UNITED KINGDOM PIG INDUSTRY NEWS PAGE
July 3
A tale of two pig producers...
Maybe you knew there were two pig producers called Richard Lister, both in Yorkshire. I didn't. And when I got an email from Richard Lister a couple of weeks ago, being a conscientious webmaster, I was quick to spot that neither the email address nor the mobile number tallied with the contact information I have for Richard Lister on our Contacts page. So I changed the information. As a result, Richard Lister started getting emails intended for Richard Lister, and clearly that was wrong. However Richard Lister, who sometimes gets cheques intended for Richard Lister, didn't really mind. And apart from a bit of public pillorying, Richard Lister has forgiven me my mistake. As, indeed, has Richard Lister. Pictured above are Richard Lister (left) and Richard Lister (right). Next week, I will be writing about the two Jon Easeys. — D.S.
Movies
More movies from the Yorkshire and Humberside Health meeting.
Over 90 percent of producers willing to be mapped
Over a hundred industry people attended the Good Health meeting organised by Yorkshire and Humberside Health at Malton this week.
Thanks to the interactive voting technology supplied by Dr David Strachan of Boehringer-Ingelheim, the organisers are able to determine that 54 percent of attendees were producers and 14 percent vets.
And the next statistic is one you will never see reported from an East Anglia meeting. Of the producers present...
• 91 percent were breeder-feeders
• 7 percent were weaner produceers
• 100 percent were owners, not contractors.
At the beginning of the meeting 58 percent of producers thought it quite or very likely they would play an active part in the Yorkshire and Humberside Health initiative.
At the end of the meeting 90 percent said they would be happy to be included in the mapping of pig herds, 8 percent said “maybe” and only 2 percent said “no”.
Asked if it was quite likely, very likely or almost certain they would join in a local producer cluster as part of the Yorkshire and Humberside Health project, 94 percent of producers said, Yes.
When it came to choosing the diseases to be targeted:
• 91 percent of producers said it was quite or very important to tackle swine dysentery.
• 45 percent said the same for mange.
• 86 percent said the same for enzootic pneumonia.
• 88 percent said the same for PRRS.
Asked early in the meeting about the best way to tackle disease in the region:
• 4 percent of producers wanted enforced legislation.
• 2 percent favoured individual action.
• 22 percent favoured a few local groups.
• 71 percent favoured a serious regional collective effort.
• Nobody was content with the status quo.
By the end of the meeting almost 100 percent of attendees threw their weight behind the Yorkshire and Humberside initiative.
Wild boar and porcine brucellosis
The risk of brucella suis spreading through Europe's pigs herd has been identified and qualitatively assessed by the European Food Safety Authority.
The presence of infected wild boars and hares in areas of outdoor pig production remains the most important risk factor in currently affected areas in Europe. Movement of live pigs and semen from these areas could spread the disease to other parts of Europe.
Therefore, says the authority, awareness should be raised in the pig industry for indicative clinical signs of porcine brucellosis.
Where are the pigs?
By Digby Scott
The first challenge for Yorkshire and Humberside Health is to produce an electronic map of the region, showing where all the pigs are and using a traffic lights system to show their health status.
Work on this has started. Around 85 percent of the pigs have been located by owner and location. The remainder will be mapped as the project progresses.
One of the concerns voiced by producers at this week’s Good Health meeting at Malton was how to identify the location of “hobby pigs”. This will not be an easy task, but it is achievable. As reported here earlier, Rod Tuck’s idea of contacting them via feed outlets has considerable merit.
Having identified where the pigs are in the region, the next task for Yorkshire and Humberside Health is to allocate them a traffic lights health status for each of four diseases, where RED means “status unknown” and GREEN means clean.
The four diseases being targeted are swine dysentery, enzootic pneumonia, PRRS and mange.
The biggest challenge for Yorkshire and Humberside Health is determining every unit’s health status for each of the diseases. Work has already started on this, but is potentially problematic for two reasons:
1. It requires the cooperation of all pig-keepers and their vets — but given the overwhelming mandate by producers at this week’s Good Health meeting at Malton, achieving cooperation and approval for the majority of pigs in Yorkshire and Humberside may not be as difficult as first envisaged.
2. Proving the absence of a disease is much harder than proving its presence — but Nigel Wolfenden, of Bishopton Veterinary Group, and specialist pig pathologist Stan Done have started work on it, and are making excellent progress.
Seeking producers’ support for targeting swine dysentery, enzootic pneumonia, PRRS and mange, Nigel Woolfenden told the Malton meeting, “We have to decide which diseases we need to tackle and how we go about diagnosing them in common way so that we are all happy with what we are declaring with each other.
“The vets on the Yorkshire and Humberside Health steering group started by considering the economically damaging diseases - the ones that cost us, the ones that we can afford to spend money on to eradicate.
“Further than that we had to be able to quantify the benefits of investing money to control these deceases, so that we would not be acting in the dark.
"For instance, if we had been sitting here six years ago talking about PMWS as being a disease we should be attacking, our problem would have been that we would not have been able to diagnose it accurately.
