BPEX Weekly: 17 September 2010

Marketing News

First Butchers Roadshow

The Butchers Product Evaluation and Roadshow begins again this month for the sixth year running. It will be calling at Dawlish in the South West next week. Entries are still being received for products varying from sausages, bacon and pies to ready meals. So if you have a prize winning product, why not enter them now. Forms are available here. http://www.porkforbutchers.co.uk

And, with 12 exhibitors attending this show, there will be lots on offer and plenty of chance to chat with them or catch up with other like-minded butchers.

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Good Sausage Making

BPEX’s master butcher shows how it’s done. Making it look really effortless Keith Fisher demonstrates the art of hand-made sausages and consistent linking. As part of British Sausage Week, the video is being hosted on the lovepork.co.uk website within the pork products section. The video is already being requested for use by other trade and consumer websites, plus it is being produced on a CD for use by catering and butchery colleges as a teaching aid for students, along with a step-by-step guide. Contact foodservice@bpex.org.uk.

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Knowledge Transfer

2TS Tip of the Week: Visitors

All pig units must have a written plan for visitors and a record of all visitors and vehicles to site. The plan must identify any precautions that need to be considered to reduce the risk of diseases spreading. The plan should also include areas that visitors should not go to unaccompanied such as milling and mixing areas or slurry stores and how to prevent visitors from accessing them.

As a minimum, a record must be kept of all visitors to the unit. Your vet can help prepare this policy and, if you need to check if yours is up-to-date, a copy is usually kept in the veterinary health plan. Keep a copy of the visitor policy in the visitor book: this ensures all staff who greet visitors are able to go though the principles of the plan with them and visitors can sign the book to verify that they have read the plan as well as providing other necessary information, such as last pig contact.

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2TS Breeding Events

2TS Focus on Breeding events taking place on 27 and 28 October 2010 in Wetherby and Milton Keynes. These interactive seminars will review current knowledge on various aspects of sow reproduction and their subsequent management. Look out for your invite which will be arriving in the post soon

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Revamped Blog

The BPEX Blog has been revamped. It aims to provide more interactivity for visitors to comment on news and technical advice. Go to http://blog.bpex.org.uk to view our new blog!

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Virtual Scanning

Nothing beats seeing something first hand but, with today’s biosecurity concerns, it can be difficult. However, armed with video cameras, the Knowledge Transfer team can now bring the farm to you!

The Wiltshire Training Group has taken part in a virtual scanning session with Andrew Carr from Larkmead Scanning Services Ltd. Andrew had been filmed by Helen Thoday scanning sows in different stages of pregnancy, allowing Andrew to talk in detail to the group about the views on screen.

Many questions were asked, including difficulties with scanning gilts, scanning in a tent versus outside and what can affect the quality of the scan.

Ken Boyden of Fawley Farms said: “It was good to be able to pick Andrew’s brains. Sometimes I struggle to get a picture and I think I have picked up a few tips to try back on farm.”

BPEX KT Manager Helen Thoday said: “There is only a certain amount you can ever learn in a classroom environment but I think the video goes one step closer to the practical side of many of our workshops.”

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NADIS Update: Semen Storage

Reports from NADIS surveillance veterinary surgeons earlier in the summer highlighted some issues of storage temperatures for semen, either delivered or collected on farm, particularly occurring during the cold winter at the beginning of the year.

To maintain semen in its best form it requires storage at 17-18°C. Most farms now have temperature controlled storage cabinets but it is important that the temperature of these is regularly monitored with a maximum/minimum thermometer.

Unfortunately, many cabinets in use are no longer capable of maintaining a steady temperature and, as such, breeding results will suffer where AI is used in significant amounts in both warm and cold weather.

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It's All in the Detail

Attention to detail when vaccinating is vital to maintain vigilance against PRRS virus.

In one example this summer, four ten-day-old piglets were submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency as part of an investigation into increased mortality in a group of pre-weaned pigs. The description on farm was of classic signs of PRRS with abortions and early farrowing occurring in sows, blue ears, fever spikes and piglet mortality. PRRSv was demonstrated in three out of the four pigs. This confirmed a PRRS-driven problem, with salmonellosis showing as a secondary bacterial disease (PRRS often leaves the door open for secondary infection).

In another example, carcases of five-week-old piglets were submitted for post mortem examination, following a sudden upsurge of mortality rate in newly weaned piglets. Sow vaccination for PRRS is carried out on the unit but protocols are reported to be erratic. It is essential that producers make sure a suitable vaccination plan is in place and ensure all staff are diligent in following it.

It is also important to watch out for signs of PRRS in all groups of pigs - three weeks prior to the submission of these piglets, a gilt found sick in the farrowing house was shown to have PRRSv in its system. In the following weeks, performance in the first-stage weaner pigs deteriorated. 

BPEX runs Vet and Med workshops for producers, with two coming up in the Eastern region in October. Contact Colin Stone for details on 07816 941223

Please go to www.pighealth.org.uk for information on regional health schemes. PRRS is one of the priority diseases for control.

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PRRS Surveillance

A BPEX-funded study, being carried out by Martina Velasova at the Royal Veterinary College, aims to provide a basis for the development of an adequate PRRS surveillance strategy.

