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» See the London Rally Gallery here
21/03/08
Please support the three little pigs
All pig industry people are urged by NPA to put on a strong show of support for a tour of the country using three weaners to highlight the industry’s plight to consumers and the media. This is the timetable:
Monday March 31
• Newcastle 9am Times Square, International Centre of Life
• Harrogate 12.30pm Weeton’s Food Emporium
• Hull 3.45pm Queen Victoria Square
Tuesday April 1
• Derby 9am Phone Boxes in City Centre
• Nottingham 11.30am The Forest Park
Wednesday April 2
• Ipswich 9am Corn Hill
• Norwich 12pm City Centre, The Amphitheatre
• Cambridge 3.15pm Cambridge, City Park
Thursday April 3
• Bristol 9am St Augustine’s Parade
• Oxford 12.15pm Broad Street
• Southampton 3.45pm The Monument/The Bargate
Each stop on the tour of 11 towns and cities is only for a short while, so please do your best to support the tour, particularly in areas where pig producers are thin on the ground.
To help the communications agency Good Relations (which proved so effective at coordinating media coverage for the London rally on March 4) please complete the form below if you are able to attend.
Placards, leaflets and tee-shirts will be provided at each venue. Local press, radio and television will be invited to attend and a good response is expected following the success of Stand by Your Ham and the London rally.
“Ideally we are looking for sufficient producers for each location to create a mini demonstration,” said Phil Brady of Good Relations today. Support from the allied trades is essential, to help swell numbers.
Each event will last for around one and a half hours… and be warned, you may be asked to join in with a rousing chorus of Stand by your Ham!
The weaners are being transported (with all necessary licences, thanks to producer Richard Longthorp) in a specially constructed display trailer. They will be looked after by an experienced stockman.
The overall message of the tour is that this might be the last opportunity for most people to see live pigs if the majority of farmers go out of business.
(After pressing SUBMIT please wait to be taken to the "Thank you" page.)
Leading retailers increase prices in store as shortage grows
Tesco and Asda have put their store prices up sharply in the last couple of days.
Although the increases are only on fresh pork and will therefore be diluted at farm level, there is a growing expectation the price for manufacturing cuts will soon rise also, in response to the increasingly critical shortage of pigs in Britain and on the continent.
Because of the two short weeks of the Easter holiday, this week’s spot price did not repeat the jumps of recent weeks. However it is expected to move significantly next Friday — perhaps by as much as 5p — as processors search for supplies.
The Traffic Lights spot price increased 3p on February 21, 6p on February 28 and 5p on March 6. Any further increases will provoke a growing migration of pigs from contract to spot, forcing processors — some of whom were rolling pigs only a few weeks ago — to increase contract prices.
Increases in the price of continental pigmeat have occurred so quickly (and unexpectedly), they have eroded the 10p premium that traditionally separates DAPP from the all-Europe reference price. DAPP is expected to increase over the next few weeks, to restore the differential.
A price of over 130p by British Pig and Poultry Fair is now considered possible, so in the next few days industry leaders will be considering the next stage of the industry’s campaign for a sustainable price of over 140p.
The new phase is likely to be implemented sooner than expected — triggered by higher prices — and will thank consumers for their support, which has helped increase demand for British pork and pork products at a time when supplies are tightening.
The industry will also put increasing pressure on both retailers and processors to ensure the increases being paid by shoppers are translated into a sustainable price at the farm gate.
It will become increasingly important to press for rises in the price of manufacturing meat and to ensure retailers keep faith with honest labelling and the Quality Standard Mark.
Thin cut loin steaks were increased from £6.48 a kilo to £6.99 a kilo in Tesco stores yesterday. Organic pork loin steak went up from £11.39 a kilo to £12.65 a kilo.
Vacuum packed pork shoulder is now off promotion, increasing in price from £1.79 a kilo to £2.75 a kilo. However, big pack loin steaks are now on promotion and have been reduced from £6.48 a kilo to £5.19a kilo.
The increases at Tesco have been mirrored at Asda where pork prices went up by an average 5p a kilo yesterday. Next week NPA and BPEX chairman Stewart Houston will be urging Morrisons to increase its prices, to reflect the growing crisis in pigmeat supply.
The latest retail charts from BPEX show Sainsbury's has been moving ahead on price in recent weeks, whilst Tesco has held its price steady, feeling itself unable to move until Asda ceases its pigmeat price war.
This week's price increases by Asda and Tesco (not shown in this chart) are an indication of tightening supplies. Some of the movement may also be attributable to the NPA London rally and the consequent flurry of letters from MPs to retailer executives.
