Livestock

A China minister says working-level trade discussions continue with U.S. counterparts. The Chinese Commerce Minister says the talks so far have been "difficult", but he also said there had been a breakthrough in some areas and called on both sides to meet halfway if they wanted a deal. He also reiterated one view of the talks: that they have to be based on the principle of mutual respect and equality. Washington insiders say President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may meet on Wednesday, March 27th to work out a deal. President Trump saying in February he wanted to have a "signing summit" with the Chinese president.

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.7 million head on Jan. 1, 2019. The inventory was 2% above Jan. 1, 2018, USDA reported Friday. Marketing of fed cattle during December totaled 1.74 million, 1% lower than the same month in 2017. Placements of cattle on feed during December totaled 1.77 million head, 2% below 2017. The on feed inventory included 7.28 million steers and steer calves, down 1% from the previous year. This group accounted for 62% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.41 million head, up 6% from 2018. During December, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 445,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 460,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 402,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 285,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 90,000 head, 1,000 pounds and greater were 85,000 head.

During its 2019 Agricultural Outlook Forum officials announced their planting expectations for this year. USDA predicts U.S. corn plantings for this year will be 92 million acres. That's up 3.3% from a year ago. Soybeans are forecast to fall to 85 million acres. That's down 4.7% from last year. USDA Chief Economist Rob Johansson made the announcement Thursday morning during remarks at the USDA Outlook Forum held near Washington, DC. Wheat acres are also expected to be down 1.7% to 47 million acres. Cotton plantings are forecast at 14.3 million acres. That's up 1.1% from 2018. USDA sees all-rice acreage at 2.7 million, down 9.8% versus 2018.

The first confirmed cases of African swine fever (ASF) have been detected on three farms in Vietnam, authorities said on Tuesday. All pigs were culled at these farms located in Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces, southeast of the capital Hanoi, said the Animal Health Department. Pork is a major staple and accounts for 75% of the total meat consumption in Vietnam, a country of 95 million people where most of its 30 million farm-raised pigs are consumed domestically. Because pork is such a popular meat in many Asian countries, United Nations experts said last September that the spread of the virus to China’s neighboring countries was almost certain, likely through movements of products containing infected pork. Nguyen Van Long, the department's chief of epidemiology, said smuggling of animals across borders and tourism has made it difficult to control the spread of the disease, according to a Reuters article. Philippines Bans Pork Imports from Vietnam The Philippines are tightening security efforts even more by banning pork imports from Vietnam. Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture, Emmanuel Piñol, confirmed that his department will issue an order banning the entry of pork and pork products from Vietnam following the first case detected in the ASEAN region, according to The Philippine Star. Piñol also directed all quarantine posts in his country to check the possible entry of pork products in various airports and seaports. Taiwan has also increased scrutiny of Vietnamese travelers after the ASF virus was detected recently in some pork products. The Taiwanese government has been testing samples of pork products from foreign countries since last year, when the ASF virus was first detected in their region. According to The Star, of 1,158 samples, 928 products have completed the inspection and 20 samples were discovered with ASF, all of which came from China. However, a sample from Vietnam was confirmed Feb. 11 to contain the ASF virus. Agriculture group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), urged the Phillipine Department of Agriculture to ensure travelers coming from Vietnam and other affected ASF countries will undergo 100% checks in airports. “While we do not really import much from Vietnam, the danger is on what the tourists will bring in to the country. That’s what we are worried about,” SINAG chairman Rosendo So said. In addition, the Philippine Department of Agriculture recently widened the importation ban on pigskin leather. Prevent the Spread of ASF The pork industry can do its part to help by spreading the word and making sure people know that they should not bring back pork or pork products from ASF-positive countries, said Andrea Pitkin, DVM, PIC North America’s health assurance veterinarian. The virus can live in uncooked pork or juices from uncooked pork. It can also survive in cured meats for up to 150 days. ASF is deadly for pigs, but harmless for humans.

As per capita animal protein consumption in the U.S. soars to all-time highs in 2019, the U.S. animal protein sectors will need to increase their focus on international markets for growth. Export growth will be key for U.S. beef, pork and chicken producers as growing meat supplies and processing capacity outstrip domestic demand, according to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division. This has some producers concerned because the more exports play a role in supply and demand, the more exposure producers and industry participants have to increased market volatility and lower margins, said Will Sawyer, animal protein economist with CoBank’s KED. “While the need for increasing exports is clear, it’s frequently met with concern or skepticism among producers and all links throughout the supply chain,” Sawyer said. The animal protein sector is entering a period of transition, as four consecutive years of significant domestic consumption growth is now beginning to pressure prices and producers’ bottom lines. “The domestic consumption growth rate animal protein has experienced over the last five years is expected to plateau soon,” Sawyer said. “With the cow herd at multi-year highs and pork and poultry processors expanding capacity, exports will likely underpin further industry expansion for the U.S. in the years ahead.” In 2018, the U.S. exported 12% of beef production, 16% of chicken production and 23% of pork production. Although these figures are far above where the industry was 20 years ago, more export growth will be needed if U.S. producers want to expand production in the coming years. An increased reliance on exports has resulted in higher prices for the animal protein sectors in other exporting nations, including Australia, Brazil and Canada. However, CoBank’s analysis shows that greater profitability is offsetting price volatility for beef, pork and poultry producers in each of those countries, despite declining domestic consumption in both Australia and Canada. Export growth opportunities can carry significant risks, as demonstrated during recent trade disputes between the U.S. and some of the most important international customers for U.S. animal protein. However, Sawyer said those who accept these risks are often rewarded. “Profitable growth has always been at the core of the industry and has enabled producers and processors to recover from the historic volatility and costs from 2007 through 2012,” Sawyer said. “The groundwork has already been laid from the supply chain to industry representation to let trade drive the industry forward over the next decade. Long-term, exports will be the key driver for further expansion across the animal protein sector.”

Due to the recent lapse in federal funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has not published a weekly export sales report since December 20, 2018. FAS has resumed daily reporting of export sales and will implement the following schedule to bring weekly reporting up to date: The report for the week ending December 20, 2018 will be published Thursday, January 31, 2019. The report for the week ending December 27, 2018, will be published February 7, 2019. The report for the week ending January 3, 2019, which will include the marketing year changeover figures for hides and skins, wet blues, pork and beef, will be published February 14, 2019. A combined report for the weeks ending January 10- February 14, 2019, will be published on February 22, 2019. The regular reporting schedule will resume for the week ending February 22, 2019.