Finding Latest Feed Info
Grains: Bearish news on global wheat ending stocks led CBOT wheat to fall over the week. LIFFE feed wheat futures followed CBOT in a sluggish week after Easter, with nearby prices hovering around the £106/t mark.  Soyameal: In Argentina, soyabean production was reduced to below 40Mt for the first time since the 2004/05 season. Drought and subsequent poor yield formation are given as the main reasons for the reduction in crop size, which has been 26.2% harvested so far. Click here for more feed intelligence.

Marketing News

Half of Retailers Are 100% Behind British Pork
Pork: With Lidl becoming 100% British for the first time, six out of our 12 retailers are now 100% British.  Of the 10 retailers who feature Quality Standard Marks six have over two-thirds of all facings featuring the QSM.

Bacon: The overall situation on bacon has stayed roughly static, but only three retailers have over 80% of facings marked as British (Budgens, Co-op and Waitrose).  Similarly with QSM only Budgens and Co-op have over two-thirds of facings carrying the Mark.

Ham: Only three retailers have over two-thirds of facings featuring British (Budgens, Sainsburys and Waitrose).  The appearance of QSM is even more disappointing with only Morrisons having over 25% of facings featuring it and seven of the ten ‘possibilities’ registering no facings of QSM.  Netto and Aldi have no British ham facings at all.

Sausages: Aldi continues to lead the market with 100% British facings with three others, Marks & Spencer, Budgens and Waitrose all over 90%.  Only Netto, Morrisons and Lidl have less than half their facings marked as British.  On QSM only two retailers, Aldi and Sainsburys, have over 50% of facings carrying the QSM.  Disappointingly Morrisons (1%) and Netto (Nil) are poor performers on QSM. 

Waitrose Promotes Old Forgotten Cuts for Summer Dining
After the success of their Forgotten Cuts range of thrifty meats, Waitrose is introducing new for summer dining. Inspired by the American South’s method of slow cooking meat, the supermarket will stock a variety of traditional meats that are easy to prepare and make a tasty change to bangers and burgers. From shoulder of pork, slow cooked for several hours, to the latest barbecue must-have – King Ribs which have plenty of meat on the bone. An alternative twist is Italian style Porchetta, made using butterflied pork shoulder with a piece of pork belly wrapped round it with a lemon and garlic herb rub.  Waitrose Pork Buyer Anna Lloyd: “As the credit crunch bites, Britons have become increasingly open to buying and cooking traditional joints such as shoulder and belly. But these cuts are not just for winter - they are ideal for summer eating too. Easy to prepare and kind on the wallet, they taste absolutely delicious and are sure to impress barbecue aficionados nationwide.”  Lesser-known cuts of meat at Waitrose share the same high standards of farming and animal welfare as its prime cuts, following its commitment to buying the whole carcass.

Leading the way in animal welfare, Waitrose became the first UK retailer to stop stocking imported bacon in November 2008 and 100% of Waitrose fresh pork, bacon and sausages are British.

15th Robinhood Sausage & Pie Championship
Sponsored by BPEX this year’s Robin Hood Championship organised by the Notts Council of Retail Meat Traders is looking for entries from all butchers who produce Traditional or Speciality Pork Sausages, Traditional or Speciality Pork Pies or Savoury Pies or Pasties.  To take place at the Newark & Notts County Show on Sunday 10th May 2009, this is the fifteenth year this event has taken place, and is open to any butcher from around the country.  If entries are received before 2nd May admission to the County show will be free.

For an entry form and more information go to http://www.robinhood-sausage-championship.co.uk

Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week
Don’t wait until it’s too late, prepare now for summer in order to reduce the risk of heat stress and sunburn; see Action for Productivity 3 (indoor) and 4 (outdoor) for advice.

Somerset Pig Club – 23rd April 6pm
Cost and Waste with Fran Baird. An interactive quiz will give us an insight into losses which may not always be obvious! A hot meal will be provided. Venue: Thatched Cottage, Shepton Mallet. For more information contact Helen Thoday 07973701202.

