SwineCast update for November 12, 2009, What ag lending issues you should know about.

Submitted by John Blue on November 12, 2009 - 4:13am.

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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the news that Coharie Hog Farms Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection November 6, 2009, blaming swine flu for its collapse into bankruptcy. According to the article, Coharie ultimately filed for bankruptcy in order to liquidate its livestock and other assets. Coharie, based in Clinton, N.C., is the largest independent pork supplier to Smithfield Foods Co. and was ranked as the 22nd largest pork producer in the country by Successful Farming magazine.

Not good news for the industry, but to paraphrase an economist, "on the other hand…"

The calamity, as the North American swine industry undergoes a historic retrenchment, must give way to transition to what the industry will become. Accordingly, SwineCast continues to bring you insight, ideas, and possible solution paths to management / industry issues that we will face as we continue in pork production.

Recent SwineCast programs include information on access to capital markets to realigning and managing a major international energy business. We will continue to search for insight that will help our industry transition as we strive to meet the protein demands of a growing world and the return to profitability.

And in early December, we continue to explore PRRS eradication from the International PRRS Symposium in Chicago, which will be prefaced by a special Boehringer-Ingelheim meeting featuring updates on current PRRS technology.

SwineCast^® Conversations

Updates and information on the industry.

SwineCast 0480 Are You Ready For The Next Question?: Executive Director of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Tom Burkgren, discusses his Leman presentation on speaking as an industry with one voice.
SwineCast 0479 Leadership Comments from Tony Haywood, CEO of BP Tony Hayward, CEO of BP, discusses his leadership style and the importance of bringing 'who you are' to the workplace.
SwineCast 0478 Ag Lending Issues Special presentation from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange looking at Ag Lending issues. Not what you want to hear but what you need to know!

SwineCast^® Headliners

Get the latest thoughts and commentary on the industry.

Hybrid Outlook for Agribusiness Careers. From SwineCast Update "Employment prospects for farmers, ranchers, and production managers are expected to decline over the next seven years, with notable exceptions in organic farming, horticulture, and aquiculture. The overall outlook for careers in agriculture and food science is brighter—job growth in these areas is expected to keep pace with the average of other occupations in the United States."
USDA To Purchase More Pork Products: from the NPPC. "The National Pork Producers Council commended U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for his decision to purchase up to $50 million of pork products, which will be used for various federal food programs. The purchase should help struggling pork producers, who have been mired in a 2-year-long economic crisis."