UNITED KINGDOM PIG INDUSTRY NEWS PAGE
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September 5
Weakest link
A market is only as strong as its weakest seller, which in Europe's case is Danish Crown, as this chart for July 2007 to August 2008 shows. However both Europe average and Danish average have turned sharply north in recent weeks and the DAPP can be expected to follow soon. The Danish premium for so-called "UK contract" pigmeat is 5.4p a kilo.
Nearly 2m pigs benefit from PCV2 vouchers
Total number of piglets protected by PCV2 vaccines since the start of BPEX’s voucher campaign is a remarkable 1,992,049.
Total number of doses redeemed by the scheme is 935,674, at a value of £585,544. The £1.5m budget is expected to last until the end of December.
It is impossible at this stage to predict the effect on English herd productivity.
“Some people are talking about an extra pig per litter and two weeks faster to finish — but they are the people who are so delighted they are picking up the phone,” said BPEX director of pig industry development Mark Wilson.
BPEX is starting to look at data from vouchers returned so far and expects to have a handle on progress by November 14, when NPA, BPEX and Pig Veterinary Society will hold a joint PCV2 session at Pig Veterinary Society’s conference.
Great Britain deadweight sow price
You can keep up to date with the average sow price on BPEX's website here. (You will need to log in first.)
Rising price of food
A reminder, in the Daily Mirror, and The Times, of why the pig industry must continue to stress that pork is the good value meat.
Young NPA dinner
By Zoe Davies
• Young NPA dinner, Scole Inn, Diss, Tuesday October 7.
Just a reminder that this exciting event is only a few weeks away.
We already have 15 people signed up from a wide range of the industry, including some that are not existing Young NPA members, so there will be plenty of opportunity to see old friends, to meet new ones and to make more connections!
So if you are planning on coming along, please let me know as soon as possible. It would be great to see you! Zoe Davies.
Pigs Are Worth It campaign gets
pig
producers face to face with MPs
MP Paddy Tipping paid a visit to pig farmer Andrew Baugh to find out more about the crisis in the British pig industry.
“Pig farmers receive no subsidies,” said Andrew Baugh, “and if we do not get a fairer distribution of costs throughout the supply chain soon, many may still face the prospect of going out of business. That means consumers will lose the choice to buy higher welfare Quality Standard Mark pork, bacon, sausages and ham.”
This visit, and others like it, gives producers a chance to discuss their issues face to face with their MP. The visits are being arranged by the Pigs Are Worth it campaign.
“What’s important to remember is that the United Kingdomn has higher standards of welfare on farms compared with the rest of Europe. All pork, bacon, sausages and ham produced to these standards carries the Quality Standard Mark on pack. About 70 percent of imported pork products do not meet the United Kingdom's high welfare standards and would hence be illegal to produce here," said Paddy Tipping.
The Pigs Are Worth It campaign has been running since Sept last year and calls for a fairer price for pig farmers. Activity has included a major advertising campaign, a rally in Westminster attended by around 700 farmers, a national roadshow and the recording of campaign anthem “Stand by Your Ham.” Over 18,000 people have signed an online petition at www.pigsareworthit.com and 72 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion supporting pig farmers. The campaign is also in the processes of filming a documentary "The Pig Issue".
£77,000: how to get your cut
Lantra is hosting a meeting to explain to Yorkshire and Humberside pig-keepers how to get their hands on £thousands of training money. It will be at Ramada Fairfield Manor Hotel, York, on Monday 15 September at 2.30pm.
BPEX has successfully bid for £77,000 for pig industry skills development in the area.
"A lot of work has gone into bidding for this money and into developing skills development programmes for the industry so make sure you do not miss the opportunity to maximise your returns when pig prices hit 175p!" said industry training chief Richard Longthorp this morning.
If you would like further details please contact Martin_Grantley-Smith@rmif.org.uk. In any event please let him know if you intend going so that space can be reserved.
Nuffield award for pig industry
By Richard Longthorp
I am delighted to confirm that BPEX and Merial have agreed to jointly sponsor a pig industry specific Nuffield award. The award will be open to all involved in the pig industry from genetics and nutrition through production and marketing right the way through to processing and retail.
This will be an annual award and will be part of the much wider Nuffield Scholarship programme. BPEX and Merial will be involved in the selection process and providing ongoing support for selected scholars but beyond that Nuffield will be managing the whole process as they do for all awards and have done now very successfully for many years.
