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sunday july 18, 2010

Can you be trusted?

By Digby Scott

Can you be trusted to produce safe food for human consumption? In particular can you be trusted with modern veterinary products?

Defra thinks not. Its executive agency the Veterinary Medicines Directorate wants to ban the advertising of antimicrobials to livestock farmers, including pig-keepers.

If this bid to impose an information black-out proves successful there will be three outcomes.

• Pharmaceutical companies may reduce their research budgets for veterinary products, because achieving an economical return will be more difficult.
  
  
• Professional livestock-keepers will be less well informed.
  
  
• Some farming publications will have to reduce the number of pages they publish and/or increase their cover price.

However supporters of the proposed ban claim it will prevent well-informed farmers from bullying vets into prescribing new products with shorter withdrawal periods, and this will reduce the risk of human resistance to antibiotics.

IS THERE A LINK?

Before deciding where they stand in this debate, pig-keepers will want to know if there is a proven link between the use of antimicrobials in animal production, and resistance in the human population.

The science is not conclusive. But microbiologists argue that logically there must be a link.

For its part, the National Office of Animal Health, which represents the United Kingdom animal medicines industry, does not argue against the possibility of a link.

"But what we do argue," says chief executive, Phil Sketchley, "is that banning the advertising of antimicrobials to professional livestock keepers is not going to make any difference."

The issue has been brought into sharp focus in recent years with the discovery on some livestock farms of a rapidly evolving group of beta-lactamases called extended-spectrum beta-lactamases.

These are enzymes that can be produced by bacteria making it resistant to most widely used antibiotics in hospitals.

This is a particularly serious problem for hospital intensive care units. It is generally held that it is the increased use of antibiotics in agriculture that has allowed these resistant strains to spread.

SCIENCE IS UNCLEAR

But the science remains unclear — for instance in Denmark there is evidence of the bacteria being transmitted to farmers and vets who have not eaten infected meat.

"There's no proof that they are being infected on the farms, but where else would they get it?" says Luca Guardabassi of the University of Copenhagen in one Danish newspaper report.

"It's very worrying that the increased use of antibiotics in agriculture has allowed these resistant strains to spread."

Defra's stance is to pursue a reduction of antimicrobial resistance associated with animals "in a proportionate way".

If the Veterinary Medicines Directorate goes ahead with its proposed ban on the advertising of antimicrobials to professional keepers of animals, it will bring the United Kingdom partially into line with other European Union countries.

The European Veterinary Medicinal Products Directive (which is transposed into United Kingdom law via the Veterinary Medicines Regulations) says member countries must ban the advertising "to the general public" of all prescription-only veterinary medicinal products.

Brussels considers the "general public" to include professional livestock keepers, but this interpretation has not been tested in the European Court of Justice.

In the United Kingdom, the interpretation of the directive has been that professional livestock keepers are not members of the general public and are therefore allowed to see adverts for prescription-only veterinary medicine products.

But this is about to change, as far as antimicrobials are concerned and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate recognises there will be an impact on the farming press, the pharmaceutical industry and farmers.

But it says in its impact assessment that it is unable to quantify the cost in loss of income.

Pig World will be able to make up any deficit in income by increasing its cover price and reducing the number of pages it publishes. But freesheet publications, which rely on advertising and "advertorial", may find they have problems.

BULLIED VETS?

According to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate the promotion of antimicrobial products could encourage their unnecessary use.

It says, "The advertisement of antimicrobials to professional keepers of animals, such as farmers, is thought to lead to pressure on veterinarians to prescribe new products that provide economic benefits while established older products may still be a better therapeutic choice for the treatment of animal infections. This can lead to the premature development of resistance to a new generation of antimicrobials."

The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) and the National Farmers Union — and indeed Pig World — find it hard to swallow this picture of farmers bullying their vets in order to get their hands on the latest antimicrobials.

