NEWS PAGE
| Search |
| DIARY DATES |
June 25: NPA AIG meeting,
Stoneleigh. |
| NPA |
| NPA Home Page |
| NPA TRADE DIRECTORY |
| Stand By Your Ham |
| PIG WORLD |
| Pig World Home Page |
| Change your address |
| Campaigns picture gallery |
| Job vacancies |
| DISCUSSION GROUPS |
| Pig Discussion Groups
|
| LADIES IN PIGS |
| Recipe of the month |
| TRAINING |
| Pfizer Trainee of the Year |
| PIG WORLD |
 Pig World May08 19mb Pig World June08 10mb |
| OTHER LINKS |
| Feed Survey, May 2008 |
| Capital grants for composting and anaerobic digestion |
| Priority Water Catchment Area grants |
| IPPC Best Available Techniques |
| Crichton Simplified Form |
| AMC: Search for land and farms |
| Distillers Dried Grains and Solubles (DDGS) |
June 18
One of Britain's finest farming industries
"British pig farmers produce some of the world's best pork – and they need our support now more than ever before," says Natalie Mitchell, senior meat buyer at Waitrose.
"It would be an absolute travesty if Britain were to lose one of its finest farming industries at a time when Britain is sourcing large quantities of bacon from abroad."
Waitrose has been backing the industry's Pigs Are Worth It campaign and announced this week it plans to ban all foreign pork and bacon by the end of the year.
Usual drill
Reference the item below: if your unit has been illegally entered by Animal Aid or other vegan groups, please contact Barney Kay. NPA has a commitment to inform the national police unit that deals with such incidents.
June 17
Animal rights group raids pig farms
Tomorrow, a daily newspaper will report that Animal Aid, which claims to be the United Kingdom’s largest animal rights group, has been covertly filming on a number of intensive pig units, including units in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Ever since the industry launched its British Pigs Are Worth It campaign, Animal Aid has alleged that conditions on some pig units are "a world away from those featured in the campaign". In Animal Aid-speak farrowing units are squalid and sows are trapped inside metal crates with no room to turn around or take a step forward. Tomorrow’s report in the Press can be expected to highlight barren slatted floors, an alleged dependence on medicines, and the use of inorganic toys instead of manipulable material. According to Animal Aid, "While pig farmers bemoan their lot and beg the public to ‘Save our Bacon’, pigs are suffering untold horrors on British pig farms. The images presented by the industry do not remotely resemble the conditions we have witnessed in the years we have been investigating pig farms.”
Cattle up, pigs down
Cattle futures rose to their highest in over two decades in the States yesterday, as the surging cost of corn renewed concern that feedlots will reduce the number of animals available for beef production.
Pigs fell back slightly but are still 30 percent higher this year. The price was expected to fall because of increasing production costs and over-supply, but high exports and rising consumer demand for pork, which is cheaper than beef, have so far confounded the predictions of economists.
Soya price crisis will hit this year
The European Union’s zero tolerance policy on GMs will start to bite later this year, causing the price of soya to soar to unprecedented levels.
A report by a group of European food industry lobbying organisations draws a parallel with rice, where small traces of an unapproved GM variety in imports is estimated to have caused a 90-95pc drop in imports of United States rice, costing the rice milling industry £40m-£88m in the past 20 months.
The report forecasts the presence in the United States soya crop of GMOs not yet authorised in Europe will cause disruption before the end of the year. Crushers will be hit first.
Shipments of soya from the United States containing traces of the variety Round-Up Ready 2 will be refused. North American suppliers will turn away from the European market, forcing crushers to look for alternative sources, probably from Argentina and Brazil.
They may also have to look for other sources of oil, such as rapeseed oil, which would add £120m to their raw material costs.
Two months ago Brussels promised to find a ‘technical solution’ by summer to the issue of low-level presence of non-approved GMOs in feed.
Brussels has since explained that its words should not be taken to mean that it really will find a technical solution by summer.
It is not expected Roundup Ready 2 soya bean will be approved in Europe for several years.
Not everyone agrees with the proposition that soya prices in Europe will hit unprecedented levels if United States soya is no longer available. There have been counter claims that the world is "swimming in soya".
June 16
NFU calls for beef and lamb increases
NFU is calling for further increases in farmgate prices for beef and lamb to safeguard long term sustainability of the sectors. This follows the release of the latest Eblex business pointers report which shows that beef finisher units faced a 17 percent rise in costs in the year ending March 2008. In the same period sheep breeding flocks saw sales drop by 12-13 percent.
Vion signs agreement to buy Grampian
Vion has done the deal with Grampian. The takeover, which will be submitted to the competition authorities, sees the Dutch company strengthen its presence in Britain, where it is already active in the fresh pork, bacon and sausage markets.
