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May 8
Guess-the-Price-by-Pig-Fair
Tonight's texted Traffic Lights base is 127p — a 5p jump from last week. There are over a dozen contenders for the Guess-the-Price £300 prize. We will — with your help — draw a winner from a virtual hat, on this page, tomorrow morning.
Sam Walton, Andrew Knowles and Digby Scott made their guesses on Easter Monday. Walton estimated 137p and Scott said 126p. Knowles messed the whole thing up by misreading his brief and guessing what DAPP would be instead of spot. His 121p DAPP turns out to be 1.53p adrift, whilst Scott's 126p spot is a 1p out, and Sam's 137p was optimistic to the tune of 10p. — D.S.
Breakfast with the Bishop
• Government — out of touch with reality
• Politicians — not very capable
• Processors — short-termist Little Englanders
By Digby Scott
The United Kingdom government is so far behind the curve on the global food crisis, it is continuing to shut down farms.
For instance, nine pig and poultry units are currently under threat of closure because the ammonia they emit might damage lichen.
And rather than provide the necessary infrastructural support to ensure they can continue producing food, the government’s reaction is to threaten sanctions, which could result in the closure of these efficient food-producing units.
(See Agency over-estimated ammonia emissions.)
A pig industry meeting with the Bishop of Lincoln yesterday agreed that this situation is intolerable.
Government and the majority of politicians still believe British supermarket shelves will never be empty, because there will always be plenty of cheap food available from abroad.
“There has been a dramatic change in world food supply and food security has become a critical issue,” said Sir Ben Gill at the meeting. “Food inflation is substantial, with a headline figure of over 6pc a year here, over 20pc in China, and around 13pc in Asia generally - and it is going to undermine stability.
“The retailers have been in denial over this until very recently. They thought that if food goes up in Britain, they will be able to import more cheap food. And politicians remain way behind the curve.
“The one thing I would urge you to do when you enter the House of Lords,” he told Bishop of Lincoln John Saxbee, “is to try and convince them that there is a different paradigm now.”
Listening to Sir Ben fire off a barrage of formidable statistics, the meeting was clear that global strife over food supplies was not many years away.
But it would be a difficult task, said Sir Ben, to convince members of the Other Place (the House of Commons) of the frightening new world order.
“The quality of politicians in this country is generally poor. We pay too much for the calibre we get and not enough for the calibre we need. As a result, civil servants are making the policy.”
Pig producer Richard Longthorp agreed that a key problem facing pig producers was lack of foresight and ability among those who determine the sector’s fate.
“Too many people think farming is simple and don’t give it the intellectual effort required to find solutions,” he told Bishop John Saxbee.
“We faced massive feed price inflation in September and the only way we can get an increase in the pig price to match our higher production costs is to cut capacity to below the level of demand.
“That might be a satisfactory situation for an industry making nuts and bolts - but for food it is a poor mechanism. People talk about us having a sophisticated economy, but how sophisticated is that?
Retailers and even processors did not understand the time-scale that pig farmers have to work to, he said.
“If I take a decision to go out of pig production there are still ten months of production in the pipeline, so when I say I am going out of production, and the pigs keep coming, processors and retailers think I’m lying... and they think that right up to the day when suddenly there are no more pigs.”
The Bishop of Lincoln will be entering the House of Lords soon and intends to champion farming in Lincolnshire and beyond, and flood defences.
“So this breakfast is not another chat shop. It will help inform me of the real facts, so that I am not just reeling off a lot of statistics. I am anxious to be well informed so that I am not just indulging in rhetoric.”
The Bishop gave producers a polite but firm lesson in reality, on the subject of rhetoric.
Asking for more give and take in the supply chain wasn't going to work, he said. And urging retailers and processors to demonstrate greater social responsibility was "cloud cuckoo land".
Producers should not give up on the idea of building more mutual trust in the supply chain — “but in a very aggressive global market it won't survive very long”.
He said he would not, when he enters the House of Lords, be using rhetoric when making a case for the pig sector — because it won’t change anything, however worthy the message.
But after listening intently to producers from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire explain the background to the crisis in the pig industry, he was clear that politicians must be persuaded to start take food security seriously.
