop star Miley Cyrus recently announced that she was eating meat again after a certain period of vegan diet. „My brain was no longer working properly. Now I can think better again. I think I was pretty malnourished.”

Listen to Miley, listen to the Doctor!