friday june 11, 2010

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

If meat-and-bonemeal, or "processed animal protein" as it is now called, is reintroduced to pig and poultry diets, it will reduce the European Union's dependency on imported proteins, particularly GM soya, according to a draft text currently circulating in Brussels.

The strategy 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 has been drawn up by the European Commission's health and consumer department and is expected to be adopted next month.

Brussels is less nervous about TSE following an updated risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority.

Basing its recommendations on evidence from the Authority, the report says the transmission of BSE from non-ruminants to non-ruminants is very unlikely and the current ban could be seen as a wasted opportunity.

It argues that it is more sustainable to use meat and bonemeal in feed than to use it to generate energy.

But there is no question of a relaxing of the ban on intra-species recycling ie. cannibalism.

So the question that still faces Brussels is how to guarantee pig meat-and-bonemeal does not accidentally find its way into pig diets.

Even when suitable safeguards are in place it is unclear how many retailers in Britain will accept pork from pigs fed on meat-and-bonemeal, notwithstanding its greener credentials.

Foot-and-mouth

1.5 percent and 0.7 percent of the Japanese pig and cattle herds have been slaughtered so far in the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Japan. Japan's new farms minister Masahiko Yamada has pledged to speed up efforts to deal with the disease. There are plans to slaughter an additional 122,000 animals.

Greenhouse gas target

European Union environment ministers will be in Luxembourg today to discuss climate change targets, water scarcity and GMs. They will consider an analysis by the European Commission on options to move beyond Europe's current 20 percent greenhouse gas reduction target.

Farm payment discrepancies

Around £26m is to be claimed back from Northern Ireland next month by the European Commission as a result of single farm payment discrepancies. A further £33m will be due by the end of the year. The Northern Ireland department of agriculture has lodged a request for concilation on both counts and Stormont politicians have appealed the fines before officials of the European Commission agriculture department.

thursday june 10, 2010

Traffic Lights

Traffic Lights is up tuppence tonight. Wheat futures continue to fall, down around £3 over the past week.

St Anne takes the chair

Pig industry friend Malton MP Anne McIntosh has been elected new chairman of the environment select committee. She will take over from Michael Jack.

"Anne McIntosh's time in Europe, as a shadow Defra minister and as a rural MP, means that she has a good understanding of the agriculture brief and the challenges that lie ahead," said NFU president Peter Kendall today.

Will working with pigs boost their self-esteem?

Pig World's Oz columnist Neil Unger is asking for readers' help.

"I am looking at a scheme where mildly intellectually disabled kids can come to work at the piggery simply to boost their self esteem.

"Too often they have been abandoned and rejected as "retards". If anyone has done this already can you contact me please as I am at a loss to know just what the abilities or limitations are.

"I am not looking for cheap labour, just a way to help these kids to become useful in the community. The intention is there, the details are not.

"If you can help with any experience, good or bad, I desperately need that feed-back. They possibly have an affinity with animals that can be used."

Contact Neil at neil.unger@bigpond.com.

wednesday june 9, 2010

Golden era beckons

By Digby Scott

Pig production in England could enter a golden era as a result of the government’s determination to cut public spending.

Defra has been told by government to examine the effectiveness of every pound it spends. It may be ordered to cut its spending by as much as 25 percent.

Whilst the cutbacks will affect all areas of farming, they will be felt least by pig-keepers, who receive almost zero support from the public purse, and who have always relied on their own production and marketing skills to make a living.

But in recent years pig-keepers have been regulated to a forensic degree by Defra and its agencies, as well as by local authorities.

Defra can only make the cuts demanded of it by reviewing the level at which it enforces European regulation, and by adopting the sort of risk-based policies the pig sector has been urging for several years.

Pig-keepers can now help Defra identify areas where spending cuts can be made.

As most pig-keepers already pay to be independently inspected for regulatory compliance, there is scope for a significant reduction in the red-tape overload currently threatening the future viability of the industry.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman will be appointing a minister with specific responsibility at Defra for cutting spending and getting better value for money.

The government wants all its departments, and local government, to come up with “fundamental changes” in the way they provide services.

It wants Defra to look at how it can promote fairness by more targeted interventions. The pig industry will argue that Red Tractor assurance could help achieve this.