It has also been suggested that if farmers cannot get what they want from one vet they will change to another.

The NFU has pointed out that this perception of farmers jumping around from one vet practice to another is simply not accurate. On the contrary, says the NFU, the bond between farmer and vet has become increasingly strong over the past five years.

COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE?

For its part, the pig industry would argue that as antibiotic resistance must be given the highest priority by the industry, the banning of adverts for antimicrobials could actually prove counter-productive.

The reason is that each full-page advert in Pig World for an antimicrobial product effectively pays for another page of independent news covering health issues.

It also contributes to the maintenance of this website. Note some of the stories on this page... "The best pathology labs in the country — for less than £1 a week", "Pig movements go electronic this September", "Scotland launches health passports for imported pigs and semen".

So what Defra's executive agency for animal medicines is actually proposing is to limit the amount of health care information available to pig-keepers.

Calling all specialist pig vets...

• Do you agree, or disagree, with the analysis above?
  
  
• Do your pig farmer customers really bully you over what antimicrobials to prescribe?
  
  
• Would a ban on antimicrobial adverts be a good thing, or bad thing?

Please email digby@pigworld.co.uk. I won't publish your name (unless you give your permission).

Meat-and-bonemeal test

The results of an investigation by the European Union Community Reference Laboratory for Animal Proteins into the performance of new diagnostic methods which may identify the species (ruminant, pig or poultry) of traces of meat-and-bonemeal found in animal feed are expected to be published later this year. Mandatory treatment of mammalian proteins results in very small fragments of animal proteins, which are difficult to detect by current analytical methods.

saturday July 17 2010

The best pathology labs in the
country — for less than £1 a week

By Digby Scott

Should the English pig industry have a coordinated National Health Week, two, three or four times a year?

Producers, vets, healthcare companies, the regional health schemes, BPEX, NPA — in fact everyone connected with the health of the national herd — could join forces to drive down mortality and help reduce production costs.

But if a National Health Week is to become a reality, the industry needs to come up with a plan for saving the British Pig Health Scheme, which has been described as the bedrock of English pig producers' drive for a healthier national herd.

It puts specialist pig vets into the main abattoirs to score carcases for economically important diseases.

"Abattoirs are the best pathology labs in the country," says Andrew Knowles, of BPEX. "What a waste it would be not to capture the valuable information that is available from them."

British Pig Health Scheme vets look for the tell-tale signs of enzootic pneumonia, pleurisy and other key conditions, and send producers reports that help them and their vets decide when it makes economic sense to intervene with treatment.

But the scheme comes to an end in 11 months and unless a majority of producers can agree on its value it may not be extended for a further three years.

If that happens, producers who want their vet to do some abattoir carcase scoring will have to pay around £150 a day, instead of the current fee of £50 a year.

In Scotland, carcass scoring is paid for by Quality Meat Scotland, which is the Scottish equivalent of BPEX. But the producer levy is 17p a pig higher in Scotland.

At £250,000 a year, BPEX cannot afford to pay all the costs of the British Pig Health Scheme, though it would probably be prepared to continue making a contribution.

The scheme is currently paid for by BPEX, leading pharmaceutical companies and pig-keeper members. But only half of pig-keepers are members, which makes the true annual cost of the scheme per member over £750 instead of the £350 it could be.

The introduction of National Health Weeks could be one way of helping secure the long-term future of the British Pig Health Scheme, by focussing attention on the importance of carcase scoring at the abattoir.

Currently Vetscore — the consortium of vets doing the carcase scoring — is monitoring enzootic pneumonia, pleurisy, pericarditis, peritonitis, milk spot liver, hepatic scarring, papular dermatitis, tail biting, viral-type pneumonia, pleuropneumonia-like lesions, lung abscesses and pyaemia (bloodpoisoning).

The industry needs to consider what a future British Pig Health Scheme should look like. Although it is a controversial idea, perhaps vets and the Food Standards Agency inspectorate (formerly the Meat Hygiene Service) could work together to reduce duplication at the abattoir.

