Finding Latest Feed Info
Sterling’s recent strengthening against the euro has been reducing the UK wheat’s export competitiveness. This and Prospects of large exports from Russia and the Ukraine coupled with large exportable supplies from the US, Canada and the EU are expected to put pressure upon the markets in the medium and long term.

The soy market is still affected by the drought conditions as the uncertainty over the South American soy crop lingers on in the market.

Marketing News

Bacon Connoissseurs’ Week
After snow forced the postponement of judging, more than 200 product entries from almost 100 companies were judged this week.  The judges included representatives from the food industry, LIPs, and a guest.  The standard was very high and the judges had a tough time deciding on the finalists for the next round. This will be concluded within the next few weeks, and the winners will be announced on the launch day, 16th March.

Seeking Britain’s Best Dish
ITV’s national cookery competition returns later this year – a chance for amateur chefs to present their signature dish and compete for £10,000 cash. It could be a starter, main course or pudding – something of entirely your own creation; a twist on an age-old classic; or maybe a family favourite. You don’t need to be an accomplished cook – it might just be the one dish you’re very proud of and like to show off.  Applications are now open and at this stage people are merely invited to e-mail or ring. If everything is OK, they are invited to one of seven regional auditions, which are taking place from late March to early May.  Email bestdish@itv.com or call 0871 6266222.

Calling Butchers and Farm Shops
The next product evaluation is at Malvern – Three Counties Showground – 18 February at 2pm.  Entries are still being taken from butchers and farm shops in the region for evaluation by a team of specialist judges.

Starting at 2pm the butchers arrive with anything from sausages, bacon, pies, ready meals, faggots, black pudding or meatballs.  While judging takes place between 4 and 6pm there is plenty to see and people to talk to around the venue as there are more than a dozen exhibitors showcasing their products, offering tastings and special offers.  If you would like to enter download an entry form by clicking here or calling Jackie on 01908 844107. Alternatively if you wish to just come along and have a chat with the exhibitors or entrants, then just turn up and if you enter your name into a free prize draw you could be in with a chance of winning a box of wine.

Showcase for Young Butchers
BBC Three is on the search for the UK's top young talent in an ambitious new television programme, Young Butcher of the Year 2009, which celebrates the millions of young British workers whose skills aren't the kind to win them a million pound recording contract. 

Young Butcher of the Year is part of a new BBC Three series celebrating young trade talent across the country. We are looking for someone aged 16-25 years, up for a challenge and wants to show the world their skills!  Want to know more? Or apply for an application form call 03700 101 616 or send a SAE to Young Talent Casting Team, Room 3136, BBC Television Centre, London W12 7RJ. Closing date: 6th March 2009

Waitrose Food Illustrated
Has a feature, on pages 52 to 59, on value cuts which include Pork Osso Bucco, Belly and Hock along with some great recipe ideas.  Extolling the virtues of these cuts plus the slow cooking methods that make them so delicious, it’s well worth a read/drool….

Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week: Hernias
The principle of why either scrotal or umbilical hernias occur is the same: The muscles are weaker at the site of the rupture, this can cause the contents of the abdominal cavity to sag or bulge out between the muscles and become visible. Trying to reduce the risk of hernias occurring on farm can be achieved by the following:

Improve creep temperature: This will prevent piglets lying on top of each other when huddling. Lying on top of each other can have two effects 1) They can irritate and pull on the umbilical cord causing inflammation and 2) One piglet lying on another increases the pressure in the abdominal cavity and any weak spot will be aggravated which may result in a hernia.

Reduce risk of Navel Ill: Infection can cause umbilical hernias so never cut or pull the umbilical cord. Leave them to dry naturally; iodine spray is a sensible measure to reduce infections.

Trained staff in the farrowing house: Only allow experienced staff to assist during farrowing; do not pull the piglets out with great force, especially during a contraction.  Always pick piglets up by the back leg and support under the rib cage.

Lupins in Sustainable Agriculture
On Wednesday, 25th March, 2009 a free stakeholder event is being held at Harper Adams College to discuss the outcomes of this research project. The event will be open to all interested parties and will provide an opportunity to hear some of the key project conclusions. As a party who may be interested in the production and/or use of lupins in the UK the LISA project would like to invite you to attend this interactive event. 

The main work packages within LISA have addressed the following areas;

• Agronomy and Nutrient Flows: including agronomic research and guidance.
• Utilisation of Lupins; investigating the use of lupins as a livestock feed.
• Germplasm Characteristics and Marker Development; seeking to develop a ‘breeder’s toolkit’ for germplasm improvement.

If you are interested in attending details can be found on the project website (http://www.lupins.ibers.aber.ac.uk/). 

However in order to give an estimate of attendee numbers we would be also be grateful if you could confirm your place by emailing Ron Stobart at The Arable Group (ron.stobart@thearablegroup.com).

Health and Welfare
ADAS is considering running the Health and Welfare of Finished Pigs - Preparing Pigs for Slaughter workshop at Brome Grange, Suffolk, again on Monday 2nd March. It will only go ahead if there is sufficient interest so people who are interested should contact Lynne Holmes 01522 751374 lynne.holmes@adas.co.uk

ASA Complaint
The ASA received three complaints including Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!) and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) about the BPEX poster “Pork, a Guide to the Cuts” which appeared in 2008. 

The ASA rejected the VIVA challenge that “pig farmers in the UK already face higher costs than those in Europe, largely due to our higher standards of pig welfare”.  The ASA accepted the BPEX evidence that “had shown that the system resulted in higher costs for UK farmers”.