Defra will be required to analyse all its spending, against the following questions:

• Is the activity essential to meet government priorities?
  
  
• Does the government need to fund this activity?
  
  
• Does the activity provide substantial economic value?
  
  
• Can the activity be targeted to those most in need?
  
  
• How can the activity be provided at lower cost?
  
  
• How can the activity be provided more effectively?
  
  
• Can the activity be provided by a non-state provider or by citizens, wholly or inpartnership?
  
  
• Can non-state providers be paid to carry out the activity according to the results they achieve?
  
  
• Can local bodies as opposed to central government provide the activity?

Defra has contributed 5.5 percent of its budget (£162m) to the government’s initial £6bn savings. The next comprehensive spending review, which will determine public spending for the next three years, will demand far greater cuts at the department.

The United Kingdom’s public sector net borrowing forecast is the largest in the nation’s peacetime history.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the United Kingdom has the highest budget deficit in the G7 and G20, and its latest forecasts project that public sector debt will double between 2007 and 2015, to around 90 percent of gross domestic product.

Government points out that public borrowing is only taxation deferred, and it would be irresponsible to accumulate substantial debts that would have to be paid off by subsequent generations in decades to come.

“Successfully reducing the largest deficit in Britain’s peacetime history will mean approaching the spending review in a completely different way from how it has been approached in the past,” says Chancellor George Osborne.

“It will mean thinking innovatively about the role of government in society, taking the difficult decisions collectively as a government to reduce the deficit, and consulting widely using all available talents to ensure that we deliver a stronger society as well as a smaller state.”

Government’s emergency budget will be on June 22.

EARLY CANDIDATES FOR THE CHOP

Two expensive projects — they would have cost farmers £millions — are now leading contenders for government's cost-cutting axe.

• The controversial new headquarters for Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board at Stoneleigh.
  
  
• The proposed new cost-and-responsibility-sharing animal health quango.

If, as seems probable, plans for the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board headquarters at Stoneleigh are scrapped, the board will have to seek less expensive alternative premises near Stoneleigh.

It's a sell-out, say angry Euro-MPs

Members from all political groups on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have roundly condemned the European Commission’s decision to reopen trade talks with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which could lead to more cheap beef and pork coming into Europe.

Brussels says liberalisation of trade between Europe and the South America countries will bring new opportunities for European industries.

But agriculture committee MEPs say it will undermine European Union support for farmers’ incomes, as well as current discussions on the future of the CAP.

“We cannot tie our farmers’ hands behind their backs with over-regulation, and then fill our supermarkets with cheap products from abroad,” said Northern Ireland Conservative MEP James Nicholson.

Irish Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness warned, “We are witnessing the sell-out of European agriculture”.

Danes worried about antibiotic resistance

Denmark is to introduce new measures to combat over-use of antibiotics in pigs and possible problems of resistance building up in animals and humans.

Use of antibiotics is increasing in Denmark, in people and livestock. There is a belief that problems with resistance, first seen in other countries, are now appearing in Denmark.

The new measures are aimed at maintaining the effectiveness of antibiotics when used to treat humans and livestock.

The plan includes:

• A yellow card system for pig farms with a high consumption of antibiotics.
• A national council for antibiotics.
• New research projects.
• Improved surveillance of resistance.
• A review of the reporting systems.
• Preparation of national guidelines for the use of antibiotics.
• Better counselling and and incentive structure in livestock.

Paice announces Farming Regulation Review

Bureaucratic burdens on the farming industry will be put under the microscope by a new task force announced by agriculture minister Jim Paice today.

The task force on Farming Regulation, to be chaired by Richard Macdonald, will identify ways to reduce the regulatory burden through a review of the relevant regulations and their implementation, as well as advise on how best to achieve a risk-based system of regulation in the future.

"There's too much red tape tying up our farmers and preventing them from getting on with the business of producing our food and managing our countryside," said Jim Paice.

"That's why we committed in the Coalition Agreement to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers by moving to a risk-based system of regulation. The burden on farming and food manufacturing businesses is not just the number of regulations but the emphasis on process rather than outcomes.

"I'm going to ask this industry-led task force to look at the way we make and implement regulations right across the board, both at what's already in place, and how we should do things in the future.

