I must start by apologising for having been a little tardy getting this Edition of SPESFEED News finished. I suppose I have been caught up in the general malaise of the industry and the country as a whole. Hopefully the excellent maize crop this year will give us all cause for some optimism.
May saw the running of the 21st European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN 2017) which was held in Tarragona, Spain. This is a popular event (for good reason), and I was only able to register after having joined a waiting list. In total, some 1600 people interested in poultry nutrition attended, amongst whom were many South Africans. Some of the more innovative, interesting and practical (in my opinion) parts of the meeting are covered in this newsletter.

Autumn 2017

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2016 is proving to be as difficult a year as was expected. Despite the fact that global prices of grain and soya beans is moderate, supply problems and a weak currency have meant we have not seen this in South Africa. Interestingly, SAPA predict that the egg price is likely to increase before the price of meat.

Our industry will continue to evolve and the way we conduct business will need to adapt. In this edition of the SPESFEED News, I have included two views of the future. Firstly, a view of the major trends that will likely impact agriculture in the not too distant future are discussed. Secondly, the impact of antibiotic use will have on have on human medicine, and how we need to deal with this are considered. This is of major consequence to agribusiness.

Winter 2016

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General News
2015 has been the busiest year that SPESFEED has ever had – so much so that producing a newsletter proved to be very difficult. In addition, the growth of our subsidiary company, Avi-Products has been excellent, with the products we manufacture for the SPAR group becoming their leading sellers in each of the three major pet food categories (Premium, Standard and Econo). I do need to communicate the fact that we will be closing our office in Rivonia, and although Bianca will remain in the services of my brother Russell and his partner Roger Graham, she will effectively be leaving us. Thank you Bianca for 12 years of loyal service. The phone number that we have had since the inception of the business will continue to function for a period of six months. It will be replaced by a line into our switchboard in the Avi-Products factory in Durban. Our new landline number will be + 27 31 766 0016.

Lastly, we are in the process of changing internet service provider (from MWEB to Afrihost). There may be some interruption in service, but the 90% cost saving will make it a small inconvenience.

Winter 2015

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General News
Our industry has gone through a tough couple of years. Feed prices have been high and there have been reductions in the number of broilers produced and the size of the national laying flock (SAPA, 2104). Demand for feed has declined, while new milling capacity has come on line, meaning that margins in the feed sector are likely to be under pressure for some time. The good news is that ingredient prices are down, and the government appears to have a will to offer the industry some protection from cheap imports. I hope that this will allow us to go through a phase of consolidation and possibly growth.
Spare a thought for Zimbabwean animal producers though. The government in that country has set the maize price at $ 390.00/ton – and banned the importation of feed from Zambia and South Africa. This effectively means that Zimbabwean poultry products can not be competitive in the African market in general.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 General News
1 -New book
2 -Feedipedia
2 -SPESFEED Express
2 – Rearing broiler breeders
3 – ABF broilers
4 Feeding the laying hen of the future

Spring 2014

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