“Also in selecting the diseases we are going to target, we have got to have the experience of already being able to eliminate or control them on the farm, in a reliable way, and to know that once we have actually got areas that are free of the diseases, we are able to keep them free.
“There are producers in this room who have made that investment and are still clear to this day of certain diseases that they decided to attack.”
Following NIgel Wolfenden’s presentation, the Good Health meeting voted on which diseases to tackle. The outcome was that the following are "Quite or Very Important" to tackle:
• Swine dysentery 98 percent
• EP 89 percent
• PRRS 88 percent
• Mange 57 percent.
These diseases have therefore been adopted as Yorkshire and Humberside Health’s target diseases.
• At the beginning of the Good Health meeting, producers were asked if they were Almost Certain or Very Likely to get involved with the Yorkshire and Humberside Health projectb and 58 percent said Yes. By the end of the meeting, the percentage had risen to 84 percent.
Essentially Yorkshire and Humberside Health will get producers working together on the principle that good biosecurity is shared biosecurity, with the aim of producing clean areas in the region so that control and elimination is not only achievable, but enduring.
Nigel Wolfenden explained to producers the difficulties involved in determining the status of pig units for these four diseases.
“You may think it’s easy... you’re vets, just go out and diagnose them. But unfortunately disease diagnosis has got more complicated as pathologists have got cleverer. It is even more complicated now to work out where these diseases are because we can actually be too accurate in diagnosing some of them. We can pick up infection and not necessarily disease.
“So when we were looking at this we were trying to be a little bit more broad brushstroke as to what we were actually looking for, whilst still maintaining a degree of accuracy so that we can actually be honest when we declare what we have got on farms.
“Furthermore, our tests have got to be fast, because we’ve got a lot of finishing units here in Yorkshire and the pigs are in and out in 12 weeks and the units are then repopulated with pigs of a different health status. So it is no good having a disease diagnostic that takes eight weeks to come through, because it is historical by that point.”
The tests also had to be transparent, they had to be agreed by the vast majority of vets, and they had to be to a consistent standard standard, he said.
“Working with all these provisos, we are trying to produce a pilot now that we can wheel out in due course, which is cost-effective - not something that is going to cost hundreds of pounds to diagnose on each unit.
“We’ve got to be able to use the information that is already available to us and we must also try and make everything as easy as possible. We’re trying to use a pathological material that is available to us already and slaughter pigs are the obvious choice.
“We can go into abattoirs and look at lung scores and that’s already happening obviously with the British Pig Health Scheme, so we are going to use that information where it is available.
“Obviously diagnosing a weaner unit is slightly more difficult particularly where somebody is producing 7kg weaners; it is quite hard to diagnose things like enzootic pneumonia at that stage. So we need to look at antibody status in the sow herd and to determine what is happening there.
“Are we wasting our time with this? You might say you already know what your health status is, that you know what you’ve got with each of these diseases. And to be honest perhaps the vast majority of people in this room and their vets will know what they have got, so we’re not going to reinvent the wheel with that.
“Part of the pilot is that we look at the health status declared by the vet and then look at what the diagnostic say and make sure that they agree near enough for our purposes here.
“Your vet will also be asked to participate in this way and we need agreement from you and that you will let your vet give out this sort of information.”
• More reports from the Good Health meeting, including a breakdown of producer voting, will be available next week, on the Yorkshire and Humberside Health website.
July 2
Act now or watch your performance go downhill, vet warns Yorkshire producers
The density and pattern of pig ownership in Yorkshire means the county is in danger of sliding into poorer pig health than other regions, warns vet Nigel Wolfenden. This is one of the reasons Pig Veterinary Society has thrown its weight behind Yorkshire and Humberside Health. MORE.
talking stops and the action starts
Following a well-attended producer meeting at Malton yesterday, Yorkshire and Humberside Health has moved from its planning to its action phase.
• The meeting voted overwhelmingly to form producer clusters which will produce local disease plans.
• Work on forming these clusters has already started.
• The meeting voted overwhelmingly to share information about disease status so producer clusters can make informed decisions about disease control.
• It agreed on the four diseases to be targeted: swine dysentery, enzootic pneumonia, PRRS and mange.
• A pilot scheme to determine the health status of pig units in the region is under way.
• A website has been launched to start the process of communication.
• Beta software has been produced to help producers decide whether a depop-repop will be cost-effective for them.
• The meeting produced a raft of suggestions and these will now be used to form the backbone of Yorkshire and Humberside Health policy.
• Leeds University research student Jennifer Waters is assisting with the project.
Commenting on yesterday's meeting, producer Richard Longthorp said, "The content was spot on, the delivery was excellent, producer participation was excellent, timing was impeccable and the whole event was masterfully pulled together."
The agenda was devised by Sam Hoste who had producers forming small groups to determine what they wanted from Yorkshire and Humberside Health, and suggesting how to achieve it.
Expert speakers spoke about swine dysentery (vet Jake Waddilove), mapping pig unit health (vet Nigel Wolfenden) and depopping-repopping (producer Pete Batty).