BPISG said today that Asda's price increases in store are too little, too late. It claims the retailer's stance on pigmeat in recent months has caused "incalculable damage to the British pig industry" — therefore the industry rally outside Asda House in Leeds will go ahead. Several hundred producers are expected to attend.
At the rally, BPISG representatives will be seeking a face to face meeting with Asda chief executive Andy Bond, so they can explain the advantages to producers, processors, retailers and consumers, of a sustainable supply chain for British pigmeat.
The continental pig herd is down around five percent December 06 v December 07 and is probably still shrinking.
It now looks probable that a significant tranche of culling took place immediately increases in wheat prices started hitting pig unit profitability, which is why pigmeat supplies are tightening so markedly now.
The chart above shows the effect in Britain on retailer prices and the DAPP. It plots fresh pork and the DAPP against an index of 100 on July 2. Whilst prices to consumers increased sharply in September, these were not passed through the chain to producers.
However, as the chart shows, this month the shortage of pigs is beginning to be felt and processors are starting to compete for dwindling supplies, creating a slow but steady rise in the DAPP. There is some way to go before the July 2 relationshiop between DAPP and retail prices is restored.
20/03/08
Danes told to look to own backyard on animal welfare
A Danish science teacher has accused his countrymen hypocrisy over their boycott of Australian wool from mulesed sheep. Per Madsen says Denmark itself has cruel animal practices, such as castrating millions of piglets each year without anaesthetic. "I just found it odd that Danish consumers participate in the boycotting of Australian wool when they, at the time, gladly munch away on bacon and sausages," he said. "The thing is the Danes castrate around 12 million pigs annually in a procedure that is just as cruel as mulesing. They do it without anaesthesia and the piglets' scrotum is cut open and testicles are pulled out and cut off." — Source: ABC Rural.
» Mulesing involves the stripping away of skin from a sheep’s hindquarters, to prevent flystrike, which can cause a painful death.
Holland maps swine fever risk
The areas in Holland at greatest risk from spread of classical swine fever have been mapped out by the Dutch Central Veterinary Institute. It is expected this work will help government handle any future outbreak more effectively, by taking account of regional differences.
In a low risk area an outbreak might be controlled by mass slaughter, whereas in a high risk area the first move might be vaccination. The Dutch Central Veterinary Institute model is based on the spread of the disease during the epidemic in Holland in 1997-1998. The institute has advised livestock producers and vets to forward blood samples to it immediately in the event of unusual clinical problems arising on a farm.
Europe now the biggest pig exporter
The European Union is now the largest exporter of pigmeat in the world, according to figures by German market and price analyst, ZMP. But the high euro compared to the United States dollar is having a significant impact, especially as pigmeat is traded in dollars outside the European Union.
German producers need 158p a kilo... or goodbye
If the pig price does not stabilise around 158p a kilo pigmeat will become increasingly scarce, according to Frans Meyer zu Holte, chairman of German pig producer organisation ISN.
"Prices were 20 percent lower in the last half year in comparison to a year previously. If you see that meat prices are still around the same as in 2006, someone is making big money in the production chain,” he said.
Tabletop toys used in foot-and-mouth exercise
Toys help officials in the United States explain what would happen in a foot-and-mouth outbreak. Using tabletop farm toys, agricultural officials showed what would happen if foot-and-mouth disease were found in Iowa.
Exports of British genetics recover
ACMC has announced orders for breeding stock worth nearly a quarter of a million pounds. They come from a number of European countries, including Poland and Spain where new genetics company, Genetica Meidam, is being set up with ACMC as a major shareholder. The re-established business follows the opening up of the European Market market following Britain being declared officially free from foot-and-mouth disease.
Entire Scottish pig herd could disappear
"The word crisis has never been more apt. The Scottish pig industry is losing producers at a rate of knots and if this haemorrhaging continues we will lose our entire Scottish herd,” said Jim McLaren, president of NFU Scotland.
Processing facilities would also disappear and that would mean the loss of a considerable number of jobs, he said. The devaluing of sterling against the euro should, in theory, make Scottish pork and bacon more competitive against imported products, but the downside was that imported proteins were now more expensive.
"Sadly, the pig industry has not seen the benefit of the currency devaluation since retailers have not moved to increase ex-farm prices. Despite enormous input-cost increases, the price per kilo for pigmeat has only increased by around 2p over recent months."
Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s rural affairs secretary, wants the European Commission to introduce an aid package for the pig sector in the wake of an (unsuccessful) submission by Poland to the agricultural council. (Source: The Scotsman.)
