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December 27, 2013
The Agri Post
Pork Producers Need Trade Deal to Expand South Korean Markets By Harry Siemens The Canadian Pork Council wants the federal government to step up efforts to secure a free trade agreement with South Korea. So far, at least since about 2008, free trade negotiations between Canada and the Republic of Korea have been stalled. However, Canada’s major competitors in the pork industry, most notably the U. S. and Europe, have negotiated free trade agreements where duties on their pork are 25 percent on chilled product and 22.5 percent
on frozen. The Republic of Korea has agreed to phase these duties out over ten years. Canadian Pork Council Executive Director, Martin Rice, said that Canada was one of the first countries to export pork to South Korea and in the past South Korea was the Canadian pork industry’s third or fourth most important market. Rice said it partly depends on South Korea’s own domestic production and self-sufficiency level but sometimes there have been important opportunities for Canadian pork ex-
ports to that country. “We were seeing significant success in expanding our exports of higher value pork items into that country, particularly chilled pork,” he said. “Those opportunities have diminished and even disappeared in recent years because we have no deal. We want Canada to achieve an agreement with Korea with terms as close as possible to those of the United States.” Rice says that the government needs to implement it at the earliest opportunity to lessen the gap between the terms of our exports into the Republic of Korea compared to the U.S. and Europe with hopes that Canada will have the same access in less than a decade from now. “If Canada and South Korea can work out a free trade agreement, accepted by both parliaments and in place by 2015, Canada would be three years behind the U.S. and Europe in terms of tariff reductions on pork, so timing is also important,” he added.
Trace Mineral Nutrition Essentials for Pre-calving in Beef Cows By Peter Vitti The last trimester is a very critical time for the average beef cow and her unborn calf. Her unborn calf gains about three-quarters of its birth weight, dramatically increasing all her primary nutrient requirements. While feeding better quality forages, together with a few more pounds of grain and protein supplement tend to cover off extra energy and protein needs, the smallest trace mineral demand contained in the cow’s diet often gets overlooked, yet it is just as important. Assurance of good trace mineral status in precalving cows has a positive effect upon the upcoming calving season, getting newborn calves off to a good start and allowing these mothers to be successfully rebred and settled back in the herd with next year’s calf crop. While both the beef cow and her fetus need a good pre-calving trace mineral feeding program, science seems to dictate that the fetus takes a slight priority over the dam’s similar trace mineral needs. Research has demonstrated that trace mineral deficient beef cows have been shown actual depletion in their own limited trace mineral reserves before their calves become mineral deficient and thus adversely affected. It is estimated that the late-gestation fetus (and placental tissues) utilize up to 30 percent of the pre-calving cow’s daily requirements for essential trace minerals. Unfortunately, fetal calves from trace mineral deficient cows will eventually become marginal, severely trace mineral deficient and will be affected. For example, a classic case of a selenium deficiency in the brood cowherd illustrates this point. Selenium is one of the essential trace minerals that easily crosses the placenta, and therefore good dietary selenium supplementation to the pre-calving cow diet increases the selenium body reserves in cows and transfers it to their fetal calves. In contrast, failure to obtain and maintain adequate selenium status in pregnant beef cows leads to a greater incidence of typical white muscle disease, greater susceptibility to infectious disease and poor growth, once these calves are newborns. Even before new calves hit the ground, the poor trace mineral status of pre-calving cows also has a significant negative impact upon the brood cows themselves; namely, their ability to get re-bred. Although it is not fully understood, the essential trace mineral status of late-gestation cows impacts their normal reproductive hormone production as well as follicular development on the cow’s ovaries. Subsequently, it is estimated that eggs begin maturing about 100 days before they are produced and are released. Therefore, some beef reproductive specialists speculate that good cow fertility is impacted by the amount and different types of nutrients/trace minerals needed largely during the beef cows’ respective pre-calving period. It’s good evidence that trace minerals are needed just before calving. Assuring all such essential trace mineral requirements for late-gestation cows are met really becomes a simple matter of feeding a well-balanced commercial mineral containing supplemental copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, cobalt, and selenium. Consequently, the following nutrition and management suggestions are also helpful in making sure that late gestation beef cows receive enough of these trace minerals when a commercial cattle mineral is poured into their feeders: - Target cowherd mineral consumption - Target a daily consumption of 50 - 100 grams. If the cowherd is not eating enough or too much, add 1/3 portion salt to the mineral mixture. On occasion, calculate the average mineral intake of the herd and make the necessary adjustment for adequate and consistent mineral consumption. - Know the dietary sources in your mineral - This is particularly important when purchasing cattle minerals. Knowing the copper final concentration of your cows’ diet without knowing the source of supplemental copper is of little value. For example, copper comes in many forms such as copper oxide, copper sulphate, and chelated (organic) copper forms, which have relative biological availabilities of 5%, 100%, and 125 - 150%. - Feed a “Beef Breeder Mineral” all winter long - Some producers feed a more fortified commercial mineral (with more biologically available organic copper, zinc, manganese and selenium) all winter long. They say that the cost-difference between a basic gestation and a pre-calving “beef breeder mineral” calculates to a $3.00 - $4.00 per head premium over the first half of the winter, yet it is worth the assurance of good trace mineral status for the entire late-gestating herd until the calving. - Fill your mineral feeders on a regular basis - Mineral feeders should be filled every 2 - 3 days and hardened old mineral should be removed. It’s also important to remove snow and debris that prevents good mineral consumption. - Know how to calculate your daily mineral and seasonal costs - This point should not be confused with whether one spends too little or too much money on their feeding beef cow mineral feeding program! A beef cow breeder mineral costing $40 per 25-kg fed at 75 grams per day costs approximately 12 cents per head per day. Feeding for a 90-day pre-calving period costs about $11 per beef cow. - Avoid feeding too much trace minerals - The old adage of “one spoonful of medicine is good, two spoonfuls of medicine is better”, simply does not work when building or maintaining adequate trace mineral status in late-gestation beef cows. For example a suspected copper deficiency in a cowherd. The symptoms of marginal copper deficiency in cattle is very similar to those of a marginal copper toxicity. Consult with your beef specialist or veterinarian for trace mineral nutrition advice. Setting up a good pre-calving trace mineral feeding program is often a matter of finetuning the current mineral program that was started a few winter months ago. It can be as simple as switching from a standard to more fortified beef breeder mineral in order to meet the higher trace mineral (and vitamin) requirements of the late-gestation beef cow. Its triumph is part of a greater overall winter feeding program that leads to the success of new healthy calves and continued reproductive performance of the profitable beef herd.