Interactive voting (supplied by vet Dr David Strachan of Boehringer-Ingelheim) was used to allow the meeting to take soundings of producers' views at the beginning of the meeting, and again at the end.
The meeting required considerable input from everyone, including the forming of impromptu groups, and the creation of a human map of Yorkshire on the rugby field outside.
Therefore a powerful, and if necessary abusive figure was required to keep order. The choice of Hugh Crabtree as master of ceremonies was inspired.
More reports follow.
Movies of the event (still being updated).
Yorkshire and Humberside Health website (temporary location).
Above: If you had flown over in a helicopter you would have seen (roughly) a human map of Yorkshire and Humberside as producers started to form clusters which will work together to control disease in the region.
Above: Vet Jake Waddilove gives a riveting account of how swine dysentery in organic pigs in Scotland caused an outbreak of the disease in East Anglia.
Above: Where are the mystery pigs? Vet Nigel Woldenden outside with flipchart.
Above: Break-out groups were tasked with finding solutions for tricky solutions, such as how to get non-believers to engage. By the end of the day it became apparent that even the most difficult problems could be overcome.
Above: A group of York area producers rally round steering group member Angela Booth to consider forming producer clusters in the area.
we need a fair price, says Scottish producers
NFU Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs and the environment committee’s report into the Scottish pig industry. However, even if the Scottish government and producers are able to deliver on the committee’s recommendations, the sector’s future can only be determined by a fair return from the marketplace.
The report, is the culmination of the committee’s inquiry into the industry, which began in spring 2008. This followed a collapse in pigmeat prices due to continued low returns, unilateral welfare legislation, and foot and mouth disease.
Among the Committee’s recommendations to address the decline in Scottish pig production, Scottish MPs suggested the Scottish government and industry take the following steps:
• Support Vion Halls, Broxburn, Scotland’s only industrial pig processing.
• Advocate the creation of a supermarket ombudsman.
• Improve producers’ efficiency.
• Increase the distinctiveness and marketability of Scottish pork.
• Encourage new entrants into pig farming.
• Encourage established producers to invest in their business.
• Boost consumer demand for Scottish pork.
• Encourage greater consumption of local produce via public procurement contracts.
• Provide financial support to help meet some costs of complying with legislation.
NFU Scotland’s pigs working group chairman Philip Sleigh, who gave evidence to the committee during its inquiry, said, “We thank the committee for its unprecedented concern in the Scottish pig industry. Its members have devoted time and resources to conducting this inquiry and publishing their report, which makes many good recommendations.
“While producers understand that politicians can do little to move market returns directly, collective and vehement political will could bring about the creation of a supermarket ombudsman to oversee fairness throughout the supply chain. Long-term confidence and the benefits of increased efficiency, improved infrastructure, more new entrants, greater consumer demand and clearer labelling will only be achieved if the pig sector is underpinned by a decent return from the marketplace.
“It is no surprise that the committee noticed a distinction between retailers’ and producers’ views on the state of the industry and its future prospects as supermarkets enjoy vigorous financial health while producers’ returns are squeezed.
“The Scottish government’s recent announcement on the Scotland Rural Development Plan included scope to increase slurry storage grant aid from 40 percent to 50 percent, which is very welcome. In addition, last week’s news that pig units are to be exempted from revised European rules, which would have included more Scottish pig farms in stringent and costly IPPC regulations, will be a great relief to pigs producers.
“However, the situation still remains that pigmeat produced elsewhere in the European Union under lower welfare conditions still finds a ready market amongst some retailers here. In some cases, this meat can be processed in the United Kingdom and be labelled as Scottish or British, undercutting United Kingdom producers and misleading consumers.
"The committee’s recommendation that clearer labelling be introduced so that consumers can determine the full origin of the product they are buying is also to be commended.
“NFU Scotland continues to work closely with Scottish government at the highest level to try to reverse the decline in the Scottish pig industry and will respond to the committee’s report fully in due course.”
July 1
Yorkshire and Humberside Health
Today's meeting of Yorkshire and Humberside Health has been hailed a great success. It was attended by over a hundred producers, vets and allied trades. The steering committee was given an almost universal mandate to press ahead with a multifaceted attack on chronic disease in the region. The meeting split into groups which produced a raft of solid proposals as to how the scheme can be developed in the region. Fuller coverage of the meeting will be posted here tomorrow.
It was too much to expect that this trio of hooligans (one of them a Yorkshire and Humberside Health steering group member, two of them BPEX board members, forsooth) would behave in an appropriate manner when asked to go out onto the rugby field at Malton to discuss disease mitigation.
NPA election campaign
An NPA election sub-group will meet today to finalise details for the promotion of NPA's forthcoming Producer Group and Allied Industry Group elections. The sub-group members are Richard Longthorp, Hugh Crabtree and Digby Scott.
June 30
Vets urge DEFRA TO ABANDON new health body
The British Veterinary Association has called on Defra to abandon its plans for a new animal health body that will give responsibility for animal health to an independent board and leave responsibility for animal welfare with ministers.
The association has also expressed concern over the confusion caused by the new structure that could lead to delays in dealing with outbreaks of disease across the United Kingdom.