"I'm very pleased that Richard Macdonald has agreed to head this task force, as he brings with him a unique knowledge of the farming and food industry, outstanding leadership skills and a track record of commitment to partnership working between government and industry."

The task force will make its initial recommendations to Government by early next year. The full membership of the task force will be announced in the near future, along with its terms of reference and details of how the wider farming and food sector can engage with the work of the task force.

Richard Macdonald was appointed as the NFU's director general in July 1996 and held that post until December 2009.

New RB209 published

The new edition of RB209, the fertiliser manual, has been published. It can be downloaded here.

Tuesday June 8, 2010

How MRSA spreads through breeding stock

The bigger the sow herd, the greater the risk of MRSA contamination, according to a report by the European Food Safety Authority.

The odds of finding MRSA in a breeding herd of 400 sows or more is 2.74 times higher than of finding it on a unit with fewer than 100 breeding pigs.

These findings are a cause for concern because breeding stock is intensively traded within and between European Union member countries.

Breeding stock from MRSA-positive units is likely to spread MRSA to destination farms, says the report.

MRSA has not been found in the British pig herd but has been found in pig herds in more than two-thirds of countries in the European Union.

Spain and Germany have the highest incidence, with over 40 percent of pig holdings testing positive for MRSA. It has also been found in Holland and to a much lesser extent in Denmark.

MRSA is any strain of staphylococcus aureus bacteria that has developed resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics (which include penicillins and cephalosporins).

As part of a Europe-wide survey of salmonella on pig units, the European Food Safety Authority also checked for the presence of MRSA, in a bid to discover which kinds of pig unit are most likely to be MRSA-positive.

It analysed data on 1,600 units mainly selling breeding stock and 3,473 units mainly producing weaners or finishers.

It believes the greater risk of MRSA is higher on larger breeding units because such units are likely to have different management policies, including a higher turnover of pigs.

Holland exports the largest number of breeding stock in the European Union, being the major source of pig genetics for Germany, Spain and Italy.

Denmark exports the second highest number. Other big exporters are Germany, France and Belgium.

Producers share health information

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE HEALTH UPDATE

A total of 375 pig producers have been surveyed to date by veterinary surgeons as part of the Yorkshire and Humberside Health programme.

Almost all have given their vets permission to record whether or not four important diseases are present on their units.

• Enzootic pneumonia was present on 141 of the units.
• PRRS was present on 136.
• Swine dysentery was recorded on 11.
• Mange was recorded on eight.

"The units surveyed so far represent more than 28,000 sows and more than 206,000 finishing places, covering a mixture of weaner producers, breed-to-finish and finishing units,” said BPEX health co-ordinator Helen Clarke. “So the data gives us a good indication of disease prevalence across the region.

"The enthusiasm, co-operation and willingness of producers to share health status information is very encouraging.

“Armed with this knowledge, producers who have joined up to Yorkshire and Humberside Health can make much more effective decisions on how to manage biosecurity and improve pig health for the long term - which ultimately leads to higher physical herd performance and a more profitable business."

According to the veterinary survey, the average number of pigs weaned per sow per year in the Yorkshire and Humberside region is 24.

Average pre-weaning and post-weaning mortality is running at 10.83 and 3.32 percent respectively.

More information is being gathered as new producers sign up to the project and take part in the survey. It is hoped producers will continue to encourage their vets to fill in the surveys after each quarterly visit to ensure the information available is accurate, up to date and therefore of most benefit to all.

Producers who would like biosecurity advice and help forming cluster groups with their neighbours should call Helen Clarke on 07973 701369 or email her at helen.clarke@bpex.org.uk.

friday june 4, 2010

No need to sell for less
(unless you have sun-stroke)

TRAFFIC LIGHTS COMMENTARY

Like the weather prices are also hotting up and 150p proved to be a very accurate minimum price for bacon and anyone who sold at less at this has probably been sitting out in the sun for too long.

The Tulip base price moved up a penny to 148p and the DAPP also took another upward step to 145.92p.

Although prices are still approximately 5pc lower than a year ago, most sellers would rather see a firm but stable price throughout the summer and autumn rather than the rollercoaster ride we faced last year.

Numbers still seem to be on the tight side and there are more reports emerging of health challenges which may account for generally lower probes and slightly reduced growth rates.

The current shortage of finished pigs can also be traced back to the very cold spell faced at weaning time on outdoor units 18–22 weeks ago.

