BPEX is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

BPEX Weekly: 10 February 2012

Marketing News

Bacon Week Champion

This year’s Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week celebrity is former newsreader Angela Rippon.

To celebrate the British public’s enduring love of one of its long-standing national ‘foodie’ treasures, Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week aims to highlight the vast range of tasty, quality bacon available to savour in the UK today, such as that identified by the Red Tractor mark. 

Angela, the first female to present the news on national television, has served Britain for more than 35 years and is now helping raise awareness of the quality of bacon produced today and remind Brits that ‘not all Bacon is the same’.

To help provide added inspiration in the kitchen during the run-up to Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week, our Red Tractor farmers have also developed a selection of delicious recipes highlighting the many flavours and uses of one of Britain’s best-loved ingredients.

Plus, during Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week, we’ll also be polling bacon fans across the UK on their own ‘Rasher-nal Treasures’ – it could be Delia’s Bacon and Leek Penne, Gordon’s Pea, Bacon and Goat’s Cheese Frittata, Jamie’s Macaroni Cheese with Bacon or Nigella’s Tomato and Bacon Hash.

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Looking for the Best

Claire Holland from BPEX has helped judge some 220 products over the past two days as part of Bacon Connoisseurs’ Week.

It was done with the help of Ladies In Pigs, three journalists and the rest of the BCW team. Claire said there were some fabulous products with a wide range of flavours.

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Successful Sausages

The success of British Sausage Week 2011 has been reported in Meat Management magazine and The Grocer.

Sausage sales in the immediate weeks after BSW did fall back to normal levels. Were BSW simply to create a one-off bulk-buy of sausages on promotion, though one might have expected volumes to drop significantly below normal levels straight after BSW. This would seem to indicate that BSW does indeed have a true impact on sausage sales and consumption.

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Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week: Piglet Comfort

When checking piglets, take a moment to notice how they are lying. Are they on their side with straight legs, side by side and just touching, or are they lying on their fronts?

The way that pigs lie is a good indicator of how comfortable they are, even if they appear to be fine. If they are not lying on their sides with their legs stretched out, it could indicate a problem, such as a draught or health issue, which needs investigating.

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Devon Pig Club

Don’t forget, Devon Pig Club is meeting on 23 February at Gipsy Hill Hotel, Exeter at 7:00pm. For details email Charlotte West or call her on 07973 701202.

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PRRSV Spread

Basic biosecurity measures prevented the spread of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M hyo) between pig herds by workers and fomites such as tools, according to researchers based in Minnesota, US.

Under the conditions of their study, the researchers noted that mechanical spread of PRRSV and M hyo by personnel and fomites (boots and coveralls) is prevented by basic sanitation procedures. They concluded that, on the basis of their observations, extended downtime periods are not required to reduce the risk of mechanical spread of these two pathogens by personnel and fomites.

These results should not be extrapolated across other pathogens, such as porcine circovirus type 2 or swine influenza virus, until further research can be conducted. The full report can be found by clicking here.

Source: thepigsite.com

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BPEX Vacancy

A new Knowledge Transfer manager is being sought by BPEX to cover the east of the country.

For more information, click here.

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2TS Finisher Challenge

More and more producers are coming forward to take the 2TS Finisher Challenge. The concept challenge is to encourage rearing herd producers to look closer at their performance records, use them as a management tool and then work on improving productivity.

Any producer - from contract finisher or breed to finish units – can join in and the level of involvement is up to the individual. Producers so far have wanted to look at improving feeding systems and implement weighing strategies. Some are simply wanting an 'extra pair of eyes' to look at their figures and production system and help to monitor general performance.

A pig club in Yorkshire has taken the challenge to the next level - they have challenged their sister club to compete for the best club average in FCR, ADG and mortality.

The club averages will be monitored and compared for a six-month period, after which the winning club will be crowned. All the individual producer figures will also be included in the 2TS Finisher Challenge competition.
If you want to get involved in the 2TS Finisher Challenge contact your KT Manager.

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BPEX Live

Click here for the BPEX Live online workshop dates planned for 2012.

People attending the first three workshops have found it very useful to be able to log on from home, not have to travel and, in some cases, enjoy a glass of their favourite tipple while catching up on important pig topics.

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Target 2TS

Target 2TS is a one-pager from BPEX with practical advice on improving pig performance to reach the Two-Tonne Sow (2TS) target.

Click here to view and save the most recent edition of Target 2TS.
It is also featured every month in Pig World magazine. Previous editions can be viewed by clicking here.

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National News:

Meeting the Minister

Working together was the key message to come out of a meeting between BPEX and the NPA with Defra Minister Jim Paice.

The main aim of the meeting, which involved BPEX Director Mick Sloyan, Zoe Davies of the NPA and Stewart Houston, chairman of both organisations, was to discuss the forthcoming EU ban on stalls and tethers.

Mick said: “While the focus of the meeting was definitely on the stalls ban we reminded each other there were one or two other measures coming in at the same time.

“These include slat design, stocking rates for pregnant gilts and sows and overall floor areas.

“It was agreed Defra will write to all registered pig producers reminding them of the changes.