In its response to the Defra consultation on responsibility and cost sharing, which closed today (Tuesday 30 June), the association highlighted the following issues:
Animal welfare: The welfare of animals is inextricably linked to their health and the British Veterinary Association does not support Defra’s proposal to separate the two. Any new body responsible for animal health must also be responsible for animal welfare.
Disease control: Lack of clarity in the proposals over the roles of the chief veterinary officers, the board, and ministers may compromise the nation’s ability to respond effectively to major outbreaks of notifiable disease, such as foot and mouth disease. Anything that causes confusion in decision making could have disastrous consequences for the farming and the rural economy.
Non-livestock animals: The implications of the new body for species including horses, companion animals and zoos/wildlife establishments are not described or considered. It is essential to ensure they are not overlooked or sidelined in a body with a board set up around livestock.
Funding: The government must continue to seek to improve animal health and welfare and maintain its financial commitment to disease control. In a new partnership arrangement the costs of diseases control must not simply be transferred to the industry. Any cost sharing arrangements must also provide industry with an incentive for action to improve their practice and reward those that achieve good animal health and welfare outcomes and penalise those that refuse to adopt industry accepted norms.
Competitiveness of English agriculture: The competitiveness of English agriculture could be jeopardised in relation to other member countries and other parts of the United Kingdom if these proposals are brought in before European-wide proposals are announced in 2011.
“We’re asking Defra to go back to the drawing board on responsibility and cost sharing. While we agree with the principle of sharing responsibility for managing disease with industry, we believe this is the wrong way to achieve it," said British Veterinary Association president Nicky Paull.
“Every vet knows that you cannot consider an animal’s health or welfare in a bubble – the two are intrinsically connected. Leaving animal welfare issues with ministers who have one eye on the political agenda risks some important issues slipping through the net.”
RIP IPU
Today is the last day on which farmers may use or store any products containing the herbicide isoproturon.
United Kingdom approval for all products containing IPU was revoked by ministers on March 19 2007 after a review of its impacts on the aquatic environment. Farmers had until June 30 2009 to use up or dispose of remaining stocks. Continued use or storage on farm after this date is illegal.
NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond said: “At a time when we are calling for voluntary measures rather than red tape and regulation it’s vital that all farmers act responsibly. Any leftover stocks of IPU must be disposed of through a licensed waste disposal contractor.”
RETURN OF THE Bendy cucumber
European Union rules governing the size and shape of many fruit and vegetables will cease to exist tomorrow when specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables are repealed. The Commission's initiative to get rid of these standards is a major element in its efforts to streamline and simplify rules and cut red tape.
June 29
Pig Business
Tracy Worcester's film Pig Business is scheduled to be shown on More 4 at 9pm tomorrow night. More.
Another Vion plant faces the axe
Vion has closed four plants already in the United Kingdom and is now about to close a fifth, its sausage plant in Cumbria. Production will be moved to Hull.
Scottish SPCA endorses Scottish Pig Assurance Scheme
Quality Meat Scotland is to become the first farm assurance and food labelling scheme to be independently approved by a national animal welfare charity, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“This is a tremendously exciting partnership which will ensure and demonstrate the highest animal welfare standards on Scottish pig farms," said Scottish SPCA chief executive Stuart Earley today.
“While participation is voluntary, we believe the vast majority of more than 200 pig farms in Scotland will become involved. Every farm will then be assessed by Scottish Food Quality Certification and Scottish SPCA inspectors within 18 months.
“The scheme will be extended throughout the production process, ensuring exceptionally high animal welfare standards are maintained.
“What is absolutely key is the Scottish SPCA will remain entirely impartial and independent within this scheme and will not receive any income, either directly or through any subsidiary."
Quality Meat Scotland chief executive Uel Morton said: “We know from our research that high animal welfare standards are very important to consumers. The new labelling clearly showing our Specially Selected Pork is independently approved by Scotland’s animal welfare charity takes us to a new level as far as consumer assurance in the UK is concerned.
“I am confident Scottish pig producers, who rightly take enormous pride in their production standards, will take advantage of this opportunity to make their pork even more attractive to UK retailers and consumers.”
Favourite for barbecuing
Pork is still Germany's favourite meat for barbecuing, accounting for 88 percent of barbecued meat, according to recent research. The Germans love their barbecues. Some even have them on New Year’s Eve.
sale of Outdoor pig equipment
Peter Crichton reports a well attended sale at his auction of outdoor pig equipment held on behalf of Sam Martin (formerly a columnist for Pig World), at Droxford near Winchester on 27 June.
With a good following of buyers from the south, west and some who had also travelled all the way from East Anglia, prices were firm from start to finish.
A well maintained range of uninsulated farrowing huts sold to £205 to average £175, 4-ring dry sow arks to £200 (av £160), fenders to £52 (av £40), galvanised 6ft troughs to £52 (av £50), rubber troughs to £42 (av £36) and Peter Allen nut feeders to £230 (av £214).
Top price in the machinery section was £27,800 paid for a 2007 John Deere 6230 4WD tractor with Quickie loader. Two Peter Allen 1.5t Rotafeeders made £2,100 and £1,800 (missing control box) and a Lerin Cartel straw chopper £1,350.