With barbecue demand continuing to improve, pork is still very good value and the signs are that we could see further price rises in the weeks ahead, especially if European countries continue to stay out of the losers' dressing rooms in the World Cup.

The situation in the currency markets is however painting a much bleaker picture, more due to a lack of confidence in the euro than a strong pound.

For those who find it hard to do the maths, a weak euro is generally bad news for the British pig industry (although it can help on the feed price front) as it means cheaper imports and our pigmeat exports (mainly cull sows) are also worth less.

By Friday afternoon the euro had fallen in value to 82.6p compared with 85.4p seven days earlier, a fall of 3.2pc, but a year ago the euro was worth 88.2p. Continued.

These companies support NPA

Want to know which of your suppliers support you by being a member of NPA? You may view and search the whole allied industry membership Trade Directory database here.

A new category — Abbatoirs/Processors — has been added today, thanks to F. A. Gill Ltd becoming a member (following some deft recruitment work by sylphlike Dan Day of Meadow Quality).

• Allied Industry Group members — if you are not included in the database please download and fax a completed Trade Directory form.

Eastern transparency

"We're seeing greater transparency between producers than ever before," says Eastern Pig Health chairman Philip Richardson.

"The first producers to sign up have agreed it has to be all or nothing, and are willing to give full disclosure of health status on their units to other members of Eastern Pig Health."

There are three steps for producers and their vets to become part of the eastern region health scheme.

• Producers register online at www.pighealth.org.uk and agree terms and conditions.
  
  
• They give permission for their vet to disclose disease status to Eastern Pig Health.
  
  
• Their vet assesses their unit using a standard protocol, usually combined with a quarterly visit, and enters health status details on the Eastern Pig Health EPH website. The additional veterinary cost is subsidised.

Producer members have access to a map of all signed-up producers, disease status information and Eastern Pig Health support services.

Alternatively an information pack with registration documents can be posted to producers by ross.lake@bpex.org.uk.

The English pig industry has two regional health schemes — Yorkshire and Humber, and East of England.

Clearer food labelling

The Women's Institute's call for clear country of origin food labeling to be introduced in the United Kingdom has been praised by the NFU.

The WI campaign urges the government to introduce a compulsory "country of origin stamp" on meat, fish and poultry.

Yesterday, the WI resolution, "This meeting urges HM Government to introduce clear and mandatory country of origin labelling on all meat, poultry and fish products sold in this country", was passed with an overwhelming 99 percent majority.

"The WI resolution gives a timely signal to all United Kingdom MEPs to fully support the principle when they gather in Strasbourg in a fortnight to vote on this issue," said NFU vice-president Gwyn Jones, who addressed the WI annual general meeting this week.

"I'm sure the labelling laws will be challenged strongly by others in the European Union. I would urge consumers to raise this issue with their MPs and MEPs and we will continue to lobby so that shoppers know where in the world their food and drink comes from."

Where are they now?

BPEX is trying to find as many previous winners of the David Black Award as possible, as this is the award's 50th anniversary year.

The more recent winners have been traced but some of the early ones are proving elusive. Can you provide information on any of the following? If so let Jon Bullock know at jon.bullock@bpex.org.uk.

• 1961 W T Price
• 1962 H R Davidson
• 1963 A S Cray
• 1964 F D Lawson
• 1965 T J Shaw
• 1966 J W B King
• 1969 J S Watson
• 1970 D S Soutar
• 1971 E G Wake
• 1972 Sir Richard Verdin
• 1973 R F Ridgeon
• 1975 B T Hogley
• 1977 P Lawson
• 1978 J W Foster
• 1979 W C Smith
• 1981 D H Smith
• 1982 D Cargill.

Thursday June 3, 2010

Traffic Lights

Barbecue weather has arrived and Traffic Lights base is up tuppence to 150p tonight. And good news for some - wheat futures have fallen more than £5 over the course of the week. Traffic Lights.

Places for student vets

NPA is going to struggle, as it does every year, to find homes for all the student vets looking for two-week placements.

Those who do take vet students usually repeat the exercise year after year, with both parties gaining from the experience.

If you can help on your unit, please contact NPA's Zoe Davies so she can put your details on the NPA Vet Placement Register.