Cyprus producer tours British breeding units
The managing director of Cyprian pig producing company, LA Top Genetics, took a tour of three JSR Genetics farms to view breeding stock and their progeny, before finalising a contract that will see further expansion of the rapidly growing Cypriot pig industry.
MLC 'Blueprint' updated
BPEX has produced two new publications, both of which focus on eating quality, though from different angles. The first is an update of the MLC ‘Blueprint’, first produced 16 years ago, while the other is about monitoring meat quality through pH value. They are aimed at anybody working to improve pigmeat eating quality - whether 1,000 pigs a week, or just a couple for a farm shop.
BPEX meat scientist Kim Matthews said, "The updated Blueprint summarises opportunities for improving the quality of pork. Based on the original MLC Blueprint, it draws on technical developments to present an up-to-date summary of the key factors determining pork eating quality.
"It is no longer appropriate to recommend a specific breed to enhance eating quality because many genotypes are available, each suited to particular market requirements.
"Other recommendations include not using fishmeal in finishing rations, minimising age at slaughter and using hip suspension, even where electrical stimulation is applied.
The other publication looks at pH measurement. It describes the use of pH meters in abattoirs and details the simple inexpensive equipment that is available. "Measuring pH provides important information to manage meat quality. Action to control pH can reduce drip loss and improve processing quality and therefore add real value through consistency."
The importance of this is underlined by BPEX offering training sessions in pH measurement to anyone involved in further processing - contact Kim Matthews for more information.
Copies available by contacting Michelle Horan on 01908 844734, email michelle_horan@mlc.org.uk.
Quick pick-up by twister
A “twister” in the States lifted a small building containing a family’s pet pig and dropped it yards away – without injuring the pig.
Exchange visits with Denmark
Dr Mike Varley of SCA Nutec has been contacted by a colleague in Denmark who is in contact with a number of producers who would be interested in hosting young people from the United Kingdom for six months to a year, helping them learn basic skills and to develop their careers.
This could be an opportunity, he suggests, for a programme of exchange between the Danish and United Kingdom industries for improved mutual understanding.
“For a young person interested in agriculture, this would be a very good part of a training programme and an insight into the Danish culture and agricultural industry,” he suggests in a note to NPA. If you have any thoughts on this, general manager Barney Kay will be happy to hear them.
WHAT WILL THE PRICE BE BY PIG FAIR?
Calling all British pig industry people — get your thinking caps on. The person who correctly guesses the pig price by Pig Fair will win £300, courtesy of Pig World and BPEX.
Details will be in April issue of Pig World, which is published on Wednesday April 2. There is of course serious intent to this competition — to remind the rest of the chain why producers are calling for price increases now, to prevent pigs becoming even shorter going forward.
All the smart money is on a dramatic lift in the price as soon as the short weeks are out of the way and there is a clear run through April. Supplies are getting seriously tight both at home and on the continent. And there is the euro to consider... will it continue to strengthen against sterling? If so the impact will be significant.
To make the competition reasonably challenging, all entries will have to be in by midnight on Thursday April 10. You will be able to submit your entry on this page, or by email or fax.
The price you will be attempting to accurately predict is the Traffic Lights Spot Price which is texted to participating producers on Thursday nights. You can follow progress of the Traffic Lights base HERE.
What do YOU think the Traffic Lights spot will be on Thursday May 9?
Sam Walton and Digby Scott of Pig World, and Andrew Knowles, of BPEX, will be making their own guesses in the magazine, for everyone to laugh at. But remember, we sufffer the disadvantage of having to make our guesses as the magazine goes to press this weekend — on a short week to boot. So you will have a considerable advantage over us when you make your guess a week later.
If, as is highly likely, half the industry submits guesses, there may well be several contenders for the cash prize, in which case the first correct answer out of the hat will be chosen.
We’ll ask food and farming minister Lord Rooker to make the draw on the first morning of British Pig and Poultry Fair, which is Tuesday and Wednesday May 13-14. See April Pig World for all the details. Good luck with your guess! — D.S.
19/03/08
Traffic Lights
The Traffic Lights text is a day early, because it is a short week. Details.
Fosseway Pig Discussion Group
Tomorrow night's Fosseway Pig Discussion Group meeting has been cancelled. It has been rescheduled for Thursday April 17 when Ian Campbell and his replacement Zoe Davies will be the guests. Noticeboard.
Demonstration at Asda House
By Digby Scott
Asda increased the prices it pays for British pork by 2p a kilo last week and has announced a further 2p increase today with a promise of more to come in the next fortnight, to bring the price up to 120p. Tesco is also reported to have lifted its price today.