Fixed equipment included two Bulk Feed Systems high discharge bulk bins both of which made £1,700 (10t/12t capacity).
The next dispersal sale of pig equipment takes place on 1 August at Canterbury on a 180 sow indoor unit.
Continentals eye up ENGLISH weaner market
The sale of weaners to neighbouring countries has become big business on the continent with Dutch and Danish producers sending millions of young pigs a year to Germany.
As the price of weaners in England increases, and is now hovering around £60, at least one marketing group on the continent is putting out feelers to see if it could sell weaners into England.
Industry leaders here feel that if this happened it would compromise the work of the English pig industry’s two health initiatives, Yorkshire and Humberside Health, and the East Anglia Swine Dysentery Eradication (Control) Scheme.
Defra is currently surveying the national pig herd to see if, unlike mainland Europe, it remains free from the drug-resistant superbug MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).
If Defra’s findings confirm the English herd is free from MRSA, industry leaders will urge Defra to insist any imports of weaners to this country come from MRSA-free herds.
Another concern for English producers is classical swine fever. There is growing concern on the continent over the threat of classical swine fever posed by wild boar; one producer organisation recently referred to this risk as a Sword of Damocles hanging over the whole industry.
Testing for classical swine fever and swine vesicular disease would not be required before weaners left Holland for England, although under intra-community law Animal Health would carry out veterinary checks for notifiable diseases at the destination premises of the pigs.
Holland became officially free of Aujesky’s in December last year and any trade in live pigs is now controlled by International Trade Animal Health Certificate.
European law prevents Defra imposing unilateral checks on incoming stock. If NPA and BPEX wish to see more rigorous biosecurity checks in place, they will probably have to take up the issue with Brussels.
Danes struggle to compete
Denmark’s pork exports to third countries have been hit by the global economic downturn, the stronger euro, and the weaker dollar.
In the first quarter of this year they were down 20 percent compared with the same period last year. Russian shoppers are strapped for cash and Japanese consumers are finding pork from the United States is cheaper.
Danish exports within Europe are also suffering. Exports to Italy were down a third in the first quarter. However, exports to Germany and Poland are stable and may even be expanding. Pig prices are high in Poland following the collapse of the national herd last year, so more pigmeat is being imported.
The biggest drop in Denmark’s export trade in Europe is to Britain where the weakness of sterling against the euro has made it particularly hard for Danish producers to compete.
Yorkshire meeting will pack them in
Around 150 pig-keepers will be attending Wednesday's inaugural meeting of Yorkshire and Humberside Health, to help plot the direction of the scheme. This is an exceptional level of attendance.
The scheme aims to depress pig disease in the region, and ultimately to eradicate some chronic diseases. If you will be attending, but haven't told the organisers yet, please use the form above — or there might not be enough food to go round.
Members area
The NPA Members' Area has been updated twice today.
CCTV gives clues to piglet survival
By Helen Thoday, BPEX
Given the calibre of our guest speaker, in combination with the great summer weather, I thought it would be useful to get two of our outdoor pig clubs together for a barbecue - British pork only, of course - and to swap information.
Emma Baxter, from the Scottish Agricultural College, presented her findings from extensive research she has carried out on outdoor pigs in Scotland.
We were shown infrared images of piglets after farrowing to demonstrate the dramatic temperature losses that can occur, and some great CCTV footage from inside the huts, providing an insight into some particular farrowing situations.
Outdoor research is rare so it was a real pleasure to have Emma speaking to our Salisbury and Oxford pig clubs. Everyone agreed her information was fascinating and many people gained useful information to take back to the farm.
Lee Manning, of Fawley Farms, commented, “I have always said you should try and learn one new thing every day. Coming to these meetings is essential to get that new information, and tonight has been one of the best so far. We wean over ten and we need to try and improve on that all the time."
After Emma’s talk the group benchmarked on three key performance indicators - farrowing rate, piglet mortality and total born.
Each key performance indicator for each unit was mapped in a graph to show how performance has changed over time. Some fascinating trends emerged from both groups, including average gain in total born from 11.4 in 2006 to 12.14 in 2009.
The Oxford group have maintained their farrowing rate at 90 percent consistently for three years with no huge seasonal impacts, and Salisbury are just behind them at 86 percent.
Piglet mortality has fluctuated more, averaging between 11.5 and 14 percent, depending on the season. But both groups saw a similar decrease in autumn 2007.
To get the two groups to mingle I set them a challenge: guess the number of piglets weaned from both groups between April 2008 and April 2009. After finding out each other’s sow numbers there were some furious calculations.
The total was 289,862 and Anthony Sanderson made the closest guess - only 10,000 out! Tom Bugg and Duncan Stanford also came close and all three won prizes.
So what can we take away from Emma’s talk? Well genetics have a big impact on survival and mothering so much of it is out of our hands, but temperature is still an important factor in piglet survival as is what happens to the pig during pregnancy. So take the summer period to think about the huts and whether they need mending.
