Saturday July 31 2010

Pig World
August issue

August issue of Pig World is published Wednesday August 11.

Why cereal prices are rising

Russia has declared a state of emergency in 23 regions as a result of its current heat-wave, which is said to be the worst in over 130 years.

This is one of the reasons spot wheat prices in Britain are now approaching a two-year high.

Russia's wheat harvest is set to fall 15m tonnes on last year's 62m tonnes and wheat exports are likely to be only 9.5m tonnes, compared to over 18m tonnes in 2009-10.

As harvest results start coming in from across Europe it is clear many continental producers are seeing significantly lower yields also.

• France has harvested around a third of its wheat and yields are down 10 percent.
  
  
• The wheat harvest has started in southern Germany and wheat yields are expected to be 10-20 percent lower than forecast.
  
  
• In Poland, which is the European Union's third largest wheat producer, a 10 percent fall is expected, meaning a drop of over 25m tonnes.

In Russia there is speculation the Kremlin will impose export restrictions on its carryover stocks from last year's harvest.

Around 24m acres of Russian wheat have been destroyed by drought. Forest fires are now sweeping the country.

But globally the position on wheat is far from critical. The shortfall in supplies from the Black Sea region can be made up from the United States and Australia wheat crops.

However, speculators may cause price spikes, which will make it difficult for British pig-keepers to choose the right time to lock in.

United States wheat production will be less than last year because the area planted was down 17 percent but this is compensated for by a high carryover from last year.

And at 369m tonnes, world carryover grain stocks are broadly similar to the year before (2008-09).

Currently 265,435 tonnes of common wheat, 5.18m tonnes of barley and 214,630 tonnes of maize are stored in European intervention.

There was no release of cereals stocks from public intervention onto the European Union market this week, despite turbulence in the grain markets.

This week, Paul Temple, chairman of Copa's cereals working party, claimed the cereals market is not functioning properly.

Smashed

It was a good meal last night, and the house white was particularly more-ish, but the pavement was hard and, to be honest, spinning. Don't try to ring me on my mobile for a day or two. — Digby.

friday july 30 2010

At times like this you know
who your friends are

Demand for contract and spot pigs remained rather subdued today with most abattoirs blaming indifferent demand from the retail sector at a time when there are perhaps just a few more pigs on offer than they really need. Traffic Lights commentary.

Movements to slaughter

Pig-keepers who are already supplying an assured abattoir and who are completing their Food Chain Information on-line, should transfer to electronic-AML2 now, advises Andrew Knowles of BPEX.

'It is only a couple more questions and an added benefit is that you will get your meat hygiene inspection results back.'

To sign up for electronic movements go to www.bpex-aml2.org.uk. If you are already registered for the electronic Food Chain Information website you will be able to login with your existing username and password.

Electronic farm to slaughter notification is now operating in all assured abattoirs in England. The switch-over from paper forms to electronic notification of movement to slaughter will be in September.

Thursday july 29 2010

Wheat still rising

November wheat prices gained another £10 a tonne this week. See Traffic Lights page.

Andrew Knowles, of BPEX, is arranging a risk management workshop for September.

"A wide range of commodity risk management tools is available and well understood and used by feed companies such as BOCM Pauls and and ABN," he says.

"But I believe there is a knowledge gap with other parts of the pigmeat supply chain as to what these tools are and what degree of risk management they can and cannot provide in difference situations.

"And there may also be a general lack of confidence by parts of the supply chain in how to select the most appropriate tool for different individual businesses depending on their attitude to risk."

The workshop will cover:

• An overview of risk management tools and examples of how they work.
  
  
• French pig producers' perspective on their experience of risk management of feed and pig price.
  
  
• Input from feed companies on their perception on English pig industry understanding and use of risk management.
  
  
• A round table discussion on possible next steps to be taken by BPEX.

Helen's Nuffield blog

Helen Thoday's Nuffield blog has been updated today.

Old Spot pork joins Europe
quality scheme

"Traditionally Farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots Pork" has been added to the list of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed products this week, under the European Union's quality labelling scheme.

To qualify as a 'TSG', a traditional agricultural product or foodstuff has to have at least 25 years proven use on the European Union market and be recognised by the European Union for its traditional character, either in the composition or means of production.

This is the second United Kingdom TSG — "Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey" was registered in 2000. Three other United Kingdom products are awaiting approval under the European Union quality scheme, namely "Traditional Pasture Reared Beef", "Traditional Bramley Apple Pie Filling" and "Traditional Grass Fed Red Poll Beef".

World's largest experimental fusion plant

Over £3m of unbudgeted Common Agriculture Policy funds will be deployed to partly fund the building of the world's largest experimental fusion plant.

A fusion occurs when hydrogen nuclei collide, fuse into heavier helium atoms and release huge amounts of energy in the process.