We were agreed, he told the meeting, that two or three years ago the notion of food security would have been laughed at. And although it was back on the agenda now, it would require some work to convince the public and politicians of the need for positive action.
To most people, security meant defence of the country, and security against terrorism. “When you talk about it in those terms you immediately get people’s attention.
“If something has a 'security' tag, resources are thrown at it. That doesn’t apply to security of food yet and that has to be challenged. Once people realise it is foolish to play ducks and drakes with food, then resources will be found.”
Richard Longthorp said to the Bishop that pig producers needed at least 140p a kilo - or 150p if they wanted to reinvest.
And Nottinghamshire producer Ian Hoyland explained the only reason producers had managed to survive the cost crisis so far was that their arable acres provided a cushion.
“Don’t think arable farmers are going to make a killing in general,” warned Sir Ben. ”Some are going to get a nasty shock when they do their year-end figures, because they sold only a fraction of their grain at the higher prices. Most was sold at below cost of production.”
And as an example of how dramatically input costs were rising he told how he had made an error in his fertiliser order and consequently sold the surplus for £110 a tonne more than he had paid for it nine months earlier.
The meeting failed, as has the pig industry in general, to identify whether it is retailers or processors, or both, who are profiteering from increases in pork prices on supermarket shelves.
“Some of the processors are behaving dishonestly but their actions are simply a consequence of the people they have to deal with,” said Richard Longthorp.
But Ben Gill robustly demanded that the pig sector does not let “Little Englander” processors off the hook. “Don’t weep for them. They are the people making the short-term bucks today.
“In their fight for market share they have been too keen to volunteer promotional funds to the retailers because it has been too easy in the past to take the money from producers’ pockets."
Processors were the middle men and they behaved like middle men everywhere by playing one end off against the other, he said.
He contrasted pig processors with the poultry sector, where processors had volunteered early price increases to producers in order to maintain stability.
It must be possible to forge long-term, sustainable relationships with retailers, because there were a few examples in other sectors where it had been achieved, he said.
“The one thing retailers hate is price volatility. That is the offer you have,” he advised.
Meanwhile he urged the Bishop to do anything he could to help the industry in the “proper debating chamber”, rather than the “charade next door”.
Reinforcing his message on food security he said this year would mark a global tipping point as more people around the world moved from subsistence farming and an essentially vegetarian diet to having a disposable income and a desire to eat more meat.
According to the World Bank, eight years from now pork consumption would have increased 50 percent. “If only half of that happens, think of the increase in demand for feedstuffs.”
Richard Longthorp said the industry had been stressing to retailers and processors that they should pay a bit more now rather than “a hell of a lot more” in a few months time.
“But that message is coming from the pig industry and apparently we are not clever enough to understand the issues.”
Congratulation the industry on putting forward a cogent case, the Bishop of Lincoln acknowledged that government was working on a strategy that still assumed there was plenty of food about.
“If the spectre of food insecurity can be raised in the minds of the general public then we are going to get politicians much more committed.”
Following the pig industry breakfast with the Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Longthorp — one of the original Winnie-the-Pig gang of six — presented Lincolnshire's agricultural chaplain with £200 for Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution funds. The money was raised last year from sales of Winnie-the-Pig prints via Pig World and the NPA web site. Hugh Crabtree, who is guardian of the remaining prints of Winnie, asked that the money be given to a suitable charity.
Pictured above, left to right: Richard Longthorp, pig producer; Richard Hezlet, NFU East Midlands regional director; Rev Canon Alan Robson, Lincolnshire agricultural chaplain; John Godfrey, pig producer; James Walgate, pig producer; the Rt Revd. Dr John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln; Jonathan Brant, NFU county vice-chairman; Chris Brant, pig producer; Reg Joseph, consultant and formerly head of an international pig breeding company; Sir Ben Gill, former president of the NFU; Alison Twiddy, of Lincolnshire Farmers Support Group; Ian Hoylake, Nottinghamshire pig producer.
Outdoor pork nomenclature
BPEX and RSPCA are talking about agreed descriptions for different pork production standards — free-range, outdoor-reared etc. A Code of Good Practice may emerge as a result. There has been some controversy recently over use of the term "outdoor pork".