And perhaps the number of conditions to be carcase scored could be slimmed down.

Other ways the scheme could become financially viable would be for vets to bill their clients directly on the grounds that the carcase scoring information is essential if they are to do their job properly.

And yet another way would be to extend the sponsorship base. Currently the British Pig Health Scheme is sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, which receive data back in return for their sizable investment.

The sponsors are:

• Boehringer Ingelheim.
• Fort Dodge.
• Intervet.
• Janssen.
• Pfizer.
• Merial.

Perhaps other companies — not necessarily healthcare companies — would be prepared to become sponsors, too, for the good of the industry as a whole.

They may then wish to lay on an annual "BPHS Sponsors' Conference for Producers", where scoring results are explained and debated in detail, to produce key drivers for better health in the next 12 months.

But the biggest challenge is to persuade those producers who haven't joined the carcase scoring club that they will get a good return on their investment of less than £1 a week.

Pig-keeper members of the British Pig Health Scheme have healthier herds as a result of their membership and this is something the whole industry benefits from, including those pig-keepers who don't pay their £50 a year.

And it is worth bearing in mind that the government's decision to merge the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and Animal Health, coupled with the Veterinary Laboratory Agency's desire to seek full commercial cost recovery for its services, will probably make full post mortems more expensive in the future.

The British Pig Health Scheme underpins the two regional health initiatives. It is the foundation of the current drive to improve the health of the English herd and as such it is an important element of the industry's survival strategy when the euro weakens against sterling and the current price levels fall.

At this week's NPA Producer Group meeting, Stewart Houston explained how information from the British Pig Health Scheme had been influential in the decision to carry out a partial de-pop, re-pop on the family pig unit.

"Those pig-keepers who make proper use of the Vetscore reports say the British Pig Health Scheme is one of the best things that BPEX has ever done," he said. His view was echoed by other members of Producer Group.

But vet Pete Bown said a survey he carried out indicated it would be difficult to get more producers to join the scheme.

He said there was no appetite among producers for membership to be made a compulsory part of farm assurance.

Want to join now for only £50, and get carcase scoring results for the next 11 months together with the results for your pigs for the past two years?

If so complete this on-line form at the top left of this page, and someone will ring you back for your credit card number.

Antimicrobial ban?

The use of antimicrobial products such as tylosin could be restricted or even banned if the health and consumer department in Brussels has its way. If this were to happen it would have a profound effect on the way pigs are produced in Europe, particularly in the 'super-litter' countries of Holland and Denmark. Animal health professionals in Britain - including pharmaceutical companies, vets and livestock farmers - may join forces to explain the livestock industry's position.

Piggin' weather

By Greg Mowbray, Meadow Quality

BPEX has decided that August is going to be the month to promote a "Pignic" - that is an outdoor eating event featuring lots of pork- and ham-based goodies such as traditional favourites like pork pies and sausage rolls and a range of new tasty snacks, as distinct from the term used to describe villains helping themselves to outdoor weaners, as we witnessed earlier in the year.

We just hope they have told the weatherman – as the present gales and lashing rain in Warwickshire knocks out the power supply again.

Overall, demand was back a little yesterday, as might be expected heading into the main summer holiday season, but although there was some limited resistance to extra numbers on offer, all pigs found a home and prices stood-on, or dropped by 1p/kg only.

The reversal in currency rates bolstered cull sow prices slightly and despite the loss of a major processor in this sector recently, sufficient competition ensured sows were sold at higher values.

Very tight availability of quality weaners is perplexing cautious buyers, who would like to see weaner values fall further, but at around 9 percent down on last year's levels, others see them as a good investment for the autumn trade and continue to buy in.