Given the huge economic impact of PRRS, surveillance and control measures need to be targeted and cost-effective. Better understanding of the current situation and the epidemiology of PRRS are needed in order to design appropriate surveillance systems. The outcome of this project will contribute to the improvement of the overall pig health and therefore will have a positive impact on the competitiveness of British pork. To read more about this project visit the BPEX website R&D pages

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BPHS Dates

Assessment dates for June to December 2010 in all participating abattoirs have been published and are available on the BPEX website.

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South West Leadership

The new Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Programme starts in the South West in November. Building on the individual’s experience the programme is designed to challenge and develop basic management skills, for pig managers, assistant managers and supervisors. Project work and assignments will help them apply the theory back in the workplace. All assignments relate to the individuals’ own circumstances and will benefit both them and the business.

Successful completion of this course will result in an Award in First Line Management. The same course is also running in the East and North of England.

The South West programme consists of six training days spread over 10 months – starting on Monday 29th November 2010. Please contact Helen Thoday for more details: 07973 701202 or helen.thoday@bpex.org.uk

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National News:

New Web Section Hit

The new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) section on the BPEX website has had more than 800 page views since its launch on 1st September. Click here to visit the pages.

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England Herd Smaller

The England pig breeding herd dropped slightly between June 2009-2010, down 0.4 percent from 352,000 to 351,000 pigs.

This is a surprising (provisional) figure bearing in mind the good prices being received over the survey period.

However it may partly be accounted for by producers trimming breeding pigs in order to achieve higher productivity.

Despite the headline figure of a -0.4 percent fall, the forthcoming December 2010 census could still show an increase in the national herd, because the gilts-intended-for-breeding category is good indicator of confidence and in the June 2010 survey it is up a bullish 13.6 percent.

Gilts-in-pig are up a remarkable 27.5 percent.

However, recent increases in feed prices mean the confidence felt in the first six months of this year may turn out to have been misplaced.

Source: National Pig Association

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Food Export Conference

The Food and Drink Exporters Association (FDEA) is holding an event at Stoneleigh Park, hosted by AHDB. The theme is “The Challenge of a New Export Market”. Guests will be able to share experiences with other exporters and benefit from an insightful presentation by EBLEX (the organisation for the English beef and lamb industry) plus case studies by FDEA members.

In recent years, EBLEX and BPEX have been very active in successfully developing new markets for English beef and lamb so this is a great opportunity to pick up some tips for your own business whatever your product range.

This event is open to all UK food and drink exporters and is free to FDEA and AHDB levy payers.

Thursday 7 October 2010, 1600 – 1830 hrs, The Royal Pavilion, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2TL.

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International News:

Swedes Get Hit

Strict animal welfare requirements threaten Swedish pig production. The only private pig vet in Sweden, Erik Lindahl of Lundens Djurhälsa, says that pig production in Sweden is in a tremendous crisis. Pig production in Sweden must be in accordance not just with a lot of regulations and rules from The EU. There are also many national standards and regulations to be observed, which means a loss of competitive power in comparison with other countries says the vet. The pig production in Sweden has decreased steadily year by year ever since 1995 where Sweden joined the EU. The Swedish regulations which result in considerable additional costs are a requirement of loose sows in all stable departments, including the farrowing department. All categories of pigs must have access to straw or bedding, tail docking is not permitted, and the animals must have more space per animal unit. (Source, Landbrugsavisen).

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Aujeszky Disease

An outbreak of the Aujeszky disease has been reported from the region of Aquitaine in South-Western France near the Spanish border. How the pigs were infected with the virus could not yet be clarified.

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High Input Costs Forecast

World pricing of livestock inputs can be expected to stabilise at high levels, assuming favourable macroeconomic conditions and sustained demand, according to a study just published by the French pig institute IFIP.

Predicting a continued convergence in feed prices between Europe, Brazil and the US, IFIP researchers suggest that average feed prices may stay below the crisis levels of 2006-8.

The future shape of European pig production during the coming decade will depend on both political decisions and consumer choices between animal and vegetable products, IFIP adds.

The full study, Perspectives des marchés des matières premières entrant dans l'alimentation animale, is available for download (in French), on the IFIP website (www.ifip.asso.fr)

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Cooperl and Carrefour

Following a controversial programme on French TV last June about the usage of antibiotics in pig production, Carrefour expects some explanation from its main supplier Cooperl. One of the producer members of the cooperative have been caught by the camera and the microphone and identified as a supplier of Carrefour. This producer declared that sometimes antibiotics could be used without checking if the pigs receiving the antibiotics were really suffering from pulmonary trouble. Carrefour’s reaction was immediate and since then the relationship between the cooperative and the retailer are not at their best.

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Aid For French Farmers

French minister of agriculture Bruno Le Maire yesterday announced emergency aid of £25m for farmers. And he promised some £2.5b in CAP payments would be made early.

He also announced £250m of development aid over three years (2011-2013) for the dairy, beef and pigs sectors.

He appointed a new president of the Price and Margin Observatory in the hope that it will provide greater price transparency through the food chain. And he announced a moratorium on new environmental legislation.

The picture shows French farmer protests during the international livestock show SPACE in Rennes this week, filmed by the BPEX Knowledge Transfer team. The Regional Brittany Pigmeat Committee, the Union of Meat Producer Groups in Brittany and the Union of French Meat Companies organised the signing of a petition "Stop competitive distortions! Stop the German social dumping"

Click here to view the video.

Source: National Pig Association

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International Prices

For the latest international prices click here

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Export Bulletin

To read the export bulletin click here.

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