Emma chatted to the groups about the severe cold weather experienced this winter and how that affects the lying position of the sow in the hut and how it is more dangerous for the piglets as she will farrow into a tight corner and keep away from the doorway.
This can prove dangerous for the piglets so strawing up and hut position is essential. Something she did not realise until she watched so much video footage was how long piglets can survive when seemingly squashed by mum.
One piglet was under mum for four hours and still got up and walked away when the sow finally got up! So provide the correct level of straw to provide cushioning; the odd life-savingr air pocket is key.
Another area to focus on is re-evaluating your feeding throughout the whole system to make sure your sows can provide the correct requirements for their unborn litter and during lactation to prepare them for the subsequent litter, which matches the information Phil Baynes gave the groups in the last meeting nicely.
Russian pig herd continues to expand
Russia's pig herd is 4.1 percent up on last year, according to its June survey. Although family units remain important there is a clear trend towards bigger units.
Canadian pig industry on its knees
Low prices, fluctuating currency exchange rates, high input costs, and an erroneous perception that the H1N1 virus is somehow related to pork has left the Canadian pig industry on its knees. Nearly a third of pig farmers have gone out of business in the past two years. "It's by far the worst that our industry has ever seen in Canada," said Jurgen Preugchas, chairman of the Canadian Pork Council.
June 28
Never a better time to invest, producers told
“If investment in lowering unit costs, improving health and increasing the efficiency of pig production cannot be justified now, then it would be hard to see when it could be warranted in the future,” according to David Lee, senior partner of the Agribusiness Centre of Yorkshire Bank.
In recent years the pig industry had faced the classic dilemma — investment was needed to improve returns, but adequate returns were needed to afford investment, he told a meeting of pig producers at Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, organised by ARM Buildings in association with Farmex.
However, he said that with current low interest rates and a weak pound, the opportunity existed to make investments that were essential to compete with the best of foreign producers.
“Agriculture remains a safe sector in the eyes of banks at a time when there are concerns for some other sectors. Any business with a sound track record should now be looking hard at how and where it should be investing for the future,” he declared.
Farming, he said, had always had its own cycle of boom and recession — but there had been few boom years in recent times, especially for the pig sector.
June 26
Dan is leaving Vion
"Many in the industry will be sorry to hear that Daniel Day is leaving Vion next week. Daniel is well known as a fair-minded buyer who all through the dark days of slumping pig prices understood that farmers deserve fair prices if the food industry as a whole really wants a sustainable supply of quality British pigmeat." — Traffic Lights commentary.
June 25
Jimmy and BPEX launch 'No more porkies'
honest labelling campaign
Pig farmer, television personality and British pig industry champion Jimmy Doherty is planning to expose retailers who connive with processors to mislead shoppers.
He has joined forces with BPEX to find out if shoppers can tell from standard supermarket labels what is and what isn’t British pork. A recent YouGov poll showed shoppers find labels misleading and believe they should be clearer.
“As a pig farmer myself I am hugely concerned that products containing imported pork that does not meet minimum United Kingdom welfare standards can legally be labelled as British,” said Jimmy today.
“That’s why I have joined forces with BPEX to campaign for clearer country of origin labels.’
The ‘No More Porkies!’ campaign aims to encourage retailers and processors to make country of origin labelling clearer for consumers by following the Food Standards Agency’s best practice guidelines on country of origin labelling.
Jimmy and BPEX are keen for pig producers to join the campaign at these city centre venues:
• Tuesday June 30:
Birmingham and Norwich.
• Thursday July 2:
Leeds and Nottingham.
• Monday July 6:
Bristol and Southampton.
“No More Porkies” placards and t-shirts will be available. Jimmy Doherty will encourage passers-by to pick up five pork products with clear country of origin labels and put them in an empty basket as quick as they can.
He will tell shoppers how many products they identified correctly and will explain some of the issues around unclear labelling. He will encourage shoppers to look for the Quality Standard Mark.
If you take part in the campaign, you will be asked to give out guide-to-labelling leaflets to passers-by and to take part in a photo call. If you are willing to attend and take part at one of the venues above, please contact Gabriela Davies on 0207 861 3106, Gdavies@goodrelations.co.uk.
IPPC UPDATE: Joint lobbying wins the day
Following joint lobbying by Defra, NFU and NPA — with pivotal technical input by Nigel Penlington of BPEX — environment ministers reached political agreement in Luxembourg today not to extend IPPC down to 200-sow farms. This is a major success and NPA applauds the input of all organisations involved, and makes particular mention of former farms minister Jane Kennedy who travelled to Brussels shortly after being appointed minister, to help the industry make its case.
IPPC and GMs on the agenda today
The European Environment Council meets in Luxembourg today, and we will discover if NFU, NPA and Defra have - as expected - been successful at stopping IPPC being extended downwards to 200-sow farms.
It should be emphasised that success this time at persuading Brussels not to extend IPPC to smaller pig farms is short-term, as the Environment Directorate will return to the subject in a few years, unless it can be persuaded to rethink the suitability of IPPC as an emissions control mechanism for farming.