It is in the industry's interests to help student vets because some might then think about a career with production animals, pigs in particular.

Candidates for the chop

Defra is in a state of flux as it adjusts to the policies of the new government.

Two expensive projects — they would have cost farmers £millions — are now leading contenders for the coalition's cost-cutting axe.

• The controversial new headquarters for Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board at Stoneleigh.
  
  
• The proposed new cost-and-responsibility-sharing animal health quango.

If, as seems possible, plans for the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board headquarters at Stoneleigh are scrapped, the board may have to seek less expensive alternative premises near Stoneleigh.

Meanwhile Defra has created a temporary website as its old website reflects the spending policies and priorities of the former government.

New recording system available for free trial

Genesis is offering a 30-day free trial to any producer wishing to try out its new recording system, called GATS, which is short for Genesis Asset Tracking System.

GATS was launched at British Pig and Poultry Fair but most visitors to the Genesis stand missed this fact, because they were too busy studying the Genesis 360-Degree Farrower.

Designed by Midland Pig Producers' Martin Barker, the GATS web-based system enables data to be automatically uploaded using a DigiPen, although traditional keyboards may also be used.

Users may extract any information they need — including stock recording, veterinary care, mortality rates, food conversion rates, weaning rates, sow analysis and the provision of due diligence records for food producers.

It has been developed so that it can also be used by third parties, such as feed suppliers and vets, setting withdrawal periods for example.

It also allows the development of mature supply chains as retailers and processors may retrieve information on throughput and mortality, drug use etc. (if the producer wishes).

"With a multi-site pig production company I need to be absolutely sure that my stock records are accurate at any given moment. There is not often time to get into the car and drive 80-odd miles just to check things physically," said Martin Barker.

"Using GATS, I log onto the website, enter my password and identify the farms I want to look at. Then I can interrogate the information in any way I wish, asking combinations of questions if needs be."

He says the outstanding feature of his system is its ease of use. "Stockmen like it as all they have to do is write their records using the DigiPen and then send the information to the hub via a docking station in the office or using bluetooth. This eliminates time-consuming data input and reduces the potential for error.

"At Midland Pig Producers we rely on it now and we think other producers will quickly appreciate the benefits it offers."

He estimates the cost of GATS is around £1 per year per sow, for a 1,000-sow herd. He plans to extend the system to beef and lamb producers. For more information contact GenesisQA on 01283 791400.

IPPC second trilogues

The European Union legislative process to review the IPPC Directive continues, with a second 'trilogue' meeting between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council.

These meetings are critical as until now the Parliament and the Council have worked on and developed their own positions. Now is the time for the positions to come together and to find compromises ahead of a final deal hopefully in July.

"Whilst we have seen many significant improvements to the Commission's original proposed text, some differences between the Parliament's and the Council's position do give us cause for concern," says NFU.

Its Brussels office has therefore written to all United Kingdom MEPs identifying which parts of the Council position NFU likes and which parts of the Parliament position it prefers, urging them to consider these points in their trilogue discussions.

News Digest

News Digest for NPA members is published this morning.

David Black Award... who do you nominate?

This year, the pig industry's most prestigious accolade, the David Black Award, celebrates its golden jubilee. The hunt is now on for somebody to receive the honour.

The pig industry has seen challenging times and through the difficulties many people have worked doggedly, giving their all for the benefit of the industry.

One of those people, who has made a valuable and sustained contribution to the industry, is in line to be the recipient of the award.

Everybody in the pig industry is eligible to win, no matter which sector they are from.

Previous winners have included consultants, allied industry, processors, producers and even the Pig Health Control Association. The final selection will be made by a panel of independent judges chaired by BPEX director, Mick Sloyan.

"Many people have made a significant contribution over the years and all deserve recognition. In the past, winners have been people who thought there were others better qualified than they to receive it, though their peers knew better," he said today.

"There are still many out there who richly deserve this award and we want their names to be put forward for consideration by the judges."

Further information including past winners and nomination forms is available on the BPEX website, www.bpex.org.uk, or by contacting BPEX on 02476 478790. Closing date for nominations is Friday, August 27.

wednesday june 2, 2010

European Pig Producers

The Members Area has been updated this afternoon, with a link to reports from European Pig Producers, by Ian Campbell and Zoe Davies.