Fusion is the process at the core of the sun. What we see as light and feel as warmth is the result of a fusion reaction.

United States pig prices rise

United States pig futures rose for the second day yesterday on speculation that demand for United States pork is outpacing the supply of animals to slaughterhouses.

Wholesale pork climbed to its highest level since June 1. Meatpackers processed 1.16m pigs in the first three days of this week, 6.9 percent fewer than last year.

In June, the United States herd was 3.6 percent smaller than a year earlier after two years of losses spurred farmers to cut supply.

Most European pig production "unacceptable" says RSPCA

A survey for the RSPCA has found more than six out of 10 (64 percent) shoppers who bought ham, sausages, bacon or pork in the last six months want to choose higher welfare products like Freedom Food or free range, but may not be able to because of a lack of clear labelling.

The majority of the 160m pigs raised annually in Europe for meat are kept in conditions that do not meet some of their most basic needs, which the RSPCA says it finds unacceptable.

In response, it has launched a "Think Pig" campaign to help consumers make an educated choice when buying sausages, bacon, ham and pork.

The survey found that 88 percent of grocery shoppers questioned had bought pork products in the last six months, so what they choose can make a real difference to pigs' welfare, says RSPCA.

"Think Pig" aims to harness consumers' concerns about the way animals are treated and help them use their spending power by following a checklist while out shopping.

The checklist asks people to only buy higher welfare pork products that display the Freedom Food logo - which means they have come from farms inspected to RSPCA welfare standards - or those labelled outdoor bred, outdoor reared, free range or organic.

These labels conform to the new voluntary labelling code for pork products developed by the RSPCA and BPEX to which the majority of supermarkets have signed up.

Many pigs are kept in overcrowded barren environments with no bedding or material for rooting and only slatted floors to lie down on, says RSPCA.

Its survey showed many shoppers are confused about labelling. When shown packaging of various pork products, for each product between 35 and 45 percent of shoppers who had bought sausages, bacon, ham or pork in the last six months answered that they didn't know how the pig was treated.

The RSPCA hopes consumers will make the ethical choice and support higher welfare farming in the same way as they have with eggs and chicken. The number of eggs from caged birds sold has dropped by 11 per cent since 2004.

According to Leigh Grant, Freedom Food's chief executive, the upsurge in consumer demand and spending on Freedom Food pork products is having a direct impact on improving pig welfare.

"We have seen the number of pigs reared to RSPCA welfare standards dramatically increase by 26 percent - from less than 1.6 million animals two years ago, to more than 1.9 million today as a direct result of consumer demand," he said.

wednesday July 28, 2010

How we work in the pig sector

This is how the pig industry works...

Last night there was only one pig sector entry for the Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award (see "Poor showing", below).

But this morning there are five, possibly six candidates, assuming all the promised application forms arrive. Thanks pig industry. Keep 'em coming.

Inquiry into innovation in farming

An inquiry into 'Innovation and European Union agriculture' has been launched today by the House of Lords European Union sub-committee on agriculture, and invites contributions from across the agricultural, food production, retail, environmental and research sectors.

The aim of the inquiry is to identify how innovation in European Union agriculture can be best supported, particularly at a time when factors such as population increase and climate change have greatly impacted the scale of the challenges facing agriculture in the United Kingdom, Europe and globally.

Innovation can refer to specific examples of new technologies, such as biotechnology, information technology and new machinery; much simpler business processes, such as the decision to plant a new crop, alteration to a label or a change in the terms used to market a product; and more generic processes by which ideas are conceived, developed and deployed throughout the agricultural sector.

The committee will be considering:

• How far agriculture is innovating today.
• What the obstacles to innovation are.
• What challenges are likely to drive innovation in the future.
• The key players and structures needed to support innovation in European Union agriculture.
• How the Common Agricultural Policy and European Union Research Programme can help to resolve the issues identified.

The closing date for written evidence is 24 September 2010. The Committee will begin to take oral evidence from witnesses in the autumn with a view to reporting before next summer. To submit evidence or find out more about the inquiry and the work of the committee, visit the committee web pages.

tuesday July 27 2010

Poor showing (so far) by pig sector

The poultry industry has put forward an excellent number of candidates this year for its Trainee of the Year Award. The pig sector, on the other hand, very definitely has not.

This poor showing by pigs follows three years when there have been an excellent numbers of entries - to the extent that getting all the candidates judged was becoming an embarrassment.

It's not too late for the pig sector to remedy the situation. If you have someone on your unit - any age, any level of experience - who is putting his or her training to good use on behalf of the unit, please enter them for the award.

The deadline is July 30. Please email if you require a little extra time. Download entry form.

Minister to present pig award

This year's pig industry Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award winner will be presented with his or her award by agriculture minister Jim Paice at the House of Commons on Monday November 1.

Candidates for the award will be interviewed by a panel of judges chaired by Richard Longthorp on September 15.