An interesting development at today's Environment Council will be the tabling of a paper by Austria proposing that GM approvals/bans should become a national, rather than a European issue. Austria believes individual countries should be allowed to decide for themselves, on the basis of biodiversity protection considerations, but also taking account of socioeconomic criteria.
June 24
BPEX move
BPEX will be moving on 24 July. Its new address from 27 July will be: BPEX,
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board,
Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth,
Warwickshire
CV8 2TL.
MIKE VARLEY TO JOIN BPEX
Dr Mike Varley will bring unique expertise in both practical pigmeat production and academia when he joins BPEX as head of knowledge transfer, research and development.
Mike, who joins BPEX on August 3, has been working as an independent consultant, and before that he was with NuTec UK and then SCA Nutrition, both parts of Provimi. He also has many years’ experience working at a number of different universities.
His academic and commercial roles have provided the opportunity to travel widely and develop detailed knowledge of pigmeat production across the world including visits to North America, Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan Thailand, Malaysia, South America and throughout Europe.
“It is my aspiration to harness existing knowledge and to develop innovative technical solutions to address changes throughout the pigmeat supply chain," he said.
“Our pig technology is also seen outside in the wider world as being among the best there is and this in itself may bring commercial advantage to our industry.”
BPEX director Mick Sloyan said, “Mike has a wealth of experience which dovetails with the needs of BPEX. BPEX knowledge transfer, and research and development has been transformed in recent years and I look forward to working with Mike to extend that work to deliver even more benefit to levy-payers and their businesses.”
European pigmeat supply chain probe
Ministers from a number of European countries are continuing to highlight the discrepancy between producer and supermarket prices. France weighed in with some pointed remarks at this week’s farm council meeting in Luxembourg and its view - that something has to be done about the growing dominance of supermarkets - was supported by several other countries.
Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel responded by giving an overview of the initiatives taken by the Commission since last year. She referred in particular to the Commission's roadmap to improve the functioning of the food supply chain, and to work carried out on the competitiveness of the agrifood Industry.
An investigation into the dairy and pigmeat markets is ongoing and the results are due to be published by the end of the year.
Several ministers talked of a code of conduct. Some outlined their experience in this respect. Others pointed out the difficulties in actually proving improper practices.
Another award for PIGS ARE WORTH IT
The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has announced the winners of its inaugural awards for public relations work. The "Pigs Are Worth It" campaign has won the Best PR-led Integrated Campaign Award.
The initiative was executed by an integrated team of agencies: Good Relations (consumer PR), Weber Shandwick (public affairs), HD Communications (trade PR) and DDB (advertising).
The creative campaign succeeded in encouraging supermarkets to raise the price of pork paid to farmers in crisis, helping save the British pig industry.
"It is hard to accurately gauge the overall financial impact of the campaign on the pig industry. But a spend measured in six figures made a huge contribution to pig farmers, helping prevent millions upon millions of pounds of losses. This success was due to the combined skills and experience of all our agencies and a truly integrated approach," said Chris Lamb, consumer marketing manager, BPEX.
Place-of-farming gets unanimous support
Proposals for a European Commission law that could transform the fortunes of British pig production were unanimously agreed by member countries at farm council in Luxembourg this week. This means that despite opposition from retailers and processors, place-of-farming legislation will almost certainly be agreed next year. Agriculture ministers at this week's farm council applauded progress so far on Brussels' quality labelling initiative.
New rules for animal feeds
European agriculture ministers this week agreed new rules for the marketing of animal feed. The Brussels regulation aims to consolidate, revise and modernise ten existing directives and is expected to come into force later this year. It seeks to establish a list of prohibited substances for feed and introduces specific mandatory labelling requirements for feed materials and compound feed. In future, any claim attached to a feed must be sufficiently substantiated.
More rigorous protection at slaughter
Animals must not suffer any avoidable distress or pain at the time of their killing. Such is the tenet of the European Union's new animal welfare legislation, as agreed by agriculture ministers this week. These rules are among the strictest worldwide.
Each year, several billion poultry and nearly 360 million pigs, sheep, goats and cattle are killed in European slaughterhouses. In addition, mass culls are sometimes necessary for the control of epidemics.
Until now there have been discrepancies in welfare standards between member countries. The new regulation will introduce a single set of rules that must be applied uniformly by animal handlers, slaughtermen and official inspectors all over the European Union and even by non-European Union trading partners.
Main elements are:
• Animals must be stunned before slaughter, using approved methods based on sound scientific assessment.
• The efficiency of stunning techniques must be regularly monitored.
• Killing may only be carried out by properly trained and certified personnel.
• Animal welfare must be taken into account in the design of slaughterhouses.
• An animal welfare officer is appointed for each slaughterhouse.
The regulation will not apply to scientific experiments or hunting, or when a farmer slaughters poultry or rabbits for his own consumption. Cultural traditions are also excluded and there are specially adapted rules for religious rites.
New tractor rules
This week's farm council in Luxembourg adopted new rules for tractors, covering steering equipment, rear-view mirrors, maximum design speed, load platforms, roll-over protection, the coupling device, lighting, signalling, radio interferences and electromagnetic compatibility.
