We have had a very busy six months since we last spoke.

As we mentioned last time, China, Asia and Russia are key target markets for the future growth of the JSR business and I am delighted to report that in this last six months we have successfully delivered 2 shipments to China totalling 1294 animals. Thank you to everyone involved in these projects, who worked very hard to ensure things went smoothly.

As we expand our business in these regions we are learning about both the business and cultural differences between these new partners and clients and our long term European partners, eg what they look for in a preferred supplier and how they develop long lasting business relationships - it's a learning curve for all of us!

Using staff such as Elena Kruk from Ukraine (Ukrainian/Russian speaking) and Yolanda Hou from China (Chinese speaking) has been a real asset to JSR and contributed to our current success in the Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese markets.

As we move into 2012, our focus continues in these key markets and see's the start to proposed expansion into the Latin America and Indian Markets. I'm sure this will create some good opportunities and interesting times ahead.

We now have sire line and dam line purebred breeding stock available for sale from our recently stocked high health Nucleus farm situated in Saskatchewan, Canada,

This provides both increased availability and choice of supply for JSR Genetics.

Paul Anderson
International Sales Director

Mobile: +44 (0) 7831 526452
Email: paul.anderson@jsrgenetics.com

Phobic Food Marketing

Dr. Grant Walling, Managing Director, JSR Genetics

Think of some famous advertising brands, it is remarkable how many of these brands implement science and technology into their products and highlight its importance. Whether its is skin products advertising complementary ingredients of zinc, lipopeptides and caffeine at Garnier, Hi-Tec walking boots promising 4:SYS dynamic, motion-control technology, ion-mark waterproofing and v-lite design or brake energy regeneration in the BMW 'vorsprung durch Technik' Efficient Dynamics system, the message is that technology sells.

So why is it that when it comes to the advertising and marketing of food the opposite applies? Words such as natural and traditional are more widely used, and some food products even promote themselves on the basis of not using new science and technology e.g. GM Free.

It is difficult to conceive that the latest smart phone would ever be advertised as “using traditional methods and natural materials” as for most this would create the image of two children with tin cans connected by a piece of string. Similarly a clothing company promising only hand made garments from organic materials would be unlikely to produce garments for many sectors of society, such as sports or military clothing.

This technophobia in the food sector is becoming a mounting issue because the global population is increasing and eating more calories per capita with an increasing proportion of these calories coming from meat products. The Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures Report predicts a population rise of nearly 30% by 2050. Global pork production will need to increase by 110% to meet demand in line with population growth and countries such as China, Russia and Brazil will need to increase production to meet this increased global demand.

All this is happening at a time when less land is available for agricultural production and variations in climate are making production cycles less reliable. During these challenging times science is capable of producing solutions and in some cases already has answers to many of these problems. The biggest hurdle is therefore not the technology itself, but the legislators and public's acceptance of using this technology in the food sector. Legislators and the wider public must recognise that Luddite views of new technologies will be the cause of global hunger not the scientific communities' inability to provide the necessary response.

In the UK pig sector traditional key performance indicators must be reviewed to better reflect modern pig production and consumer attitudes, including such criteria as lifetime productivity, saleable meat produced per tonne of feed, kg pigmeat produced per the amount of land required and kg pigmeat produced per kWH of fossil fuel used. Often marketing for outdoor, slow reared, free range and organic systems is based around a perception; the reality is that there is no scientific evidence to suggest they are more sustainable or have better eating quality and so I would suggest changing the unique selling points to efficiency and sustainability.

JSR is proud to be at the forefront of many technologies in the pig supply chain. These include detailed image analysis for intramuscular fat of all animals scanned in the sire line breeding programme, the use of Computerised Tomography (CT) in the analysis of live animals for their slaughter attributes, the establishment of taste panelling and routine pH testing of JSR customers slaughter products.