I would encourage anyone who has even half an inkling that it might be of interest to have a look on the Nuffield website www.nuffieldscholar.org, and have a word maybe with Wendy Houston, Chris Fogden, Nick Green, James Black (all Nuffield Scholars) or direct with John Stones, director at Nuffield.
September 4
What happens next...
The chart above, which tracks prices from an index of 100 in July last year, shows how the pig price has been squeezed in recent weeks by retailers.
This is partly a result of depressed demand (or so we are told) but also it is a reaction against five weeks in early summer when DAPP was on fire — up 2p on June 7, up 2.2p on June 14, up 2.1p on June 21, and up 1.5p on June 28.
Undeniably buyers have been successful at taking steam out of the British pig price, but slaughter numbers continue to fall both here and on the continent, sterling is weakening, and the cold wet weather, whilst worrying for arable farmers, will see consumers returning to hot meals.
Spot prices will soon start to gather momentum, and DAPP will not be far behind.
GUESS DAPP
Where do you think DAPP will be by June 1, 2009? Guess correctly and you could win £500. To enter, complete and submit the form above. Anyone can enter, one entry per person. Closing date September 12. For more information see this month's issue of Pig World.
Could do better
Performance data from 146,700 sows — the largest United Kingdom sample for many years — shows most producers are good at some aspects of production but few are getting everything right, and that's why we lag behind our competitors. The Agrosoft data will be published in October issue of Pig World.
September 3
Breakaway producers pay more than Danish Crown
Five of Denmark’s largest pig producers quit Danish Crown earlier this year in a very public row over the chronic poor prices the cooperative pays its members.
They formed Danpork and pledged to pay Danish producers at least 13p a kilo more than Danish Crown.
Danpork has been as good as its word and now says it is ready to take on more Danish suppliers who will get around 27p a kilo more than the Danish quote.
This will mean an extra £300,000 a year for a large unit producing 35,000 pigs a year, says Danpork manager Steen Thaysen.
Danpork is sending its pigs to Germany for slaughter. Its first shipments returned suppliers 130p a kilo, with all transport and administration costs deducted.
Following this promising start, Danpork is now seeking 20 new shareholders to help grow the company, which has its sights on a ten percent market share.
Until recently, Danish Crown was able to pay producers pretty well what it liked, because it had almost a monopoly on slaughtering in Denmark. But the co-op is now coming under increasing pressure to improve its game.
In addition to Danpork, another new competitor in the market is Moesgaard Meat which has a slaughterhouse in Jutland. Like Danpork, Moesgaard Meat was set up by producers who previously supplied Danish Crown.
Other recent challengers to Danish Crown’s dominance include Jutland Meat Company and German meat processor Tönnies. The extra competition is expected to mean further cut-backs in Danish Crown’s slaughtering and processing capacity.
Quality Standard Mark for the chops
British pork in Tesco will carry Quality Standard Mark stickers like this one (above) from now until the end of the year.
Co-ops merge
West France co-ops Unicopa and Terrena are to merge their pig businesses, bringing together nearly a thousand producers who between them account for over 2.2m pigs.
Petrol station pork
Tulip Food Company is moving into Danish petrol stations where it will be stocking food cabinets with sausages, other meat products, and an assortment of muffins, pizzas and sandwiches. Seventy-five large Shell petrol stations are being equipped with the new food areas.
Frenchmen hit 26.9 weaned
French co-operative Cooperl achieved an improvement in productivity last year, to 26.9 pigs weaned. However net return halved to £6m as a result of increased competition and the need to keep cost of feed to members as low as possible. The co-op invested £20m in equipment and buildings and claims its animal welfare is now suitable for the British market.
September 2
Ladies in Pigs recipe of the month
NPA annual general meeting
Final reminder — NPA’s annual general meeting will be on Wednesday, September 17, at the Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London, starting 10.30am. All members are entitled to attend and vote at the meeting. Agenda: appointment of Auditors for 2007 and 2008; report from the board of directors for 2007; presentation and adoption of the audited accounts; report on the outlook for 2008/2009; any other business. Any items for consideration under any other business should be received in the NPA office no later than September 15. Admittance is by NPA membership card or membership number only. Please contact the NPA office if you intend to be present at the meeting, so that we have some idea of numbers. Tel. 02476 858780.
