BPEX Weekly: May 21 2010

Two Tonne Sow

The aim of the Two Tonne Sow (2TS) programme is to help English producers achieve an industry average of 2,000kg of pig meat per sow per year by 2012. Gilt management is the first area of focus and the BPEX Knowledge Transfer team is working with producers this summer to pinpoint ways to improve gilt performance.

Prioritise Protein

A common perception is that gilts need a minimum of 14 mm of back fat at first farrowing and that back fat is the most important factor for sow longevity. This was strongly challenged by Prof. Paul Hughes, South Australia Research and Development Institute at BPEX workshops. He said that protein mass is more important than back fat in gilts for lifetime performance. Recent research supports this view.

Why are we still so focused on back fat in gilts during rearing and the first pregnancy? Prof. Hughes pointed out that over the last 10-20 years selection has produced a very different pig, which:

• Matures later (later puberty)
• Is a heavier and leaner sow
• Has higher ovulation (but will ovulate smaller, lower quality oocytes)

He said often:

• 15-20% of gilts only produce one litter
• 40-50% of sows are culled before 3rd parity
• At least three litters are required to achieve profit from a sow

It is becoming more apparent that the relationship between body fat level and the sow’s lifetime productivity is very poor, as shown in Canadian studies. This may reflect the fact that the majority of tissue mobilisation in young lactating sows is protein not fat.

To download the full article click here.

2TS Tip of the Week

Setting up and following an effective heat detection and service plan for your farm will help to detect the signs of heat accurately and schedule insemination at the optimum time.

This is essential for optimising breeding performance and achieving the best results; review and adjust periodically.

Develop an effective routine that is based on current best practice and information recorded on your farm, making allowances for variation. For further advice on this see Action for Productivity 31.

Interactive Library

With the launch of the Two Tonne Sow (2TS) campaign BPEX has categorised all of the Action for Productivity factsheets so they fit into the six pillars of activity.

You can view the re-designed sheets, as well as four new additions to the series, in the interactive library here.

Marketing News

Farms Olympic Boost

McDonalds plan to use its London 2012 sponsorship to raise awareness of British produce along with shifting the negative perceptions of fast food. 

It will feature British farms on its TV advertising, ahead of the games and aims to promote the farms best practice in standards and welfare. 

Also, there are plans to have an open gates scheme to some of their farms to show the transparency in their sourcing policy. 

For further information about this initiative click here.

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Young Butchers Competition

Held at Frankfurt by the Confederation of European Butchers on 6/7 May where BPEX Butchery and Product Development Manager Keith Fisher was one of the judges representing England alongside Austria, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and France. 

There were 13 countries each represented by one young butcher. 

They competed in six disciplines, ranging from producing a product from their own locality i.e. black pudding, through to producing a range of grilling and BBQ products.

This event happened over a period of two days and England’s young butcher was Michael Whitfield from the Northern Region. 

Keith said the standards were very high and England hopes to compete in the future on an annual basis. 

The young butchers are chosen through a selection process from their own meat schools and colleges and they have to be under 23 and are only allowed to compete once, in this competition. 

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BPEX continually encourages retailers to source Quality Standard pork and pork products. The results are monitored in-store through a bi-monthly PorkWatch survey. 

The charts currently featured on the Porkwatch web page show the percentage of pork, bacon, ham and sausages on supermarket shelves displaying the Red Tractor mark (or Quality Standard mark) over the past year.   

There is now the facility to create your own charts from any of the data over the last three years, by retailer and by product, click here

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Knowledge Transfer

Eastern Pig Health

Two veterinary practices have agreed to host a meeting (funded by EPH) with their pig producer clients to discuss the health programme.

Oakwood House Vet Group (Steve Youngs) will meet at Brome Grange, near Eye on 24th June at 18:30 and Acorn House Veterinary Practice (David Chennells) will meet on 16th June, venue to be confirmed but will be in the Bedford/St Neots area at 18:30, a buffet and light refreshments will be provided. Invitations will be mailed out to practice clients this week but all producers are welcome, call or email Ross Lake to reserve a place: [email protected] / 07792 681203.

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Eastern Pig Health Website

The EPH website is now live! Please visit www.easternpighealth.org.uk to find out more about the scheme and to register. By registering, you will also have access to the online management tools, “what if” calculators and the mapping service.

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A reminder to all producers in the YHH region that the early bird catches the worm!

Those who would like biosecurity advice and help forming cluster groups with their neighbours should call/email Helen Clarke: [email protected] / 07973 701369.

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Pig producers can get inspiration to design the ideal outdoor unit at two free BPEX workshops next week. The Grand Designs workshops will help producers to design and budget the best field layout for their unit.

BPEX Knowledge Transfer Manager Helen Thoday said: “Getting field design right can make a big difference in the day-to-day management of the unit as well as herd performance. All outdoor producers are welcome to join the workshops which, in the past, have been very productive and enjoyable – with a few surprises along the way.”

The workshops will take place on:

Wednesday 26th May at Red House Hotel, Parkhouse Cross, Cholderton, SP4 0EG from 3pm to 5:30pm.