It did, however, uphold the complaint by CIWF against the use of the phrase “British pig farmers have very high welfare standards”.

Despite this BPEX will continue to maintain that the QSM continues to reflect very high welfare standards particularly when compared to the rest of the EU.  The banning of sow stalls by UK Government legislation since 1999, which is still widely practised on the Continent and the continued use of castration, which is prohibited within the QSM, lie at the core of this claim.  Until such time as there is a level playing field on welfare standards across the EU, BPEX will continue to promote its QSM on the basis of very high quality welfare.

BPEX Head of Marketing Chris Lamb said: “The complaint was all about the use of the word ‘very’ in front of high welfare standards. In future we shall make it plain we are referring to our standards compared with those elsewhere in Europe.”

National News:

New Board Members
Two new members have been appointed to the board of BPEX .For one, Bob Howe, it is a welcome return as he was a board member before the re-organisation of levy boards.

The other is Bill Thurston, managing director, Pork Business Unit VION Food Group Ltd with overall responsibility for all fresh pork sites in the UK.  Bill has a background in pig and poultry rearing in Norfolk and he has been in the food industry for the last 26 years. 

Before joining VION he was Senior Vice President Europe and Middle East with American bakery company Dawn Foods; Senior Vice President/Group Company Director CSM Bakery Supplies Europe; Managing Director of Bakemark UK & International. 

Bob Howe is Managing Director of Bowes of Norfolk and prior to that spent 24 years as Business Unit Director of Geo. Adams & Sons Ltd. He has been in the meat industry for 38 years and is currently the chairman of the ZNCPig. He has also been chairman of BMPA pig committee for a number of years and is a former BMPA council member. He has also been UK pig representative at Clitravi in Brussels

Tail Biting Project
Nina Taylor of Britsol University is involved in a BPEX project on tail biting and the best ways to stop or reduce it on UK farms.

She is trying to recruit farms for the STOP project (Stop Tail-biting Outbreak Project) aimed at studying farms where tail biting is a concern, either as outbreak behaviour, or as a long term problem. Leaflets have been available through BPEX and the RSPCA Farm livestock officers for several months, but she is struggling to find farms that would be interested in a visit. Farms get a free visit, where suggestions are made based on existing best practice of practical things to do to help relieve the current situation and help reduce future problems. (No paperwork involved for the farm.) Feedback is from a phone call a few weeks later to find out how progress has been.
All data from visits is kept confidential and will be used to help refine/expand existing information to give farmers a practical resource to help keep on top of tail biting. Anybody wishing to take part should contact Nina 07824 406952, email stop-tb@Bristol.ac.uk

‘Salad Dodging’ Minister!
In the course of a debate in the House on agriculture in the West Country, Jane Kennedy made the following remarks on the FSA's latest recommendations on diet.

The right hon gentleman opened his debate by talking about the trials and tribulations of dairy farmers, and I recognise the description he gave. The debate gives me an opportunity to express my disappointment with the tone of the recommendations of the Food Standards Agency, released in the past 24 hours, on our diet and how to deal with obesity. The FSA recommended that we should produce far less full-fat food, that dairy products should be consumed less and that we should remove all the fat, and that we should stop drinking full-fat milk and drink only skimmed milk. I do not know whether your experience is like mine, Mr. Illsley, but surely eating less is a better way to deal with obesity. The more we remove fat from meat and milk, the less tasty food is. Am I the only one who thinks that? We should take a sensible approach and promote a balanced diet. I say that not only because I am regularly involved in debating such issues with farmers, but because I am a sensible representative of the public. The idea that we should eat as much as ever but consume fewer fatty foods is not such a good way forward. We should consider the amounts that we eat, as well. If we cook fatty meat properly, we remove a lot of the fat; it is also sensible to eat less of it. As a bit of a salad dodger myself, I am aware that I am on thin ice, but I was a little disappointed by the tone of the agency’s campaign. I know, however, that the FSA is independent from the Government and an important commentator.

Jamie Saves Our Bacon
The Jamie effect has kicked in with a vengeance after he urged everybody to buy higher welfare pork. He spotlighted lesser known cuts on his programme Jamie Saves Our Bacon and afterwards TNS data showed consumer purchases of pork shoulder roasting joints were up by 75.3% last week compared to the previous week.

This equates to an extra 100,000 roasting joints and, in total, pork sales were up by 15.8% in volume - an additional 500 tonnes.
BPEX Chairman Stewart Houston said: “This is fantastic and more than we could have hoped for.

Jamie has achieved a great deal for our high welfare pig industry and this is a solid platform on which we plan to build.”

Future plans include 

• Continuing the campaign for clear and unambiguous labelling, a point highlighted by Jamie 
• Working with public procurement to increase their use of high welfare pork, bacon and ham 
• Moving forward on the recommendation made in the EFRA Committee to set up a pig industry task force

International News:

Chinese Record Imports
China's overseas purchases and imports of pork and pork products in calendar year 2008 were unprecedented for any single country in history, according to US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) calculations from just-released Chinese trade data.

Based on import totals from China and Hong Kong, the country imported 1.925 million tonnes of pork and pork products last year, including 1.161 million tonnes of pork variety meats and 764,000 tonnes of pork cuts.

Export Bulletin
For the latest export bulletin click here.

International Prices
Click here for the latest international prices.