British Pig Industry Support Group claims Walmart-owned Asda has obstructed attempts to reduce the £20-a-head losses producers make on every pig they sell.
The group is planning a demonstration at Asda House, in Great Wilson Street, Leeds — modelled on NPA’s successful Downing Street rally two weeks ago.
“Just as producers were in London, we will be immaculately well behaved,” said a BPISG spokesman today. “But we do want to speak face to face with Asda’s chief executive, Andy Bond, about some of the statements that have been attributed to him recently.”
BPISG says it will be seeking significant media coverage for the demonstration. It has contacted the police and is in the process of picking a suitable date (probably about three weeks from now) and choosing a route that will cause least disruption to the people of Leeds.
The Sunday Telegraph recently quoted Andy Bond as saying, "I don’t think it’s acceptable to say that if you demonstrate [as a supplier] that costs have gone up, we will accept increases. I think our vendors have to do their own restructuring so they are not passing on cost price increases."
He has also been quoted as saying, "We will continue to be the undisputed price leader in the United Kingdom, aggressively rolling back prices by focusing on reducing our costs. We will also be challenging our suppliers to do the same."
BPISG wants Asda to increase its store prices for pork and pork products now, to help avert a critical shortage of British pork later this year.
"Most retailers we have talked to accept that meaningful pork production in Britain could come to an end if producers cannot recoup some of the cost of the recent doubling of feed ingredients," said a BPISG spokesman.
"They are prepared to raise prices now to ensure continuity of supply of high-welfare, independently-assured British pork for their customers — but their hands are tied for as long as Asda views pork as a price battleground."
Asda came in for heavy criticism from the pig industry over Christmas when it cut the price of boneless pork leg from £4.29 a kilo to £2.14 a kilo.
The other supermarkets in the big four – Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons – steered clear of loss leaders on pork cuts in the run-up to Christmas.
NPA chairman Stewart Houston said at the time, "I am extremely disappointed that Asda has decided to make pork legs a loss leader.
"I recognise this is a serious provocation to Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons and I hope they will rise above it, not just for the pig industry’s sake, but to ensure high-welfare British pork is available for shoppers in the future."
BPISG argues that a significant number of producers are on the cusp of deciding whether to quit and the fallout will be much greater if Asda continues to include pork in its high street war for market share.
Source of chart (above): BPEX.
Stand by your What?
Taking a leaf out of the British pig industry's book, presenters of a farming programme on New Zealand radio have recorded Stand by Your Lamb. You can hear it here. (This link may not work in all browsers.)
18/03/08
A question of balance...
British pig farmers would have to more than double production in order to supply the national demand for loin.
Currently the national herd produces 9m pigs a year, but to meet the loin requirements of consumers — much of it in the form of bacon — it would need to produce 23m pigs.
We are also unable to meet all the demand for legs — to do that we would need to produce 19m pigs.
And because we are unable to balance the carcase on the domestic market we produce 6m pigs a year more than consumers' requirement for shoulder meat.
Other European countries have less of a carcase-balance problem because they have a lower demand for loin, mainly because they eat less bacon. Furthermore they eat more processed products, which make use of cheaper cuts.
The Danes, for instance, export much of their loin to Britain, whilst at home they make more use of shoulder meat. Most shoulder meat produced in Britain goes into sausages.
Demand for pork in Britain remains strong but last year's poor summer hit sales of premium ham, as people were less inclined to sit down to eat it for their evening meal.
Fresh meat is a hugely important line for supermarkets — on a par with alcohol. Pork is the most popular meat, with sausages accounting for 9 percent of sales, pork 12 percent and bacon 17 percent.
Tesco has 31.5 percent of the market share of meat — about the same as Asda and Sainsbury's combined.
17/03/08
Benn supports pig industry campaign
Defra chief Hilary Benn has voiced his express support for the British pig industry.
"The pig sector is having a very difficult time because of the rise in feed prices. I support the campaign that the industry is running to encourage consumers," he said, in reply to a question by Conservative MP Henry Bellingham.
"In the end, consumers are the solution to the problem: to be aware of the problems that face the pig industry in Britain; to choose to buy bacon and pork from Britain; and to have the information that enables consumers to exercise that choice.
"That is where the solution lies to the problems that his constituents face, and I am sure that the whole House would want to support them in their endeavours."
In his question, Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk) said: "Is the Secretary of State not aware that, by this time next year, there will be no pig farmers left in this country, because the pig sector is in crisis?
"It is wretched news for arable and rural Britain. It is very bad news for Norfolk, where many pig units are folding every day. They do not want subsidies; they want fairness in Europe.