Thursday 27th May at Larkmead Vet Practice, Ilges Lane, Cholsey, OX10 9PA from 3pm to 5:30pm

There will be light refreshments at both throughout the afternoon. Contact Helen Thoday for more information and to sign up for the Grand Designs workshops: 07973 701202 or email Helen Thoday.

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There have been reports that the sound quality of some of the popular BPEX pig unit ventilation DVDs is poor and that some people are finding difficult to hear the presenter, John Chambers, even with the volume turned right up. If you have noticed this with your copy, please return it to BPEX and we will send out a replacement. 

If you have not yet seen a copy and/or you don’t know what it is, the aim is to help pig producers identify ventilation-related problems and, more importantly, provide practical solutions.

It is presented by John Chambers of J C Consulting, who has been trouble-shooting problems caused by poor ventilation for many years.

To order a copy call Clancy Smith at BPEX on 0247 647 8792 or contact your local Knowledge Transfer Manager.

If you need to return a faulty DVD, please send to: BPEX KT R&D, AHDB, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2TL with a note to say that it is faulty.

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National News:

BPEX Board Member

A new member from a pig processing company has been appointed to the BPEX board.

Marcus Cheale, of Cheale Meats of Brentwood, Essex takes up his position with immediate effect.

He looks after the buying and selling of pigs for the family business which was founded more than 50 years ago and started specialising in pigs about 12 years ago.

Marcus said: "I’ll be on a sharp learning curve particularly on the pig production side but that is something I am keen to learn about.

"We operate with contracts and long term agreements with live pigs. Yet when it comes to pork, the nature of our trading means we don’t know until lunchtime what is being delivered that same evening and the following morning. It’s all very reactive.

"This is in contrast to our sow trade which relies on constant supplies for manufacturing throughput of our regular EC customers."

BPEX Chairman Stewart Houston said: "I would like to welcome Marcus to the board. His experience on the processing side will be extremely valuable to BPEX and the industry.

"He represents a unique part of the sector, processing large numbers of cull sows and will bring a fresh view point."

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The prevalence and economic impact of swine influenza in the UK is underestimated, with the disease estimated to cost €28 a sow a year, according to Merial’s Ricardo Neto.

Speaking at the launch of Gripovac 3, the first swine influenza vaccine in the UK, Mr Neto explained how he thought the prevalence in the UK was higher than many may expect. “Although at the present time it is difficult to estimate the true prevalence, with the number of confirmed cases small, this is likely due to under-reporting.”

To read the full report on FWI, click here.

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Below are the latest BPHS assessment dates.

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

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Caroline Spelman MP has been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Mrs Spelman, MP for Meriden,said: “I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The department is responsible for many of the things that are vital to our quality of life – the food we eat, the air we breathe and how we manage the land we live on and the seas that surround our shores.
“I will work across government and beyond to respond to the challenges of increasing food production, adapting to climate change, protecting our natural environment and ensuring we live sustainably.”

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The United Kingdom’s new environment secretary has started to make her presence felt in Brussels, with a warning about the high burden of regulation on Europe’s food producers.

Signalling that red-tape is a threat to jobs in agriculture, Caroline Spelman said any debate on Europe’s agri-food model must be linked to job creation.

The "high burden" of regulation was a specific area for future reform, she told journalists after yesterday’s European Union farm council meeting.

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NADIS Latest – Failsafes

For many years it has been a legal requirement in buildings which are dependant upon mechanical ventilation to fit alarm systems which in many cases are supported by failsafe mechanisms – flaps which drop open in the event of power failure. Many problems are seen on farms nowadays related to these failsafe mechanisms:-

• Warping and ill-fitting such that they act as inlets for air under negative pressure situations disturbing the designed air flow and often leading to drafts
• Repeated dropping open due to dirt on or poor alignment of magnetic contacts – leading to chilling and drafts
• Nailing up of flaps that continue to drop open – rather negating their purpose

At a time when producers have once more begun to invest in buildings and building maintenance this is an area for attention.

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International News:

Danish Welfare Probe

Danish agriculture minister Henrik Høegh is calling for an investigation into conditions on Denmark’s pig farms after a television documentary revealed up to 25,000 piglets die a day.

The main reason given for the high mortality is that Danish pigs have the world’s largest litters with an average 16 piglets a sow.

Høegh says the mortality rate is unacceptable. After he reviews the findings of the investigation, he will decide what further action to take.

Several political parties and an animal rights organisation are calling for both Høegh and justice minister Brian Mikkelsen to look into whether present conditions on Danish pig farms violate animal welfare laws.

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China has given official notice that it is accepting shipments of US pork, a move hailed by the National Pork Producers Council. Pork produced on or after 1 May can now be exported to China.

The Asian nation closed its market to US pork in late April 2009 in the wake of an outbreak in humans of novel H1N1 influenza, which the media misnamed “swine” flu.

In March, the United States and China reached an agreement to reopen the Chinese market to US pork imports, but it took China until now to begin accepting product.

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Exports of pig meat from Denmark to Japan increased by 20% in the first quarter of this year according to the latest Export Report.

Import data from Japan shows Danish sales of fresh and chilled pig meat to Japan increased by 30,010 tons during the first three months of the year compared with 24,995 tons during the first quarter of last year.

At the same time imports of pig meat from the US to Japan fell by 17%. To read the full report, click here.

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For the latest international prices, click here.

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