New Spalding abattoir will open soon
The old Hargraves abattoir at Spalding, Lincolnshire, is currently undergoing a major overhaul by Morrisons and should be open and running by June-July. It will take 6,000 pigs a week.
Calling all potential Young NPA members
By Zoe Davies
If your work is connected to the pig industry and you are still considered a youngster in the business, we would like to encourage you to join the Young NPA.
We already have a well established group of over 50 valued members from all parts of the chain including producers, vets, allied industries and processors and are keen that all young people in the industry take advantage of the opportunity to join.
Once you have signed up you will be invited to any visits or meetings that are organised, benefit from reduced rates to attend important industry events and conferences and have the opportunity to network with a much wider variety of people throughout the business and from across the country.
Previous activities have included a visit to Dalehead Foods, Agromek 2007 and the European Pig Producers conference 2007.
We hope that being part of the Young NPA will have a positive impact on both you and the business that you represent. Membership is free and it’s easy to join – just send your contact details to me by email, fax or post.
Or call me at the NPA office if you would like to chat about it first. If you are already a member and haven’t heard from us for a while, or have changed your details, please let me know.
National slurry spreading week
The slurry spreading closed periods proposed by Defra in its NVZ consultation could create a “national slurry spreading week”, fears producer Charlie Allen.
This would result in the same type of pollution caused by slurry spreading in Holland which resulted in a nasty smell across the south-east England recently, he told NPA Producer Group yesterday.
Defra's response to its NVZ consultation will be published before the House of Commons summer recess in July.
Fuel conserver
At Pig Fair next week, Waste Spectrum will be launching a fuel conserver that can be retro-fitted to all its incinerations and will cut fuel input by 10pc, typically saving 2,000 litres a year, about £1,000 at current prices.
European Pig Producers
Some 142 people have so far signed up for the European Pig Producers conference in Norwich, June 5-8. Sponsorship is in place. Finances are looking healthy. Conference title is “How to live with the world’s most sophisticated retailers".
Mystic Campbell and the future of the industry
Ian Campbell will be staring into his crystal ball and talking about the future of the pig industry when he presents the RAC/PIC 2007 Pig Fellowship report at British Pig and Poultry Fair. The presentation will be at 4pm in the Forums Theatre. Please come and support him.
Health conference
English pig producers are now feeding back results from the current BPEX PCV2 vaccination campaign. BPEX plans to disseminate the information it is acquiring at an autumn conference, possibly held in conjunction with NPA.
May 7
Stand by Your Ham at Pig Fair
If you were one of the talented artistes who recorded Stand by Your Ham, are you available at noon on day one of British Pig and Poultry Fair, for a lusty live performance, without backing track, on the NPA stand? If so, please email Digby or Barney. We will, of course, be conducted by Hugh Crabtree.
May 6
Anaerobic Digestion and Alternative Waste Technologies
A conference on Anaerobic Digestion and Alternative Waste Technologies will be held on May 22 at The Barbican Centre, London. It will focus on the latest developments in treating waste through new technologies. For more information and to book a place go to: http://www.alternative-waste.co.uk/homepage.asp.
May 5
New Product Award
Pig Fair New Product Award entry form is here.
'Pork shortage will be on a bigger scale
than we have ever seen before'
The landscape of the European pig industry crisis changed dramatically last week when Denmark announced a big slide in pig numbers between April 2007 and April 2008, most of which has taken place in the last four months.
With Canada half way through its programme to cull ten percent of sows, and United States producers facing irresistible pressure to reduce production, a global pigmeat shortage is in prospect and early claims in Britain that the pig price here would reach £2 a kilo are looking realistic.
The Danish figures, which show a drop of over 10pc in the national herd, have taken everyone by surprise.
Reports by industry leaders in other European countries that their national herds will not be dropping significantly this year will now be viewed with scepticism.
Following publication of the Danish census results, BPEX and NPA chairman Stewart Houston has written to the Big Four retailers warning of an availability problem across Europe that will be "on a bigger scale than we have ever seen before".