Grampian will be integrated into a new Vion division - Vion UK. This division will be managed from the United Kingdom and led by Ton Christiaanse who will be appointed chief executive.
Peter Barr CBE (pictured), formerly chairman of the Meat and Livestock Commission, will be appointed non-executive chairman of the board of Vion UK.
Vion is one of Europe's largest food companies. In Britain it has four businesses:
• Key Country Foods is a retail bacon processor.
• J & J Tranfield (where it is a majority shareholder) is a manufacturer and supplier of pizza and sausages.
• Vion Food UK Ltd sells bacon, fresh pork, beef and convenience products.
• Oerlemans Foods sells frozen vegetables, potato products and fruit.
Vion produces high-quality foods and ingredients for humans and animals. The group consists of three divisions: Ingredients, Fresh Meat and Convenience. Annual turnover is more than £13.5 billion. There are 18,000 employees worldwide.
Vion is a non-listed company and has a single agricultural shareholder: the Dutch Southern Agricultural and Horticultural Farmers Union, which has 18,000 members. Head office is in Son en Breugel in the Netherlands.
"Together with Grampian's management we want to further intensify the cooperation with our retail clients by investing in Grampian, sharing knowledge and developing partnerships," said Daan van Doorn, Vion chairman.
Grampian Country Food Group Ltd was founded in Scotland in 1980 and has developed into one of the nation's leading food companies, supplying the major multiples with chicken, pork, beef and lamb. It employs 17,500 staff (of which 4,500 are in Thailand), with an annual turnover of £1.7 billion.
Cash for training
BPEX Ltd has just secured funding from Yorkshire Forward to help with staff development in the Yorkshire and Humber pig industry. The funding will provide support to the industry whilst they continue to build on existing skills and knowledge.
With pig production still withstanding heavy losses, investing in staff development is not on the top of producers' lists, but BPEX hopes this funding will help to continue to support this important area business.
According to Tess Howe, BPEX skills development manager: "Stockmen who have attended some of the training workshops we have run across the country have really benefited and appreciated the fact that attending them contributes to a recognised qualification. Equally, the number of companies engaging in management level training is encouraging, as they realise this is an area that will help raise unit productivity whilst improving staff motivation and retention."
If you are interested in staff development, need support in ongoing programmes or provide to training events, BPEX may be able to help. Call or email Tess Howe, 07779 321078.
June 15
Denmark’s loss is Germany’s gain
Trade in live pigs to Germany dropped 12 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared with a year ago, mainly because fewer slaughter pigs pigs are being sent from Holland. However imports of live weaners from Denmark have increased, partially offsetting the drop. The live pig trade with Holland could recover later this year; Germany’s processing costs are cheaper than Holland’s. Many of the three million slaughter pigs imported from the Netherlands each year are shipped back as meat.
June 14
Porkwatch results for May
British share of pigmeat on retailers shelves remains fairly static. Around three-quarters of pork is home-produced which, against a background of tightening supply, can be seen as a positive. Bacon and ham shares have nudged forward in recent months but still refuse to break the 40pc barrier. The best overall movers this time are Aldi (Quality Standard Mark pork), Budgens (Quality Standard Mark bacon and sausage) and M&S (bacon, ham and sausage).
Saints and sinners — fresh pork
Based on percentage of British facings
EXCELLENT 1. Budgens, Waitrose, M&S, GOOD
2. Co-op
3. Morrisons
4. Sainsbury’s, BELOW AVERAGE
5. Tesco
6. Asda, POOR 7. Netto
8. Somerfield, DISMAL 9. Aldi
10. Lidl
Saints and sinners — bacon
Based on percentage of British facings
ABOVE AVERAGE 1. Budgens
2. Waitrose
3. M&S
4. Tesco
5. Co-op
6. Sainsbury’s, BELOW AVERAGE 7. Morrisons
8. Asda
9. Somerfield
10.Netto
Saints and sinners - ham
Based on percentage of British facings
ABOVE AVERAGE 1. Budgens
2. Waitrose
3. Sainsbury’s
4. M&S, BELOW AVERAGE 5. Tesco
6. Somerfield
7. Asda
8. Co-op
9. Aldi
10. Lidl
11. Netto
Saints and sinners - sausages
Based on percentage of British facings EXCELLENT 1. Budgens, ABOVE AVERAGE 2. M&S
3. Waitrose
4. Sainsbury’s, BELOW AVERAGE 5. Tesco
6. Co-op
7. Somerfield
8. Asda
9. Morrisons
10. Netto
11. Lidl
12. Aldi
Waitrose, M&S, Budgens Budgens have seen positive movements in Quality Standard Mark use on bacon (77pc) and sausages (54pc) whilst retaining their overall support in all categories. M&S are at 100pc on pork, but are showing record gains in British shares of bacon (69pc), ham (68pc) and sausage (94pc). Waitrose continue to be consistently high.
