Prof. William G. Hill, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences of the University of Edinburgh, reviews statistical methods of estimating genetic changes and results of long term selection in different species of animals and plants, including egg-type and meat-type chickens, dairy and beef cattle, pigs and sheep, race horses and dogs, laboratory mice and drosophila, as well as maize. With the exception of race horses and greyhound dogs, significant progress has been documented in all species and is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Dr. Roger J. Busch, TTN Institute of Applied Ethics at the LMU in Munich, takes a critical look at the production of bio-energy vs. food from an ethical point of view. Ethical standards are subject to differences between countries and may change over time. Deficits in the perception of modern agriculture are seen not only in our German society. If representatives of agriculture inform consumers better about conflicting objectives, support for bio-energy is likely to decline with rising food prices.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Prof. Dr. Alois Heißenhuber, Stefan Berenz and Stefan Rauh, Institute of Agricultural Economics of the TU Munich-Weihenstephan, present a detailed analysis of economic and ecological aspects of bio-energy production. After years of overproduction and decreasing farm prices for food and animal feed, tax benefits for bio-fuel have helped to stabilize farm income. However, food production will always have priority over bio-fuel production. Individual farmers must keep the future potential for income from energy vs. food in mind when investing in bio-energy. As preferred option for agriculture and rural development, the authors recommend the use of biogenic waste or the double use of agricultural products.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zeddies, University of Hohenheim, takes a look at the potential for renewable energy under global aspects. Based on FAO statistics for trends in population growth, per-capita food consumption and available land area for food or energy production, “exploitable area potentials” are derived from statistical models with simplified assumptions for selected countries and continents. With the use of fallow land reserves and yield improvements, acute price reactions for food and feed prices can be avoided. In the EU-27 and in other parts of the world, a significant potential for bio-energy production exists, but the question is still open to what extent bio-mass can be used for energy production while satisfying the primary demand for adequate and affordable food for human nutrition.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Musa Freiji, a widely known Lebanese entrepreneur who contributed significantly to the development of the poultry industry in the Middle East since his graduation from the American University of Beirut, addresses the broader question how agricultural production in the Arab region could be enhanced to reduce the dependency on imported grain in order to improve the balance of payments and support employment in agriculture. Based on FAO statistics for all countries in the Arab League and personal experience in several countries, he sees a huge potential e.g. in Sudan for better land use, but realization would require investments in a political climate of predictability for investors.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Dr. Hans-Heinrich Thiele and Robert Pottgüter, Lohmann Tierzucht GmbH, Cuxhaven, summarize management recommendations for laying hens kept in deep litter, perchery and free range systems. While most laying hens world-wide are kept in battery cages, EU directives and corresponding guidelines in individual countries will lead to the replacement of cages by alternative systems. Germany is presently in a transition phase, after which about 50% of the hens are expected to be kept in “Kleingruppenhaltung” (an advanced version of large enriched cages with more space per hen, nests, litter area and roosts), 50% in floor systems. The recommendations are based on long term experience with parents (most of which have always been kept on floor) and more recent experience with commercial layers in different countries. More detailed information for specific white-egg and brown-egg strain crosses is available from primary breeding companies and their distributors.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

In his review Jay Lush - reflections on the past, Dr. Louis Ollivier, Jouy-en-Josas, France, pays tribute to the “father of modern animal breeding”. Animal science students in many countries have learned animal breeding theory on the basis of the classic text book “Animal Breeding Plans”, which has been aptly described as “a high impact book, even if not read”. Readers of Lohmann Information may be interested to know that three former students of Prof. Lush became interested in poultry breeding after completing their PhD projects on dairy cattle and contributed to the layer breeding program of Lohmann Tierzucht: the late Dr. Max von Krosigk (1959-1970), Prof. Franz Pirchner (1962-1964) and the current editor (1968-1999).

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Egg producers across the EU are in the process of replacing conventional cages by alternative management systems to meet EU regulations and increasing consumer demand for non-cage eggs. Based on a case study in Sweden reported at the 16th Finnish and Baltic Poultry Conference in Vantaa, Finland, Prof. D.K. Flock illustrates in his paper Adaptability of laying hens to noncage environments that modern hybrid layers are quite capable to adapt to organic egg production, provided the husbandry is optimized to make use of the genetic potential.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Feed efficiency of laying hens has been improved gradually by a combination of genetic selection, feed formulation and management, but feed cost remains the major cost factor in egg and poultry meat production. Most nutrition research has focused on feed formulation to satisfy the birds’ demand for energy, amino acids and other essential nutrients. In his paper Fiber in layer diets, LTZ nutritionist Robert Pottgüter looks at fiber as an often overlooked feed component which deserves attention to optimize gut health, minimize environmental impact of production and even decrease cannibalism.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

The control of diseases, an essential part of the modern poultry industry, would not have been possible without effective vaccines, for which SPF eggs are used. Lohmann Tierzucht, a major producer of SPF eggs, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the VALO department with a symposium in April 2008, at which Dr. Egon Vielitz, former head of the LTZ Veterinary Laboratory, reviewed The history of VALO SPF from its early beginnings in the 1950s.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Fertile eggs are widely used to produce vaccines for humans and animals. Marcus Kock, marketing director, and Dr. Gerhard Seemann, technical director of the VALO division of Lohmann Tierzucht, explain the difference between "Clean Eggs" and "SPF-Eggs" in their paper Fertile eggs - a valuable product for vaccine production. The total world market for vaccine eggs is almost 600 million eggs per annum, most of which are "Clean Eggs" for human vaccine production.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Dr. Carmen Jungbäck and Dr. Andreas Motitschke review The Importance of SPF-Eggs in Manufacturing and Testing of Poultry Vaccines from the perspective of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, the federal authority in Germany for the licensing of sera, vaccines and blood products for use in humans and animals. While attempts to find cheaper and/or more efficient alternatives to the use of SPF eggs continue, the authors conclude that SPF eggs will continue to be needed in the foreseeable future.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

The last paper of this edition, Small and medium sized enterprises - winners of globalization? by Prof. Feldmeier and H. Hansen is based on a recent field study of the Institute for Management and Economics, University of Bremerhaven, Germany. Analyzing several success factors in business, the authors conclude that small and medium sized companies have excellent opportunities to benefit from globalization, especially if they have recourse to immigrants from the respective target countries which are acquainted with the cultures of the home as well as the host country.

published in No. 43 / 2008 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)