All the retailers responded to his letter almost immediately which suggests they accept his point that the supply situation is going to become serious, and there will not be enough pigs in Europe, or further afield, to make up for a drop in production in Britain. A series of meetings with retailers will now take place.
| Danish pig census | |||
| (000 head) | April 2007 | April 2008 | % change |
| In-pig sows | 672 | 586 | -12.8 |
| In-pig gilts | 218 | 212 | -2.8 |
| Piglets on sow | 2,702 | 2,424 | -10.3 |
| Maiden gilts | 254 | 242 | -4.7 |
| Pigs under 50kg | 5,849 | 5,028 | -14 |
| Pigs over 50kg | 3,584 | 3,415 | -4.7 |
| Total pigs | 13,599 | 12,186 | -10.4 |
Agency over-estimated ammonia emissions
The Environment Agency got its sums wrong over ammonia emissions.
This is a significant development for those pig and poultry units that have been told they are producing too much ammonia because they are near sensitive habitats.
The Agency says it over-estimated total ammonia released from farms. It is writing to all IPPC permit holders who have an ammonia improvement condition to explain the error.
“Because of the error, the percent reduction in ammonia required in the improvement conditions will be less than currently stated,” says the Agency.
About 10pc of IPPC pig and poultry units have been told to reduce ammonia emissions.
Nine farms are said to have a “very significant” impact on nearby wildlife sites. These have three options - to withdraw their IPPC application, accept very stringent improvement conditions to reduce emissions, or accept a refusal of their IPPC application.
“We are trying hard to agree an option to enable the business to continue. In the case of any withdrawn or refused applications, we would agree to a process of downsizing to below IPPC threshold size, or closure with each individual site,” says the Agency.
Farmex to launch real-time productivity monitor
A new service — GuardianACTION — which alerts producers when there is a problem in the piggery, is being introduced by Farmex at British Pig and Poultry Fair. Sensors within the piggery pick up information. A data logger connected to a computer continuously uploads this information via broadband connection to the GuardianACTION server. Data flow is automatically analysed, as it happens, and an early warning is issued if there are any anomalies in the system or when serious troubles occur.
A red, amber or green signal is sent direct to the farm computer or the participant’s mobile phone. In a large organisation, if action is not taken within four hours then the next person up the management ladder can be notified. “We know from on-farm monitoring that many systems can be inadequately maintained and not run at optimum efficiency. Ensuring that they operate as intended will be worth a 30pc improvement in productivity,” said Farmex managing director Hugh Crabtree (above).
United States government buys up pork
£25m worth of pork products for child nutrition and other domestic feeding programmes has been bought by the United States Department of Agriculture, to help boost returns for pig producers, who are suffering high feed prices and coupled with falling slaughter pig prices caused by domestic over-supply. "Government definitely has a role on a transitional basis," said secretary of agriculture Ed Schafer. "We can buy food that changes demand; provide transitional costing structures for feed. We're looking at a wide variety of issues right now."
United States producers have lost £1 billion
United States pig producers are losing £15-£25 on every pig they produce, according to the National Pork Producers Council. In the past seven months they have lost an estimated £1 billion. Lenders estimate some producers could lose half or more of the equity in their operations by the end of the year.
Canada half way to ten percent sow cull target
Over half the funding being offered under Canada’s £25m siow culling programme has now been taken up. Producers who agree to depopulate sow housing and leave it empty for at least three years are eligible for £112 per animal culled.
The program was developed in response to the crisis in the Canadian pig industry, brought on by over supply, escalating feed costs and the strong Canadian dollar. The target is a ten percent reduction in the national breeding herd.
"Finest Norfolk" outdoor pork goes on sale
A new fresh pork brand has appeared on Tesco’s shelves in East Anglia. “Finest Norfolk” outdoor-reared pork is being supplied by Bowes of Norfolk, which is already sole supplier to Tesco of its “Finest” fresh pork.
Tulip axes jobs
Tulip Foods is to axe 98 jobs at its meat processing plant at Redruth in Cornwall. The industry has too much capacity and Tulip has to ensure it is the lowest cost producer, a Tulip spokesman told the BBC.