“The importance of maintaining regular dialogue with the European Commission to understand the process of ensuring compliance across the EU was stressed.

“There was a great deal of support all round and we hope this was the first of what will become regular meetings as we get closer to the directive.”

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Slap-marking Problems

ACMC says it still sees numerous farm reports where slap-markings are recorded by the abattoir or by BPHS (British Pig Health Scheme) vets as illegible.

There are many implications to this, says Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd. Not the least of these is farmers potentially getting paid for someone else’s poorer pigs!

Some farms achieve excellent identification marks by slapping pigs at 70-80kg when this coincides with a move of houses. At this stage, the slap-mark continues to grow a little with the skin.

One problem area can be letting the lorry driver slap the pigs. It is better to take total control of such a vital process!

BPEX has produced guidance on slap-marking which can be found by clicking here.

Source: The Pig Site

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Way Forward is eAML2

The eAML2 electronic pig movement system becomes compulsory at the beginning of April in England and Wales.

To be legal and comply with the PRIMO Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 2011, pig movements must be reported through the eAML2 system, either by setting up the movement themselves online or by contacting the eAML2 Bureau Service.

Pig keepers do not need to worry if they have not got a computer or internet access: they can contact the Bureau Service by telephone, fax or post and they will set up the online movement on pig keepers’ behalf. There will also be third party providers such as the British Pig Association or marketing groups.

Click here for more information and to register for the service.

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Love Apprenticeships!

Businesses are urged to ‘Love Apprenticeships’ this year as Lantra, Sector Skills Council for land-based and environmental industries, has created a free website that puts interested employers in touch with learners, helping to bring an apprentice into their workplace.

Apprenticeships are a great way to breathe new life into a business, as employers get to train apprentices from scratch, to ensure they develop all the right habits. They have a positive impact on businesses as highlighted in research from Apprenticeships.org.uk:

• 72% of businesses which currently employ apprentices say they made a positive contribution during the recession

• 80% of employers who employ apprentices agree they make the workplace more productive

• 81% of consumers favour using a company which takes on apprentices

• 88% of apprentice employers believe that Apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce

• 94% of consumers think it is important for companies to take on apprentices during today’s economic recovery.

To help show businesses why they should get involved with this programme, Lantra has created special guidance at www.lantra.co.uk/love-apprentices. These webpages have a unique match-making service where businesses can find training providers that will be able to help them get started.

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BPHS Latest

Click here for full list of BPHS assessment dates in all participating abattoirs for January to June 2012.
The BPEX Pig Health Scheme (BPHS) has pig vets checking carcases for important pig health conditions in abattoirs across England and provides producers with free abattoir reports.
They include sub-clinical disease which is not always easy to spot on farm, but still affects performance.
BPHS reports are available to all members of the Pig Health Improvement Project. To sign up for free, call 0247 647 8877 or visit www.pighealth.org.uk

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Government Buying

Neil Parish MP (Conservative, Tiverton, Member of the EFRA committee) has tabled the following question to every government department:
To ask the Secretary of State what proportion of food purchased by their Department was produced in the UK in each of the last five years.

To see the answers, click here.

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International News:

Food Prices Fall

The World Bank Group has recently published its Food Price Watch.

It shows that, while the first quarter of 2011 witnessed sharp increases, global food prices declined 8% between September and December of 2011 due to increasing supplies and uncertainty about the global economy, but still remain volatile and high with the 2011 annual index 24 % higher than its average in 2010.

All key staples saw their prices decline. Reductions in the index for grains reached 10%; 8% for fats and oils; and also 8% for “others,” which includes sugars and meats. Declines have been significant for wheat (15%) and maize (12%) and more moderate for rice, which declined only 2% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The report shows that food price declines in the fourth quarter occurred despite moderate oil price increases of 3%. A factor contributing to the non-transmission of increasing oil prices to food prices was the strong decline in the price of fertilizers. The 10% reduction in the price of fertilizer - a critical input for agricultural production - during the fourth quarter put a halt to sustained increases in fertilizer prices throughout the year.

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Dutch Herd Down

The Dutch pig population has fallen for the first time in six years, down 0.8 per cent in December from a year earlier. The sixth-biggest pig herd in the European Union has declined to 12.1m animals at 1 December, from 12.2m pigs a year earlier.

But the figures are difficult to interpret ... mated sows are down significantly by 5.8 per cent but gilt numbers are up 11.6 per cent.

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Danish Export Poser

Karl Christian Moller, chief analyst of Danish Crown says China’s ambition to become self-sufficient in breeding pigs is a latent threat to Danish Crown exports to China, according to the latest Export Bulletin.

There is enormous potential for increasing productivity in Chinese pig production when breeding animals are available, together with Danish know-how in pig production.

Exports of Danish breeding animals may increase China’s self-sufficiency and thereby restrict exports of pig meat.

On the other hand if China could find fine breeding animals elsewhere, should Danish farmers refuse to export their breeding animals, says Karl Christian Moller.

To read the bulletin, click here.

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International Prices

For the latest international pig prices, click here.

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