Morrisons Fresh pork successes continue and whilst there are few movements in the other products it is hoped these will increase in future months as the Spalding plant comes on line and is expanded.
Sainsbury's Overall the British situation is static, but increases in facings of Quality Standard Mark continue on pork and sausages.
Co-op Despite assurances of continued support for British, Porkwatch auditors have recorded drops of pork (83pc) and bacon (39pc) identified as British. Whilst use of the Quality Standard Mark on pork is still excellent, and it is not being suggested that products are not British, the identification of British is being omitted.
Tesco A slight improvement in pork but a continued decline in bacon. Within this, levels for Quality Standard Mark are following the same trend.
Asda An erosion of British share of pork can be seen, to 70pc, which is slightly below the market average. On bacon there is a slight fall in British, but a slight increase in use of the Quality Standard Mark. Ham sees a slight rise in British as a result of the launch of a new standard-plus range of regional British products.
Somerfield Apart from a slight resurgence on sausages there is little progress and as previously reported an imminent sale would be good for the pig industry.
Hard discounters (Aldi, Lidl, Netto) Aldi has recorded a 68pc British figure for the first time with 77pc of this using the Quality Standard Mark, a big breakthrough. For Lidl the share of sausage identified as British continues to fall, to 30pc. Last period’s success on pork in Netto has been lost with share of British returning to 41pc, but growth can be seen in sausages, up to 39pc.
Oudoor pigs carry more food-borne pathogens
Pigs raised without antibiotics are more likely to carry bacteria and parasites responsible for food borne illness, according to researchers at Ohio State University.
During a study, pigs raised outdoors without antibiotics had higher rates of three food-borne pathogens. Animal-friendly, outdoor farms tend to have a higher occurrence of salmonella, as well as higher rates of parasitic disease, according to lead study author Wondwossen Gebreyes.
More than half the pigs on antibiotic-free farms tested positive for salmonella, compared to 39 percent of conventionally raised pigs infected with the bacterial pathogen.
Toxoplasma gondii parasite was detected in 6.8 percent of antibiotic-free pigs, compared to 1.1 percent of conventionally raised pigs.
Two naturally raised pigs of the total 616 sampled tested positive for Trichinella spiralis, a parasite considered virtually eradicated from conventional United States pork production.
As long as pork is cooked thoroughly, the presence of these infectious agents in should pose no risk to human health.
Pig crude needs further refinement
Experiments to turn pig slurry into ‘petrol’ - first highlighted on this page a year ago - have hit a problem: the fuel, which in theory could be made available on garage forecourts, stinks. ‘Pig crude’ is being developed by University of Illinois researcher Yuanhui Zhang who uses heat and pressure to transform organic compounds into a thick black liquid that resembles crude oil. A sample of this fuel has been submitted to the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology. Examiners say it smells bad and a way needs to be found to get more water out.
Good soil management is pivotal to combating climate change
Soil organic matter is the second biggest carbon pool in the planet after the oceans. There are more than 70 billion tonnes of organic carbon in Europe’s soils. This compares with total emissions by European Union countries of around 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon annually.
There is data to suggest large amounts of carbon from soil organic matter have already been lost to the atmosphere in the recent past, according to Europe's environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas. One of the causes may be long term changes in land management practices driven by changing economic circumstances.
“We have, for instance, over the past century or so, completely mechanised and streamlined many of our farming systems, specialising production and simplifying management.
"In making these changes, most of which have brought strong socio-economic benefits, we have taken our eyes off what is happening to soil.
“It now appears, that slow and gradual reductions in soil organic matter may have taken place, almost insignificant in themselves at field level but very significant when taken as a whole in terms of carbon emissions, and the atmosphere, of course, makes no distinction regarding the origin of carbon dioxide insofar as climate change is concerned.”
But long term changes in land management are only part of the picture.
Changes in rainfall patterns and increases in average temperatures brought about by climate change are also playing a role. A rise in global temperature accelerates carbon losses from the soil, driving up the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Changes in rainfall patterns contribute to an increase in erosion in vulnerable soils.
“Climate change will thus put further pressure on soil quality and will increase the risk of desertification, which is already affecting the southern member states and is expected to move gradually northward," says Dimas.
“It is therefore more urgent than ever to act in favour of appropriate policies and practices that favour maintaining or even increasing soil organic matter levels.
"If we manage to do that – and we have to do it now – we have at our disposal a formidable tool for sequestering carbon and supporting the achievement of the targets we have set ourselves to combat climate change. The more organic carbon we keep in or add to the soil, the less carbon dioxide we will have in the atmosphere.
“This will not only mitigate global warming, it will also diminish desertification risks, thereby sustaining agricultural production and allowing us to keep feeding the ever growing world population.”