Possibly some of the caution could stem from concern over future feed prices which we addressed last week – because there is little to suggest finished prices will deviate far from their current range for some time.

friday july 16 2010

Pigs may be rolled next week

Although the DAPP has held up reasonably well at 146.93p, spot sellers found the going slightly tougher with fewer takers in this sector which continues to be affected by cheaper imports and indifferent retail demand. As a result spot quotes were in a fairly wide range between 139–144p according to region and specification and some reports of pigs being rolled into next week, but fortunately not too many as British numbers remain fairly tight. Lighter pigs continue to earn premiums of 4 -6p above bacon with spot cutters traded between 145–150p. Traffic Lights commentary continued.

Pig movements go electronic this September

Up to 15 percent of pig movements are not properly recorded and the majority of these are not being challenged by local authorities.

This means that in the next foot-and-mouth or classical swine fever outbreak, disease could be out of control before infected pigs have been traced and isolated.

But the problem will be largely overcome when the pig industry moves to 100 percent electronic notification of pig movements.

By requiring pig-keepers to supply all the necessary movement information when they complete on-line movement forms, the new system will enable Trading Standards to focus on illegal movements and to challenge the pig-keepers in question.

The problem at the moment is that 10-15 percent of paper forms are not being properly completed and this may disguise some illegal movements, for instance to unregistered holdings.

The English pig industry will transfer fully to electronic pig-to-slaughter movements, or e-AML2 as it is known, this autumn.

In due course other movements will be recorded electronically also:

• Farm-to-farm.
• Farm-to-collection-centre.
• Farm-to-show.
• Farm-to-export-port.
• Import-port-to-farm.

Pig-keepers who are already supplying an assured abattoir and who are completing their Food Chain Information on-line, should transfer to e-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 here http://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. These are in the following local authority areas:

• North Yorkshire.
• East Riding.
• Norfolk.
• Lincolnshire.
• Somerset.
• Essex.
• Lancashire.
• Oldham.
• Nottinghamshire.
• Gloucestershire.
• South Gloucestershire.
• Suffolk.
• Worcestershire.

The next stage will be to start recruiting smaller abattoirs in the above local authority areas. And the first Welsh abattoir, in Denbighshire, is just about to come on line.

In order to make movement reporting robust throughout England, it is hoped that soon after the September switch-on of e-AML2, the bigger abattoirs will quickly move to being 100 percent e-AML2.

In other words, they will not accept pigs unless the movement has been recorded electronically, instead of on paper.

The minority of pig-keepers who do not have access to a computer will not necessarily be debarred from electronic notifications as two marketing groups will be prepared, from this September, to do the inputting for them.

And British Pig Association has agreed to do the inputting for its members who don't have access to a computer.

Greener to feed meat-and-bonemeal than to burn it

Above: Current provisions in the European Union ban on the feeding of mammalian meat-and-bone-meal.

The ban on the use of meat-and-bonemeal in feed for pigs and poultry could be lifted in the next five years, according to a European Commission strategy report published this week.

Recently we reported on this page and in Pig World that meat-and-bonemeal, or "processed animal protein" as it is now called in some quarters, could be reintroduced to pig and poultry diets in order to reduce the European Union's dependency on imported proteins, particularly GM soya.

The draft text from Brussels has now been adopted as the Commission's "TSE Roadmap 2". The paper paves the way for a possible change to current Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy safety rules, which ban the feeding of meat-and-bonemeal.

The paper was drawn up by the European Commission's health and consumer department. Basing its recommendations on evidence from the European Food Safety Authority, the paper says the transmission of BSE from non-ruminants to non-ruminants is very unlikely.

"We are happy that the roadmap answers many of our demands on processed animal protein and the reinclusion of non-ruminant processed animal proteins in non-ruminant feed avoiding intra species recycling," said European farmers union Copa-Cogeca today.

The feed ban for non-ruminants could consequently be lifted, it says. It calls on the European Commission Belgian presidency to make "urgent progress" on this.