JSR have recently been awarded funding to investigate pre-implantation embryo diagnosis technologies in pigs and greater use of genomics for growth and feed efficiency in sire lines. Genetics companies such as JSR would like to develop many of these technologies further and implement others into the research portfolio, including the widespread use of embryo transfer, the use and acceptance of genetically modified organisms both in feed products and in animals and the possible role of cloning in the animal breeding sector.

Unfortunately many of the technologies on the “wish list” are sadly derailed not by the abilities of geneticists and other scientists but the protectionist views of politicians and legislators more interested in the short term popularity of winning electors votes rather than the long term good of feeding the growing global community. Only when these 'decision makers' wake up to the wider need for the huge efficiencies available by adopting new science and technology in the agri-food sector have we a hope that the public can be presented with the true facts, and make up their own minds, rather than the current nostalgic view of food production that suggests farmers should embrace outdated production techniques more in common with medieval than scientific marvel.

The 22nd annual JSR Technical Conference took place on the 13th September in Nottingham. Amongst the many speakers, Dr Grant Walling presented 'Revolutionising Global Pork Production' which included some of the themes above. To read each of the presentations go to www.jsr.co.uk

A lavish ceremony, attended by over 150 dignitaries, celebrated the opening of The Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited, a new Chinese joint venture between JSR Genetics and state-owned Hubei Liangyou Livestock & Poultry Company on the 18th of October, 2011.

The pig farm, built on a Greenfield site ,located in the Xiangyang region of Hubei, will house a 900 sow high health JSR nucleus herd, and marks a major step forward for JSR who have increasingly targeted China for its exceptional growth potential.

Among those attending the ceremony, were Mr Li Shenghong, Chairman of HBCOF, Mr Zhou Xianwang, Head of the Provincial Bureau of Commerce and the Mayor of Xiagyang, Bie Bixiong.

Present for JSR were Chairman Tim Rymer - a board member of The Hubei Liangyou JSR Breeding Limited - International Sales Director, Paul Anderson and Chinese Sales Specialist, Yolanda Hou. Mr Rymer, whose wife Zoë accompanied him to the ceremony, gave an opening address expressing his confidence that the two teams, the investment in new technology and the growing Chinese market would ensure great success.

“Establishing a nucleus herd here, with the support of a state owned company, is a tremendous achievement for JSR,” confirms Paul Anderson. “China is a rapidly expanding market, already home to half the world's pigs and the Hubei Province itself is the country's third largest pig producing area.”

Built on a 66 hectare greenfield site the unit has provided an ideal opportunity for incorporating the latest technology and biosecurity and JSR consultant, Simon Grey, worked closely with the Chinese team in its design and construction.

Nine members of the Hubei team have already visited JSR in the UK, spending three months in nucleus herd training and learning how to get the best out of JSR genetics. With the pigs planned to be shipped on the 30th November, the Chinese team will then be closely supported by regular on-site visits from JSR International Pig Specialists to monitor and advise on progress.

“It is a very thorough process,” confirms Mr Anderson. “We are recommending a nucleus herd based on JSR Genepacker GGP Gilts - large white and landrace - and JSR Geneconverter Boars, the 500 and 700. We believe this specification will meet Chinese regulations for nucleus herds and provide the lean, lower fat, feed efficient pigs that the Hubei market requires.”

“JSR have been our ideal choice of partner,” said Mr Li Shenghong, “in that they can provide the world class genetics we need to match our investment in this highly advanced unit. They can also bring a level of support and technical back-up that we feel will ensure the continuing success of this venture in the future.”

UK genetics and support win German franchise

World class genetics, backed by advanced technical support, has clinched a major franchise contract for UK based JSR Genetics, in the form of a new breeding company, JSR Hybrid Deutschland GmbH.

Signed on 7th October 2011, between Paul Anderson, JSR's International Sales Director and Michiel Taken, Director of JSR Hybrid Deutschland, the contract, which includes both breeding stock and JSR technical support services, will see the Ahaus based company market JSR stock throughout Germany.