• Brussels is proposing to introduce legislation on soil management.
Soil Protection Review
If 2008 is not the first year you have claimed the Single Payment Scheme, then you should already be implementing your Soil Protection Review, as it is a requirement of cross compliance. You are required to review your Soil Protection Review at least once a year. You should also review it if it becomes clear that measures you choose are not working or you have taken on new land or where management practices or enterprises have changed since the last review. Further information: http://www.nfuonline.com/x3460.xml.
Fuel prices
Submitted by Rod Tuck. This is a petition on the E-petition section of the official Downing Street website. It was reported the other day that BP and shell were making £3 million an hour profit... so why should the prices be so high? Every vote counts! http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Lowerduty30/
Ian Campbell receives MBE
Ian Campbell who retired from the National Pig Association as regions manager this year following a 38 year career in the pig industry has received an MBE in the birthday honours list for services to the pig industry and the voluntary sector.
In response to receiving the award Ian said, “I am very honoured to receive the MBE and see this as recognition of having been associated with the struggles of the pig industry through a variety of crises and changing market conditions. It’s been a long fight and I believe the real recognition should go to the many people in the industry who have taken the battle to the wider public and in doing so taken their time and effort away from their farms and businesses.
“We recently hosted the European Pig Producers Congress in Norwich and I was proud to see the number of pig producers from across Europe who came together to exchange views and ideas. It is positive for the future to see increasing links being forged between our younger generation of farmers and their European neighbours.
“We have had a number of successes over the years that I could not have shared in without the whole hearted support of the industry. However it should not be forgotten that there have been many casualties along the way. I hope that the recent increases in global commodity prices will help focus the minds of retailers and processors in sitting down with producers to develop genuine sustainable pigmeat supply chains.”
Stewart Houston CBE, NPA chairman, and chairman of the British Pig Executive, said “Ian has been a spokesman for the industry through some of its toughest times. He has the trust of producers, the allied industry and government due to his integrity and straight forward approach, he’s a good friend to us all and it is great to see him honoured in this way”.
Barney Kay, NPA general manager, said, “There’s not a pig farmer in the country that won’t be delighted to hear that Ian has received this recognition for the hard graft he’s put in over the years on behalf of the industry. His rare blend of wisdom and humour has often coaxed a more moderate line from government officials.”
Photo by: Richard Longthorp.
June 13
Import duties to stay
Mariann Fischer Boel today announced the suspension of cereal import duties will remain in force for the next marketing year - which will end on June 30, 2009, unless market conditions justify their reintroduction before that date.
Young NPA dinner
If you are youngish in pig industry terms, this invitation is for you, even though it falls on a school night. Young NPA is holding a dinner at the Ramada Hotel (Fairfield Manor), York, on Thursday 10 July.
Guest speaker will be Rick Sanderson, pork chain business development manager for PIC (UK), who will talk about meat quality, carcass balance and factors that influence consumer buying preferences.
Lis Ravn of BPEX is organising the event, and dinner will be provided free. It will be a good opportunity to talk over events in the pig industry and to make new contacts.
"The event is open to all young(ish) people in the industry," says NPA's Zoe Davies. "You don't have to be a member of Young NPA to attend." Interested? Contact Zoe or Lis.
Marketing group buys Porcofram
BOCM Pauls has sold Porcofram Marketing to Thames Valley Cambac. Thames Valley will now handle over 20 percent of available British pigs.
Thames Valley Cambac's increased critical mass in a marketing sector that is reducing in size will enable the group to build on its relationships with processor customers for the benefit of its producer members, said Thames Valley Cambac chairman producer Charles Allen this morning.
BOCM Pauls will keep Porcofram’s marketing software, which supports over 20 percent of all pigs marketed in Britain.
Alongside the company’s Pig Monitor and Growth Model systems it provides a range of technical solutions available to the industry and strengthens the company’s support to its feed customers, said Tony Suckling, director of pig marketing.
Thames Valley Cambac’s acquisition of Porcofram is a result of ongoing consolidation in the British pig industry and increasing concentration into fewer hands at both processor and producer level.
Following a review, BOCM Pauls concluded that critical mass had become an increasingly important issue and either a partnership or consolidation with a similar minded business would provide the best long term opportunities.
“Following a positive proposal from Thames Valley Cambac - the leading independent farmer-owned pig marketing co-operative - the decision has been taken to sell the marketing business to them, thus creating a marketing group handling over 20 percent of available British pigs,” said BOCM Pauls director Jonathan Farnhill.
According to Thames Valley Cambac general manager Andrew Stockings the acquisition will give the marketing sector a renewed impetus to overcome “the lows of recent times”.
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
Pig World , PO Box 100, Benniworth, Market Rasen LN8 6LE, United Kingdom