TSE Roadmap 2.

thursday July 15 2010

Traffic Lights

DAPP has dropped and Traffic Lights spot is down another tuppence. Traffic Lights.

Wheat continues upwards

Wheat futures went up circa £10 last week on the back of drought in the United Kingdom and other countries, particularly Russia, and have risen a further £4 so far this week. Traffic Lights.

Monday July 12 2010

Sights you never thought you'd see

By Digby Scott

A few years ago most people in the pig industry were too busy losing money to investigate new ways of making a profit. And this year everyone is too busy making money.

But there will never be a better opportunity for people up to age 45 to travel the world in search of profitable ways ahead for the British pig industry.

Before we dispatch our ambassadors to the four corners of the earth in search of good ideas to copy — and bad ideas to avoid — let's take a few minutes to think about what we would like them to investigate on our behalf.

Here are some ideas...

• How are Dutch and Danish producers managing their super-litters? Do large litters reach a level at which they fail to be cost-effective, and if so what is that level?
  
  
• How will environmental and welfare considerations impact on pig production in the United States and Brazil over the next ten years? Will these countries be able to flood Europe with cheap pigmeat as trade barriers come down, or are their costs going to go up too?
  
  
• According to one marketing expert, packaging is the final opportunity to dramatise a brand's core unique selling proposition, create a connection and make people pick up the pack — and to keep on doing this 24 hours a day in people's homes. Okay... so what can British producers learn from the high streets of Japan, China and the States?
  
  
• As United Kingdom MPs become increasingly irrelevant, how are pig-keepers to become really effective lobbyists at the European Commission and the European Parliament?
  

All the above is achievable with Nuffield farming scholarships. Assuming that you, like me, are way too old to apply for a Nuffield scholarship yourself, please let me have YOUR ideas for suitable subjects. Remember Nuffield opens doors all over the world.

And if you have an idea about who would make a good job of carrying out your suggested project — well include his or her name as well. For instance I think Zoe Davies would be excellent at investigating effective European lobbying.

Email your ideas to:
Too-old-and-decrepid-to-go-myself@pigworld.co.uk.

TVC report

The major processors were again keeping numbers tight and, for the second week running, both Tulip and
Woodheads reduced their contract prices by 1p. TVC report.

Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award

A reminder: deadline for entries is July 30.

News Digest

The latest issue of News Digest for NPA Members is published today and may be downloaded from the Members Area.

Wasted survey

You might think it would be one of the most engaging surveys we have ever run on this site, but no. There have been only three reponses to the Waste Survey so far, definitely an all-time low. But all three responses are useful and will help shape the work of the NPA Regulation Review Working Group. Everybody else — the survey is still running, if you have a change of heart.

sunday july 11 2010

Agency halves IPPC 'determination' time

Above: IPPC permit applications (click image to see high-resolution copy.)

The chart above shows how applications for pig and poultry IPPC permit variations increased last year and this.

Some of the increase in pig sector activity is attributable to investment in the industry's housing stock which was run down and an impediment to economic production.

Up to January 2009 an average five applications a month were received by the Environment Agency. Between January 2009 and the present this has increased to 29 a month.

The Environment Agency set up a 'Zap' team in October after which applications for permit variations were 'determined' (decided) at a faster rate than they were received. This reflects the extra work needed to reduce the Agency's backlog of applications.

Of the 627 IPPC permit applications received since November 2007, 554 have been for poultry, 64 for finishers and 9 for sows.

Since the introduction of its 'Zap' team the Environment Agency has reduced the time it turns round applications for permit variations from an average 6.8 months to an average 3.6 months. The longest an application is expected to take now is down to 7 months from 1.4 years.

Currently 102 poultry applications, 12 finisher applications and 2 sow applications have been received by the Agency and are being processed.

IPPC ammonia conditions may be relaxed

Almost 60 sensitive sites near IPPC pig and poultry units have now been surveyed for evidence of ammonia damage.