“We are delighted to finalise this extensive contract with Michiel and his colleague Gross Bolting” says Paul Anderson. “Using the JSR Genepacker and JSR Geneconverter lines we have selected GGP and GP gilts and boars to establish a nucleus and multiplier herd capable of generating up to 20,000 JSR Genepacker purebred GP and Genepacker 90 parent gilts a year.”

“We are convinced that the JSR Genepacker 90 really is the gilt of the future,” confirms Michiel, “and has the qualities that our customers demand. We will be using both Checkmate monitoring and JSR Select, the BLUP database system, to maximise genetic development here in Ahaus.”

“JSR are making tremendous gains in pig performance,” agrees Mr Anderson, “including, in trials*, sow lifetime born alive per litter figures averaging 13.6 and slaughter pigs giving a high percentage of lean meat - a real win-win for both breeders and finishers. These are the benefits I know Michiel will be eager to capitalise on.”

“This rigorous scientific approach to genetics was certainly a key factor in our decision,” says Michiel, “another was the unique level of technical support JSR could deliver. Stephen Waite, Head of Science for JSR Genetics, will be helping us to manage and monitor our use of JSR Select and Checkmate and we will also have JSR's Laura Russell as Account Manager, working alongside us at every stage, from production and data recording right through to promotions. This will help us in our aim of continually improving performance and efficiency”.

With so many factors to consider - finance, logistics and sheer hard work - a full herd restock has never been a lightly made decision. What of the rewards? Here James Christian, JSR's newly appointed Chief Operating Officer - responsible for the day to day activities of the group, including JSR Genetics and JSR Pig Production - uses his unique position to give an overview of the financial advantages producers can realistically expect and shows that, with today's rising feed prices, now could be the most rewarding time to act.

There are, no doubt, purely practical factors to be considered, but let us first address the financial incentive. As herds get older, their disease burden increases and - because fighting disease takes energy - feed conversion ratios are depressed, giving slower growth, resulting in longer finishing times or lower market weights. Veterinary advice normally suggests that units should be depopulated, cleaned and restocked every seven years.

Feed accounts for more that 60% of inputs, so inefficient feed conversion can be an unsupportable drain on margins. Factor in pig mortality and vet costs and producers' profits can be severely undermined.

Payback - sooner not later
With the price of raw materials at an all time high any strategy that reduces the feed requirement on farm cannot be overlooked. Our data and on-farm experience shows that a restock plays a vital role in improving health status, raising Meat Sold per tonne of Feed (MTF) and increasing profitability. Detailed cash flow projections clearly show that, with rising feed prices, the payback time for a restock is significantly reduced.

Three to four years ago, payback would have occurred at 18-20 months, whereas with a DAPP of 140p/kg, and average feed at £220/tonne, the same level of improvements, i.e.an 1.5 extra pig/sow/year gained, together with 35 kilos less finisher feed per pig (the result of improved feed efficiency and a 7% reduction in mortality) give a 14-15 month payback.

10% improvement
Further support for a restock comes from analysing BPEX data to assess the effect on cost of production (COP) of a 10% improvement in performance in key areas. For example, a 10% improvement in growth rate would reduce the COP by 4.34p/kg. Similarly a 10% increase in pigs weaned per sow per year would reduce the COP by 4.35p/kg. These two improvements on the average BPEX recorded 583 sow herd equate to an increased margin of nearly £110,000. (Based on BPEX 2009 yearbook figures)

Is restocking right for every unit?
Whilst the rewards of restocking are proven, this course of action might not be advised if a unit is too close to another (within 3km) with on-going, unresolved disease problems.

Apart from this instance, JSR experience shows that a cleaned, restocked unit will perform better than one opting for disease reduction procedures such as medicated early weaning and partial depopulation. Other than the funds to invest in a new herd, restocking also requires the ability to withstand a temporary halt in production - the effects of which can, by careful management, be minimised. The facility of an off-site farm to accommodate old herd finishers and a facility for serving the new high health gilts must also be made available.