This is our story, darlings
Following their successful foray into the music business with "Stand by Your Ham", pig producers may now turn documentary-makers. The plan, which is being considered by the British Pigs Are Worth It campaign, is to produce a film that explains the consequences of the current crisis, including the loss of high quality, high welfare quality Standard Mark meat. The resulting DVD will be offered to the media and will be shown to politicians and retailers.
Danish producers under pressure over castration
A national debate was sparked off when an item appeared on Danish television explaining how Danish pig producers castrate male pigs without anaesthetic. A political majority in the country wants a ban on castration of weaners without anaesthetic. Danish supermarkets have said that from the beginning of next year they will refuse to sell pork from pigs that have been castrated without anaesthetic.
Tight-lipped on price rises
Prices for pigmeat will inevitably rise in due course, according to Daan van Doorn, chief executive of Dutch firm Vion Foods. "It will not happen straightaway, as many markets do still have plenty of stocks. But the tide is going to turn." He foresees a moment of change: "I think I might know when, but I am not going to tell."
Every little helps Tesco
"Every little helps" is clearly an internal mantra at Tesco, rather than any genuine attempt to support long-term supply chains, says Greg Mowbray of Meadow Quality in a letter to The Grocer.
Are we really "apocalyptic" in our claims?
By Richard Longthorp
I was interested to read Chris Benfield’s article in Saturday’s Yorkshire Post where he reported on comments made by the British Retail Consortium that “most farmers are doing alright”.
Even more interesting was the British Retail Consortium’s Richard Dodd claiming that the pig industry “...does tend to be apocalyptic in the things it says”.
Apocalyptic?
Let us just imagine for one moment, that the Office of Fair Trading had forced Mr Dodd’s members, the supermarkets, to reduce their number of stores by half - despite their claims that this was not in the interests of the market and it would reduce customer choice.
And then imagine that a few years later the Office of Fair Trading made a similar directive to reduce the number of stores even further.
Would Mr Dodd and his members meekly accept the situation and simply say “Whoopsy daisy, what a terrible shame”? I rather doubt it. In fact I think their language might go beyond the “apocalyptic”.
And so it is too with the pig industry. We warned eight years ago that if retailers were not more supportive of the pig industry then their ability to source high welfare, locally produced fully traceable pork would be severely compromised as producers quit.
It is sad to say but industry projections were proved spot on with the industry more than halving in size.
We now face a similar set of circumstances yet again and with the same consequential cut in productive capacity occurring. If Mr Dodd and his members are not bright enough to see what is happening, then they’re not half as clever as I thought they were.
The reality is, of course, that they can see perfectly well what is going on but, just as worryingly if not more so, I don’t believe they have the first idea of what to do about the impending and inevitable reduction in supply of pigs.
They are just stuck like rabbits in the headlights of a car on a dark country lane late at night. Just sat there, not moving, just waiting ... for the inevitable.
(The above is a letter Richard Longthorp sent to the Yorkshire Post at this weekend.)
Danish Bacon sticks with radio sponsorship
Danish Bacon has renewed its sponsorship of Gold Radio. The Danish Bacon and Meat Council believes well targeted radio sponsorship is an effective way to reach consumers.
Danish Bacon and Meat Council marketing director John Howard said: "In an age where new grocery brands seem to come and go almost daily, battling for consumers' attention in the supermarket aisle, Danish Bacon is a trusted brand that consumers continue to seek out. Retailers can be confident of our continued support in giving consumers what they want - great quality bacon."
May 2
Guess-the-Traffic-Lights-Base by Pig Fair
Next Thursday's Traffic Lights base will decide who is to win the £300 Guess-the-Traffic-Lights-Base by Pig Fair prize, which will be presented at Pig Fair.
Interestingly, although there were nearly a thousand entries, had the outcome rested on yesterday's base price of 122p there would have been no winner.
But there are plenty of guesses from 123p up to 145p, so assuming Traffic Lights goes up next week, a winning name will have to be pulled from the hat — a process that will be done here, on-line, with your help and cooperation. Watch this space!
April 30
Producers hold back from locking in
Around 80 percent of producers would normally have locked into 100 percent of their feed requirements for next year by now.
But this year is different. Some producers are watching wheat prices like a hawk. How low will it go at harvest? Others simply don’t know whether they will stay in pigs.