The good news for producers is that as a result of the survey a substantial number of IPPC permit conditions relating to ammonia emissions are now likely to be relaxed or removed.

Almost all of the sites surveyed showed some evidence of potential ammonia effects, for example in tree lichens.

But in a large number of cases these are not considered to be preventing the sites from achieving their conservation objectives, because the key features of the site are not showing signs of damage.

saturday july 10 2010

The case for Monday weaning

We should always be questioning the wisdom of our grandfathers, say south-west vets John Carr, Tony O'Loughlin and Jenny Smith.

Take day of weaning for example. It is contemporary wisdom that we wean on a Thursday (70 percent of the industry) or Wednesday (most of the rest).

The only farms weaning on other days are batching twice a week or perhaps every ten days, but these represent only a small number of farms in Europe.

Why do we wean on a Thursday or Wednesday? The primary reason is to allow breeding to occur during the working week, usually Monday and Tuesday, with a few sows on Wednesday or later.

"This made sense historically when only natural mating was used because it took so long to complete and thus weekends were to be avoided," say the St David's Farm Practice vets.

• Read their report in August Pig World.

European Parliament proposes emissions-linked payments

How should the European Union's farm policy be reshaped and how should it be funded after 2013?

Parliament set out its views in a resolution adopted on Thursday, ahead of the publication this autumn of the Commission's agricultural reform plans.

The big challenges facing the farming world include climate change, the need for secure food supplies, food quality and business competitiveness, say MEPs in a resolution drawn up by British MEP George Lyon, which seeks to influence the debate on how best to remodel the common agriculture policy in time for the European Union's next multi-annual budget discussions.

Since the Lisbon Treaty, the overall European Union reform plans and any European Union agricultural legislation cannot be approved without Parliament's agreement.

The European Parliament stresses that funds allocated to finance the CAP must be "at least maintained during the next financial period" (from 2013).

In addition, agriculture policy should not be "renationalised" (ie. returned to national control) and direct payments to farmers should be fully funded from the European Union budget to avoid any cofinancing by governments that could erode fair competition within the single market.

MEPs also believe that a European Union-funded top-up payment should be made available to reward farmers for reducing carbon emissions and increasing soil sequestration, on a per unit of production basis.

MEPs call for more objective criteria, partly to reduce disparities in direct payments, considering the current hectare basis inappropriate, and partly to reflect regional diversity.

The level of direct payments should be maintained for the sake of both farmers and consumers, they say.

The high standards of food safety, environment, social legislation and animal welfare that Europe's farmers must meet should be rewarded, say MEPs.

Imports from third countries should meet the same criteria, with due respect for World Trade Organisation rules, and traceability should be improved to allow consumers to make informed choices.

Food quality policy is also crucial to improving the sector's competitiveness, says the resolution. Geographical indications of origin need to be strengthened and enforced, so as to allow the European Union to keep its leadership in this area, using protection and promotion instruments.

To ensure fair revenues to the farming community, the European Parliament proposes strengthening producers' bargaining power with processors and retailers, and improving price transparency.

To take account of market developments and particularly of extreme price volatility and subsequent crises, MEPs call for a safety net mechanism, to include public and private storage and intervention, backed by instruments specifically designed to increase price stability.

They also propose new measures, such as creating futures markets or a harvest risk insurance policy to cope with extreme climate conditions.

To counter the abandonment of land, ensure the survival of European Union farming and promote green growth, rural development must remain a central aim of the future CAP and the current two-pillar structure (production support and rural development) should be maintained, says the resolution.

Agriculture urgently needs to attract young farmers and this could be achieved through favourable loans for investment to meet high start-up costs and overcome difficulties in accessing credit.

Meadow Quality report

The relationship between input and output prices moved in the wrong direction yesterday, as contract prices eased by a penny. Sows were back by 1.5p. Fresh-meat plants at least stood-on. But forward prices for wheat moved up considerably, with £120 a tonne quoted for March 2011.