Points to consider
Many producers currently buy raw materials forward, therefore the amount of cover that currently exists for the unit must be taken into account as the gap in production means requirements will be reduced. It may be possible to take advantage of existing cover by selling the surplus or carrying it forward. If there is no forward cover, this gap in production may provide a breathing space during which the market will settle before further raw materials are needed.

The human element can also be considered. A better performing unit is a great motivator for all concerned. Those who may have become disheartened by poor performance will now see that the unit has a strong future.

Preparing for success
A full herd restock and clean can be a good strategy, with many benefits, and the potential for payback to occur sooner than before. Forward planning, with the support of a reputable genetics provider such as JSR, makes the process as stress free and financially rewarding as possible. JSR recommends:

• Restocking with certified high health gilts/boars.
• Take the opportunity to select genetics to suit your chosen market.
• Ensure your genetics provider, like JSR, offers Vet to Vet contact throughout planning, cleaning and restocking.
• A full restock whenever possible. Partial restocking offers no long term guarantees and relapses to low health status can occur.

Mitigate against production losses

• Serve extra gilts in the outgoing herd, to give extra pigs.
• Serve extra gilts in the new herd, giving extra pigs in the incoming herd.
• JSR's Depop/Restock Planning can help minimise cash flow impact.

Planning the restock

• Identify the diseases on farm and discuss vaccine requirements for new stock.
• Plan when to stop serving sows, when to cull, and arrange with your abattoir to take extra sows/boars.
• Find a farm (JSR can assist) to hold the finisher herd and a further facility for serving the new herd gilts reducing the time the unit is out of production.

The clean

• Summer is best for cleaning farms, giving disease organisms less chance to survive and the farms best chance to completely dry after washing.
• Include floors, walls, pens, gates, ceilings, plumbing, drains, slurry channels, stores, ventilation, roads, tractors, implements, offices and equipment.
• Thoroughly steam-clean and disinfect with a broad spectrum virucidal disinfectant.
• A second and even third clean is recommended for exceptional hygiene.
• Take the opportunity to repair buildings and equipment.
• Restock
• Move new animals onto the cleaned farm over as short a period as possible (preferably in one load).
• Implement strict bio-security for long-term success.

For producers considering a restock, the most important advice is to plan, ensuring early contact with your genetics provider and their vet to implement strict biosecurity and maintenance of optimum herd health. As an investment in herd health, a full herd restock brings on-going rewards.

Deciding to act now will reduce the impact of rising feed prices and minimise production costs. With payback at just 14-15 months producers will not only gain significant benefits from their investment but these benefits will present more quickly than ever before.)

James Christian: at a glance

• 1989 Degree in Animal Science: Leeds University
• 1989 Work experience on 500 sow unit , Denmark
• 1990 Export Co-ordinator, Newsham Hybrid Pigs
• 1996 Export Manager, Newsham Hybrid Pigs
• 2005 Chartered Certified Accountant qualification
• 2005: Finance Director, JSR Farming Group
• 2011: Chief Operating Officer, JSR Farming Group

Aim: to ensure JSR Genetics continues to add value to our customers' farms and JSR Pig Production maximises efficient output from our facilities.

Endocrinology – The answer to seasonal infertility?

For years the annual cycle of infertility has had major implications for the pig industry globally, from indoor producers in Korea to outdoor units in Scotland. No one has ever touched on a sure fire way to solve this issue, instead like many issues in the pig industry people have focussed on treating the simple, obvious elements in the hope they see a significant improvement on commercial output.

Temperature and light have long being the stalwarts of this thinking, light controlled and air condition boar studs and sow accommodation being the apparent answer. This too was the thinking among researchers looking into many other species, the hope that closely controlling the environment can somehow trick the animal into thinking its winter all the time.