The news yesterday that the Danish herd has shrunk by 10pc may have given producers confidence that £2-a-kilo pork is back on the agenda with a vengeance.
Members of NPA’s Allied Industry Group estimated at their meeting on Wednesday that so far only 20 percent have locked in, and only for about 20 percent.
Advice on tactics varies but there seems to be a consensus that producers should lock into 20-25pc now — perhaps covering a specific diet — and aim to have up to 50pc cover in place for January-September by harvest. Producers should also be thinking about buying soya sooner rather than later.
General advice is that whilst the wheat market continues volatile the chances of buying 100 percent of requirements in one go and getting it right are remote, so spread your buying decisions.
LIFFE wheat futures: May 08 162.50, Jul 08 164; Nov 08 142; Jan 09 144.50; Mar 09 146.75; May 09 149.
Olympic pork will be British-bred
John Millard, of JJ Genetics, and Jeremy Barber, of Hermitage Seaborough Pigs, have just returned from visiting Beijing as part of a BPEX-led mission to re-establish exports of pig breeding stock which were suspended following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease last year.
JJ Genetics and Hermitage Seaborough were the first British companies to export pig breeding stock to China when the markets reopened in 2006.
In their first year they exported four consignments of breeding pigs to the Beijing, Shanghai and Chongquing areas of China. From a standing start they achieved a 25pc market share of imported pig breeding stock.
Whilst in the Beijing area they visited the farms of Messrs Pan and Ma both of whom were exceptionally pleased with the performance of the breeding pigs they imported from Britain.
Both reported that the British pigs had improved growth rates by 16pc and reduced fat levels by 17pc, as well as improving overall shape and conformation compared with their existing breeding stock.
Mr Pan, who has circa 3,000 sows on several farms, has just signed a contract to supply all the pork for the athletes at the Olympics. This pork will be from the progeny of the pigs supplied by JJ Genetics and Hermitage Seaborough Pigs in 2006.
“There are not many British products that we have been making for over 100 years and which China still wants to buy from us. Pig Breeding stock is one and we should celebrate that,” said Marcus Bates, of the British Pig Association. “We hope that export certification will soon be in place to allow this valuable trade which dates back to the 1920s to resume."
Pictured above: Jeremy Barber and John Millard with Mr Pan, who produces pork for Olympians.
Danish pork plants to close
As signalled on this page some time ago, Danish Crown will close two of its pork plants in Denmark this summer, in response to lower volumes of slaughter pigs. If the dramatic shrinkage of the Danish herd continues it will probably have to make more cut-backs next year.
Carbon footprint of meat
Details of an initiative to identify the carbon footprint of meat products, will be announced at British Pig and Poultry Fair. "We are working throughout the supply chain to develop an innovative model that will help the industry measure the carbon efficiency of various production systems - and potentially enable us to build an environmentally sound product category to meet future consumer demands," said ABN director of business solutions Simon Heath.
British Pig and Poultry Fair
Pig Industry Service Award
(in association with NPA Producer Group)
Judging of the British Pig and Poultry Fair Pig Industry Service Award took place this afternoon at Uncle Henry's in North Lincolnshire.
On the judging panel were Richard Longthorp (chairman) Richard Lister (chairman of NPA Producer Group) and Peter Rollings (chairman of NPA Allied Industry Group).
There were 21 nominations for eight excellent candidates — some of whom would have be surprised to find their efforts have been noticed and appreciated by fellow pig industry people.
As in previous years, the judges' brief was to choose a winner who goes beyond the call of duty in supporting the pig industry. The winner will be announced on the first day of British Pig and Poultry Fair.
Previous winners of this award have been: John Rowbottom, Richard Longthorp, John Millard and Lynda Davies. This year's award is run in partnership with NPA Producer Group, and is kindly sponsored by producer Richard Longthorp.
Imports of United States pigmeat triple
Over 900 tonnes of chilled boneless cuts from the United States were imported into the United Kingdom in January and February, triple the amount imported in the same period last year, according to trade statistics. However, it is most likely these consignments were forwarded onto other member states for further processing, reports AHDB Meat Services (formerly MLC Economics). This year traders in the United Kingdom, Italy and France have made greater use of a quota that allows imports of boneless hams and loins into the European Union at preferential duty.