June 23
Yorkshire and humberside health
Invitations to Yorkshire and Humberside's July 1 meeting at Malton were mailed out last week. Given the number of replies received yesterday and today, by fax, by phone and via the form above, it is now clear the meeting will be well attended and pig-keepers will outnumber allied trades abd others by a wide margin.
Pig advisers form continental hub
BPEX knowledge transfer people will be meeting some of their continental counterparts at the inaugural meeting of a European Union 'knowledge transfer hub' next month.
This will lead to an increase in the number of study tours available to members of the pig clubs run by BPEX around England.
The BPEX team also plans to set up a network with fellow advisers on the continent, to discover how other countries share ideas and learn from each other.
At the inaugural hub meeting this month, topics for discussion will include health initiatives, the challenges and solutions of environmental legislation and how advisers in different countries engage with producers.
Representatives from France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Holland will be attending. It is hoped to attract more countries once the hub gets established.
Outcomes from the meeting will be reported on this page, in Pig World and on the BPEX web site.
June 22
Farmers demonstratE in Luxembourg
Copa and Cogeca, the organisations representing European agriculture, today held a large demonstration at the meeting of the Agricultural Council. Over five thousand farmers from all 27 countries of the Union and over 300 tractors came to Luxembourg to alert the public and agriculture ministers to the crisis in agriculture in general and milk in particular.
Speaking at the demonstration, Padraig Walshe, president of Copa, said, “The situation has reached a critical point. The prices our farmers are receiving for their products are at their lowest level in years, for some products even in decades.
"Today we have met with the president of the agriculture council, Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, and other key policy-makers and explained our situation. We have been told that they would soon announce concrete measures to alleviate the problems for our farmers and send a signal of support to European agriculture.”
Paolo Bruni, first vice-president of Cogeca, added, “Following our request, the European Council has, at its meeting last week, announced that an in-depth study would soon be available to look at how the situation could be improved for dairy farmers.
"The council has also sent us a strong message that they are preparing measures to address the imbalances in the food chain, notably the strong power of the retailers.
"We cooperatives will always try our utmost to strengthen the market position of our members, the farmers and we hope that the council will grant us the support that we need to do so.”
June 19
MARK WILSON MOVES ON FROM BPEX
As Mark Wilson moves on to a new job in the pig industry, BPEX chairman Stewart Houston has paid tribute to the huge amount of work he has done. Mark joined BPEX as director of pig industry development and set about creating the knowledge transfer team which is now firmly established.
"He has had a huge impact on the industry through his hard work setting up the knowledge transfer team and through the team’s work with pig producers throughout the country," said Stewart Houston.
“Mark has also been instrumental in refocusing BPEX activity into projects and research which have had a real impact on individual businesses in the areas of meat quality, environment and competitiveness. He was also the driving force behind the PCV2 research project which has now really proved its worth.”
BPEX director Mick Sloyan said: “Mark has worked tirelessly for the pig industry which owes him a debt of gratitude for all he has achieved in the time he has been with BPEX. His work brought real benefits to the industry and covered everything from farrowing to meat quality.”
Mark's new job is as agricultural director of Vion.
MULTIPLE PICK-UPS AND DROP-OFFS FROM farms
From July 13, the rules governing multiple pick-ups and drop-offs of livestock in England will be changing: there will be no need for holdings to have prior approval from Defra to operate as a multiple pick-up/drop-off site.
In future all pick-ups and drop-offs can be made providing that they take place on the perimeter of holdings either by tail-gating, use of pens or temporary pens.
Full rules can be found in the general licences for the movements of animals at www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/id-move/index.htm. These changes will only apply in England.
NPA elections
Hugh Crabtree and Richard Longthorp have agreed to be NPA's 'election czars' just as they were back in 2000.
Their role will be to ensure the elections are zestful, that the elections remind us of where we came from and what we are seeking to achieve with NPA, and, most important of all, that we have sufficient candidates to ensure there is an election for both Producer Group and the Allied Industries Group.
June 18 2009
pig documentary
The Marchioness of Worcester's documentary "Pig Business", about overseas "factory farming" of pigs, will be shown on More 4 on June 30. Celebrities and food campaigners who support Tracy Worcester's message in "Pig Business" include: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall; Jamie Oliver; Tom Parker-Bowles, Zac Goldsmith, Nick Mason, Stephen Fry and Jools Holland. The programme will be previewed here, tomorrow.
£500 GUESS-THE-DAPP is back Hundreds of pig industry people enjoyed our Guess-the-DAPP competition last autumn when we offered £500 to the person who guessed where DAPP would be on June 1 this year. The winner was producer's wife Caroline Bell. Well the competition is back and the prize is £500 again... but this time it is a lot tougher.
Pig World cannot afford to keep giving away £500 prizes, so we're taking a gamble. We are betting on nobody hitting exactly the right price! Watch this space for details about how to enter. — D.S. |
l NPA Trade Directory l Mechanical data l National Pig Association l Defra l BBC weather l
l Environment Agency l Food Standards Agency l Quality Meat Scotland l Scottish Executive l
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