Environment select committee
inquiry into English pig industry
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Deadline for submissions is Thursday, September 11. If you are making a submission the guidelines below may help.
• If you wish to write a submission but are not comfortable with emails etc, please speak to Barney or Zoe at NPA, who can send your submission on your behalf.
• Likewise if you are sending a submission and would like to bounce the content off Barney or Zoe first, they will be happy to oblige.
• If you are sending a submission, please send a copy to NPA also.
Your submissions should answer the questions posed by the committee, which are as follows:
• What is wrong with the pig industry in England? Are present problems more than just a cyclical imbalance between supply and demand?
• Are domestic pig welfare standards a principal reason that English producers have problems competing with those outside the United Kingdom? Are there other reasons?
• What could supermarkets and the hospitality industry do to alleviate pressure on the domestic pig industry?
• Can government do more to support the industry, either directly or through its public procurement policies?
Remember when addressing the above points to explain why the English pig industry is worthy of the select committee’s support; outline the benefits the industry brings to the nation.
FORMAT Send your file in Word or Rich Text format. It should be no more than 2,000 words long, include executive summary. Number the paragraphs.
SENDING YOUR SUBMISSION Completed submissions should be sent as an attachment to efracom@parliament.uk. The email should be marked “For the attention of the EFRA Committee English Pig Industry Inquiry”. The body of the email should include: your contact name, telephone number and postal address. The email should make clear who the submission is from, if necessary including a short paragraph describing your farming business.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS Supporting documents, such as pictures and reports, may be sent as attachments in addition to the submission
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Submissions may be made public – if any information included is private or confidential, contact the clerk and discuss. Submissions must be original work, not previously published – they can however reference prior work or reports.
September 1
Pig industry targets new talent
The pig industry’s professional development register has introduced a free membership category for new entrants and to launch the new category, those who sign up now have the chance to win a Red Letter Day voucher worth £125.
To qualify for the Pig Industry Professional Register’s New Entrant category, students and newcomers to pig units need to meet one or more of the following criteria:
• Be in full-time post-16 education.
• Be registered on a Pig related course (including General Agriculture).
• Be working full-time in agriculture, involving pigs, and be able to provide a supporting letter from your employers to say they are supporting you with PIPR related training in order for you to gain 30 PIPR points. which will then qualify you to become a full member.
"This new membership category will help the industry stand toe-to-toe with other industries in competing for the new breed of highly aspirational young people leaving our schools, colleges and universities,” said chairman of pig industry skills development Richard Longthorp today.
The Pig Industry Professional Register (PIPR) is the first continual professional development scheme to be launched in the livestock sector. It is open to all staff within the industry, including students and people just joining the industry who are keen to develop their potential in the industry.
The New Entrant category is free of charge. However, when a new entrant progresses to the full scheme he/she will have to pay the relevant membership fees.
For further information, contact Richard Longthorp.
August 31
Aldi beats Tesco and Asda for British pork
Discounter Aldi has trounced Tesco on fresh pork and sausages in the latest Porkwatch survey. And it has left Asda behind on British pork, ham and sausages.
Intent on grabbing a larger slice of the quality meat market, Aldi has increased its British facings for pork to a remarkable 86 percent, whilst its British facings for sausages have jumped to 62 percent.
Tesco, meanwhile, is now below the national average for British facings on pork, sausages and ham, according to Porkwatch surveyors.
BPISG in action again
British Pig Industry Support Group is going into action again. It will be demonstrating in London in a few weeks, to help retailers understand the importance of working with the pig industry to build a sustainable supply chain for British pork.
The industry is at a crossroads: after a decade of losses producers need encouragement if they are to stay in pigs, and retailers and processors need to lock into supplies if they are to protect consumers from shortages and rocketing prices.
• The BPISG texting list is being updated. Members on the list received a text this morning. If you are not on the list, and would like to be, please email Ellen Furby and tell her who you are (though she probably knows you already).
Student vet placements
Student vets have been finding it increasingly difficult to get placements on pig farms in some areas, to such an extent that the practice could be discontinued, which would threaten the industry’s future supply of specialist pig vets.
Are you prepared to take a student vet for a week or two? Such an arrangement can be advantagous to both parties.
If so, please register on the central Student Vet Placement Register, which is being set up by NPA. By doing this you are not committing yourself in any way. To register, simply email your name, address and brief farm details to Zoe Davies at NPA.
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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