Cull sow trade remains strong
Despite a significant rise in sow cullings compared with a year ago, the price remains firm — thanks largely to the weakness of sterling against the euro. The March average price increased 12pc on the month to 84p a kilo. By the week ended 19 April the c-ull sow price had risen to 89p, nearly a third higher than a year ago.
April 29
Danish herd falls
Supplies of European pigmeat look like being significantly tighter than previously imagined. The Danish breeding herd is down circa ten percent April 2007 to April 2008, with most of the fall occurring in the past four months. More on these figures tomorrow.
Who do we nominate for a Darwin Award?
THE RESULTS
There were 119 votes in the Darwin Award poll on this page, with "Myself" and "Tulip" level-pegging most of the way.
The "winner" is Tulip, with 31 votes. A Darwin Award nomination will be prepared this week.
Examples of Darwin Award winners last year...
• When attempting to steal a large water tank, three thieves started by cutting away the legs from under the tank. It took some time to identify their flattened bodies.
• A throat ailment prevented a man from imbibing alcohol, so he elected to receive two bottles of sherry via enema. The alcohol in his rectal cavity continued to be absorbed even after he had passed out and the next morning he was dead.
Cash is on offer for your big idea
Have you got a big idea you'd like to put into practice? If so you've got until the end of this month to submit it to the BPEX Innovation Fund. A pot of £200,000 has been set aside to help producers and processors develop new ideas, which can be tested and developed for the benefit of the whole industry. For further information email: kt@pbex.org.uk.
European Pig Producers Congress 2008
How to live with the world’s most sophisticated retailers
European Pig Producers Congress 2008 is at Norwich on June 5-8. The theme: "How to live with the world's most sophisticated retailers".
This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. In addition to some excellent papers there will be a full social diary for delegates. All pig industry people are urged to attend, to forge links with our opposite numbers in Germany, Holland, Denmark, France etc.
Both members and non-members may attend, but it costs more for non-members.
Securing hotel rooms is organiser Ian Campbell's big issue at present, so if you are proposing to attend please ring him immediately. For prices and registration details go here. For further details about the timetable, go here.
Key papers will be as follows:
• Structure of pig production in Great Britain by Mick Sloyan
• Structure of supply chain by Richard Lowe
• The retailer - Tesco explains what drives its business and what it looks for from its supply chain.
• The processor - meeting retailer expectations as a strong supplier or as a partner in the chain by Tulip International and Tonnies.
• The producer - an equal partner in the supply chain?
The event is based at the Hotel Ramada in Norwich.
Trainee-of-the-Year
Candidates who enter this year's Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award will be eligible for an extra PIPR point. More about the award, including an entry form, here.
Capital grants for composting and anaerobic digestion
New grant funding is available to help those wanting to develop composting, aerobic or anaerobic digestion plants to treat organic food waste. The Waste and Resources Action Programme’s Organics Capital Grant Programme VI can fund up to 30 percent of capital set-up costs, including land purchase, installing new infrastructure and buying individual pieces of equipment. Waste and Resources Action Programme website.
British Pig and Poultry Fair New Product Award
Entry form can be downloaded here.
Grants up to £10,000
If you farm in a priority water catchment area, you could pull down up to £10,000 in grant aid towards a wide range of capital equipment and works.Eligible items include roofs for slurry and silage stores, concrete yard renewal, rainwater storage tanks, relocation of gates, yard works for clean/dirty water separation, watercourse fencing, fencing for buffer strips, pumps, livestock troughs, farm-track cross-drains, piped culverts in ditches, resurfacing of gateways, surfacing machinery and livestock tracks, roofing of manure storage. Contact details for your local catchment sensitive farming officer are here (page 18).
New Product Award
Pig Fair New Product Award entry forms are here.
Pig Discussion Groups
It is useful for the industry to have a topical list of pig discussion group contacts. Please help by making sure your group is represented on the database that will appear on this site well before the next round of meetings. Complete the form HERE (or ask the appropriate person to complete it). Email addresses will be secured in the database so they cannot be robotically harvested for spam.
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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