What has being found though, in Marmoset monkeys, is that light and temperature are merely the first breadcrumbs on the trail to what appears to be the true cause of seasonal infertility. It was shown via endocrinology that even sensory deprived monkeys still showed the same reproductive traits as those with normal access to light and temperature, this sparked a study into the actual regulation pathway of fertility. This lead researchers to the hypothalamus in the animals brain, the hypothalamus acts as a so called reproductive clock, by releasing gonadatrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in pulses thus controlling the animals reproductive cycle, the pulses are regular over the winter period which is the breeding season and decline over the summer period thus limiting the number of successful ovulations. What was noted was that even in the sensory deprived animals these pulses still lessen over the summer period thus causing infertility.

The control mechanism of these pulses are still not fully understood and may well never be along with the precursors to puberty, but the use of a range of different 'peptins' have been seen to reinstate these pulses in animals. The translation of this work into pigs could have a considerable impact on the industry.

This form of research could also be used to the asses the affect stress has on the reproductive abilities of pigs, as it has been shown that stressors on the animals also affects this pathway in the brain causing ovulation to stop in females and semen production to lower in males.

The Research and Genetics team of JSR will be keeping a close eye on the results of the ongoing research in view of expanding this line of thinking into their current research portfolio.

Stephen Waite
Head of Science

JSR's Nucleus Farm in Elstow, Saskatoon, Canada is now fully stocked producing our own GP1 and GP2 female lines alongside our Geneconverter 500 and Geneconverter 700 sire lines. Production is well underway and we are seeing some good production data.

Animals were taken from our Nucleus units both in the UK and abroad to ensure our customers and world partners will receive the same genetics from any one of our Nucleus units.

The Elstow Nucleus will remain connected to the UK and our other Nucleus units around the world, by our bespoke software JSR SELECT. This ensures our customers and world partners will receive the same genetics from any of our Nucleus units.

The Elstow unit is an excellent facility with some rather unique attributes not least the interactive viewing gallery which allows customers to see inside the unit without entering. The gallery has a one way airflow system from the pigs out, this ensures we maintain optimum high health of our stock.

JSR Seminar for Bioenergia

Bioenergia, OOO Managing Company, the JSR agent for Russia (excluding Krasnodar Kray region), recently attended a sales and product training seminar at their offices in Saratov.

The training was given by International Sales Director Paul Anderson and JSR CIS Sales Manager Elena Kruk, over two days in October.

The 17 delegates, consisted of sales and technical support staff who's understanding of the JSR products is key to the success of the JSR Brand in this demanding market place.

Daria Yakyamseva, Import Manager of Bioenergia Ltd expressed his thanks to Paul and Elena: “First of all, I would like to thank you for the marvellous seminar, that was for our Company. I had no chance to tell it personally, as so many people wanted to ask you so many questions, but, nevertheless, I can do it in a letter now- it was very interesting.

Picture featuring the seminar delegates with Paul Anderson and Elena Kruk.

Agroprime Holding Ltd based in the Ukraine, have been established since 2005. It has grown into one of the leading agricultural companies in the Odeas region, growing from 5,000 ha to over 18,000 ha of arable land (including 700ha of irrigated fields).

Good management and planning, devoted staff, implementation of modern agricultural technologies and investment in modern machinery, has contributed to the Company's success.

It is this success that has enabled the Company to develop its own livestock breeding company. The supply contract with JSR Genetics Ltd was signed at The Animal Farming 2011 exhibition in Kiev on 4th October 2011 and is for 540 JSR Genepacker gilts and 20 Geneconverter boars to be delivered in December 2011.

Currently Agroprime Holding Ltd are building a finishing farm for 30 thousand pigs and a feed mill. It is estimated that it will be finished over the next 2 years.. The company is also planning to build a special slaughter house, to be able to supply the trade network with quality pre-packed meat. All the necessary technical equipment for this big venture has already been purchased.

Picture featuring Paul Anderson International Sales Director and Larisa Ignat from Agroprime Holding Ltd.