"Is he aware that 70 percent of imported pigmeat is produced in conditions that would be illegal in this country? What can he do to ensure that consumers in this country are properly informed?"
United States producers looking at big losses
United States producers had hoped the weak dollar and increased demand from China would offset their pig surplus, but it is not to be. They are now looking at their worst year since 1998, with losses on farrow-to-finish farms rising to over £13 a pig.
In the last quarter of 2007, pork supplies were up 10 percent and this over-supply has continued into this year, with production up 11 percent so far.
"The poor outlook will not change until we get a reduction in pork production in the United States," said Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt.
If high corn and soybean meal costs hold where futures suggest they could push production costs up to around the equivalent of £1.50 a kilo. Production costs for farrow-to-finish units so far this year are around 30 percent higher than the price being received for the pigs.
Smithfield has already announced a reduction of 40,000-50,000 sows and the Canadian government will subsidise sow culling through a national buyout program.
That said, some Canadian pig producers hope the deep slump in their industry has bottomed out. "I think the industry is poised for a significant rebound. . . low prices and low supply will fix low prices,” said Curtiss Littlejohn, chairman of Ontario Pork. Currently Canadian producers are losing up to £25 on every pig they sell.
16/03/08
Producer levy to be cut
The producer levy will be reduced by 10p from April - assuming Defra will sign-off the reduction. Producers will pay 75p instead of the current 85p.
BPEX has built up healthy reserves over the years and had wanted to return these to producers by way of a levy holiday, which would have cut producers' bottom line losses by ten percent at a stroke.
Returning the money via a levy holiday would have been the surest way of ensuring the new Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board did not absorb it.
However, the move was blocked by MLC commissioners because the law doesn't allow England to take unilateral levy decisions.
From April 1 the new levy board arrangements come into force and the Scottish and English levy arrangements will be entirely separate.
The 10p reduction planned by the current BPEX board is due to be implemented by the new BPEX Limited when it takes over on April 1.
Another mechanism being used to return reserves to producers will be a pioneering PCV2 vaccine voucher scheme (as announced in February Pig World), which will be introduced April 1. Full details will be available in April Pig World (published April 2).
A minority of producer members on BPEX had wanted a 25p levy cut - rather than a 10p cut - instead of the PCV2 voucher scheme, arguing producers could still use the saved cash to buy PCV2 vaccine if they wished.
Zero-tolerance world
C. Larry Pope looked out from the podium on more than 100 hog farmers and delivered a grim assessment of the industry's risks: recalls, biosecurity hazards, animal-welfare scandals stirred up by undercover spies, and regulators pressured to crack down. "We're in a zero-tolerance world, and it scares me," Pope, chief executive of Smithfield Foods Inc., said at the National Pork Industry Forum this month in St. Louis. Later, he cautioned: "We have to be aware of what people think of us outside." — From STL Today.
Largest pig production hub in China
A five-year pig raising project involving 1.36 billion United States dollars in investment will make the central China province of Hubei the nation's largest pig raising base. In the next five years, China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation will build a sow breeding base, a pig production demonstration project and centres for pig breeding
14/03/08
Tired of being the fall guys
Media campaigns about high prices are adversely affecting French farmers, who are struggling to keep their heads above water, according to the French Meat Industry Association. Retail prices for meat have risen steadily in the last year – pork by 5.9 percent and beef by 4.1 percent. The meat industry has been accused of increasing prices of meat products above reasonable limits, an accusation that French farmers condemn as as "stigmatisation".
This is what makes us tick...
A one-day course organised by BPEX will seek to give representatives from organisations such as Defra, the Environment Agency and the Rural Payments Agency, a grounding in the British pig industry.
To be held at Writtle on April 16 it will cover general pig production systems, financial aspects of producing pigs, regulatory requirements, biosecurity, current challenges faced by the industry and the proactive measures the industry is taking to help itself become more efficient at producing quality pork.
13/03/08
Macdonalds Hotels moves to 100 percent Quality Standard Mark
Pork, bacon, sausages and ham served in Macdonald Hotels' 21 hotels nationwide will in future all be British, and Macdonalds will carry the Quality Standard Mark on menus and in publicity material. "The company wants to support the British Pigs Are Worth It campaign," said Tony Goodger of BPEX. " And by carrying the Quality Standard Mark on menus it is also positioning itself further upmarket than its competitors."
Battening down the hatches
Denmark's pig farmers - who receive even less for their pigs than their British counterparts - have battened down the hatches according to one equipment supplier. "They have simply stopped spending," the company told Pig World.
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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