Summer Boar Infertility Workshop – 28th April 6pm
We would like to invite you to an evening with Helen Thoday and Fran Baird to discuss the pitfalls of boar fertility in hot weather and how to overcome heat stress affects on the herd fertility. We will also discuss previous herd issues in the hotter weather and what plans you can put in place to avoid recurring infertility. A hot meal will be provided. Venue: The Angel Hotel, North Street, Midhurst, GU29 9DN. For more information contact Helen Thoday 07973701202.

Fawley Management Training Scheme
A scheme for developing new farm managers has been established within the Fawley Farms pyramid with commitment from BOCM Pauls, PIC and Larkmead Vet group. Along with BPEX and Fawley Farms production manager, Terry Ledbury, a programme of events has been agreed to ensure the developing managers will get as much information as possible from the days.

The scheme is designed to provide candidates with the background to products from places such as mills and AI studs, either via site visits or virtual tours. Jennie Batt from Larkmead Vets has also put together a programme of events that will ensure a good knowledge base for herd health, assurance and legislation. The developing managers will also visit different units within the Fawley Farms pyramid and, in the latter part of the year, gain insight to the nursery and finishing sites. The programme will conclude with a trip to an abattoir. In addition to these activities, BPEX will organise some staff training events to start a knowledge base of managing staff another huge element of being a unit manager. If you think your business would benefit from developing such a scheme contact Helen Thoday Tel 07973 701 202 Email helen.thoday@bpex.org.uk. 

National News:

US Pork Exports Maintain Strong Momentum 14 April 2009
A 45% jump in pork variety meat exports in February helped overcome a slight decline in pork muscle cuts to power total pork exports to a 4.7% increase in value over February 2008, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

“We anticipated sharp declines in pork exports to certain markets, including China, when compared to the results we saw last year,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “But markets such as Japan and Mexico continue to perform extremely well, and US pork is really gaining traction in many key regions across the world. The diversity and global reach of our marketing efforts are really paying off.”

Total US pork exports in February were valued at $368.2 million. Pork muscle cut exports ($305.6 million) declined by about 1% compared to last year, but still remained 45% above the February 2007 value. In terms of volume, pork plus pork variety meat exports of 158,471 metric tonnes (349.3 million pounds) represented an increase of 1% over February 2008 and 57% over February 2007. Through January and February, year-to-date pork plus pork variety meat exports increased 3% in volume over last year to 315,121 metric tonnes (694.7 million pounds) and 6% in value to $728.4 million.

Germany Joins GMO Maize Ban
The anti-GMO front is more united than ever with Germany yesterday joining France, Greece, Hungary and other EU countries opposed to GM crop cultivation by ordering a ban on Monsanto's MON 810 maize, despite European rulings that the biotech grain is safe.
The European Commission has tried without success to get the bans in other countries lifted and on Tuesday warned it would examine the German decision.

However the Commission little success in convincing Member States to lift their national restrictions on GMOs seriously undermines its credibility on this issue.

New Technology Can Reduce the Need of Salt in Pork by Fifty Percent
The Slaughterhouse Research Institute is hoping that a new project will show that high pressure can reduce the need of salt in pork products from two to one percent.

Salt is added to meat products e.g. as a means of preservation but it would appear that processing under high pressure (approximately 6.5t per cm²) destroys most micro organisms.

The high pressure also seems to be able to reduce the need of salt in relation to taste as the high pressure will intensify the taste of salt but scientists do not know why it is so.

Contrary to heat treatment the high pressure process barely affects flavouring ingredients,
vitamins and minerals.

Telling Porkies
A pet owner accused of animal abuse for letting a pot-bellied pig triple its weight has been sentenced to a year on probation. The pig, named Alaina Templeton, ballooned from her normal 50lb to 150lb in just nine months. Mary Beesecker, of Houston, Minnesota, claimed she took good care of Alaina, who died last November.

International News

Export Bulletin
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International Prices
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