(See wheat futures on Traffic Lights page.)

The latter is due to hastily revised harvest forecasts, with the United Kingdom recording the lowest rainfall since January for over 80 years. If you haven't already taken forward feed price cover, you would be advised to do so as swiftly as possible.

The hot weather is also affecting carcase weights, which are dipping slightly, but we are starting to see P2 levels rise, so a review of feed energy levels should also be considered, as it tends to increase on a seasonal basis – peaking in October.

Demand overall remained fair, with a decent clearance of all pigs sold. It seems 'World Cup stocks' have been cleared and several processors were looking to re-stock again.

The medium term outlook still remains very positive. Latest consumption data over 12 months shows pork to have increased by a further 2 percent, beef down by 1 percent and lamb a considerable 20 percent drop. (Retail price increases will have masked some of these changes in ££s terms).

It is clear that consumers continue to recognise the excellent value pigmeat products offer and as there is little sign of an economic upturn anytime soon, the future for pig production remains favourable. — Greg Mowbray, Meadow Quality.  

Friday July 9 2010

It was a buyer's market today

A quiet day's trading with most contract buyers having enough pigs in the system to meet what was described as patchy retail sales and although the recent heatwave has boosted demand for parts of the pig, the loin remains hard to sell.

As a result the spot sector was more of a buyers' market and most of those out shopping were able to agree deals in the 142–144p range, but some warmer-hearted types were prepared to pay a penny or two more than this, but often on a tighter spec.

The DAPP has held almost unchanged at 147.27p but could ease back in the weeks ahead, although one bit of slightly more positive news is that pig numbers appear to be tight with the hot weather slowing down growth rates. Traffic Lights commentary.

Scotland launches health passports
for imported pigs and semen

The Scottish pig industry is introducing a health declaration form, to ensure all pigs and semen imported into Scotland come from a farm of known health status.

The form, which has been developed by a group Scottish pig industry advisors, requires the source herd of any imported animals to sign a health status statement for specific diseases, based on herd and abattoir inspections, and laboratory testing.

The recommendation will be that this form is provided with every transaction involving the movement of genetic material into Scotland, either in the form of live pigs – such as replacement gilts or weaners – or the semen trade for AI.

High health status is the gold standard for pigs, playing a major role in welfare, productivity, product quality and financial viability, says Quality Meat Scotland.

"Scotland has a strong history of good health in all its livestock, including pigs, and the penalty for disease introduction can be high.

"For instance, introduction of a disease such as enzootic pneumonia, could cost an average pig herd up to £30,000 a year."

Pig genetics companies currently provide information on health matters to their customers, but the group working on this project identified the need to provide all producers with a standard, informative declaration that describes health status as accurately as possible before material is imported into Scotland.

"The majority of our pig exports are as prime foods, and most of the small volumes of imports are live animals for genetics. These animals represent one of the highest risks of importing disease to the Scottish herd," said Jamie Robertson of Livestock Management Systems Ltd, Aberdeen.

"Whilst breeding stock tends to be relatively high health, the fact remains that the main route of pig disease transmission between farms is by live animals and their transport.

"Health declarations are a standard item in Denmark, with results from the four-weekly testing of all breeding herds being made available on open websites within 24 hours. The target in Denmark has been to provide transparency on disease issues.

"When producers are alerted early to health breakdowns in breeding herds it allows them to take early action to prevent or minimise the impact of any health issue on their own unit. The alternative is reaction when a health issue emerges on the unit, which is often too late to prevent significant losses or further spread."

A from has been developed by Jamie Robertson (LMS), David Strachan (Wholesome pigs), Jill Thomson (Scottish Agricultural College), Grace Webster (Meadows Veterinary Centre) and Allan Ward (Quality Meat Scotland).

For more information about the health declarations project visit the farming and processing section of www.qmscotland.co.uk.