EuroTier draws 130,000 visitors

This has been a busy week in northern Germany, at the international exhibition called EuroTier.

The biennial show appears to have set new records for attendance, with an 11% increase over the previous edition recorded for visitor numbers by day four.

Preliminary data from organizers DLG indicate 130,000 visitors, including 22,000 coming from 80 countries outside Germany.

The number of exhibitors this time also has been the highest yet for a EuroTier, up by 15% to 1,764 direct exhibitors and many more represented on the stands of their trading partners.

For this week, the packed halls have made the showground in Hannover seem like a city within a city. Did busy also mean business? Inevitably, the situation in the world´s financial markets is affecting investments in food production facilities as in all other industries. But EuroTier´s exhibitors and visitors reported numerous examples of places where projects continue or even increase -- sometimes with the help of new government initiatives to support primary production.

Optimism? That would be a little too strong. It is difficult to be entirely optimistic until we see how the financial crisis stabilizes and how animal protein supplies develop next year. On the other hand, we know already that the world market price of feed commodities is far below the peak reached last year, helping to cut costs and restore profitability at farm level. The message from Hannover must be that the producers of poultry and livestock are showing once again just how resilient they can be.

No drought predicted in US grain belt for 2009

The long-range weather forecast looks favorable for major grain crops in the U.S. in the coming year.

Good growing conditions in the U.S. Midwest would be good news for a poultry industry that has had its share of troubles in 2008, and this is what was heard from a long-range weather forecaster this week.

No drought was predicted. It may be a little cooler and wetter than normal this winter and early spring in the Plains states and Midwest Corn Belt, according to Drew Lerner, president of World Weather, Inc.

A number of factors influenced his forecast for this winter and for the 2009 growing season. Lerner combined the affects of the sun spot cycle, a possible La Nina in the Pacific, the Arctic oscillation, the Pacific decadal oscillation, and other long-term cycles.

Putting all of these affects together, Lerner, who gave his weather forecast for 2009 at the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association’s Grain Forecast and Economic Outlook Conference, said that he does not expect drought conditions to negatively impact the major grain crops in the U.S. in 2009.

The colder weather this winter and early spring may give natural gas prices a boost this winter, according to Lerner. Poultry producers might not mind high natural gas prices as long as corn and soybean prices stay below the levels reached this past summer.

Few tears at Eurotier

A thumbnail survey carried at animal husbandry trade show EuroTier, held in Hanover, Germany, in mid-November, suggests that suppliers to the poultry industry are holding up in the current crisis rather well.

Asked what they expected 2009 to bring, animal companies through to processing equipment companies were all positive in their responses, even if some were a little cautious.

Staff at an animal health company responded that they had expected little interest, given the credit crunch, in what they had to offer, but that they had been overwhelmed by the number of visitors coming by their stand.

Representatives from a genetics company forecast that there would be a slight downturn during the first quarter of 2009 and that Western European companies were showing some reluctance to invest but, overall, next year is expected to be positive.

Other companies similarly noted a reduction in activity in Western Europe but added that this was being compensated for demand from other markets, especially the Middle and Far East.

Perhaps the best news of all, most companies are reporting that, despite their expectations for a downturn in demand, the impact of the credit crunch so far has been absolutely minimal.

Impex and Big Dutchman at EuroTier

Impex and Big Dutchman booths at EuroTier, opening morning.

WATT goes to EuroTier

The WATT display area at EuroTier in Hannover, Germany, on the opening morning of the show.

Keith Benke

Keith Benke of KSU speaking at the EMC meeting held at the Hyatt in Savannah, Ga., on how ingredient quality impacts customers.