BPEX Weekly: May 07 2010

Visit Us at Pig and Poultry Fair

BPEX will launch its biggest project yet at the British Pig and Poultry Fair next week – Hall 2 Stand 48..

The Two Tonne Sow (2TS) project aims to help the English pig industry achieve an average of 2,000kgs of pig meat per sow per year.

Despite improvements in physical performance in recent years, there remains a significant productivity gap between the English pig industry and its major European competitors.

The workshops include one on anaerobic digestion (AD) which offers the chance to learn about the range of technologies and opportunities available and hear first-hand from a pig producer who has designed and planned an anaerobic digester enterprise involving his pig business and a local poultry business.

BPEX Environment Programme Manager Nigel Penlington and producer James Hart will help answer the many practical and financial questions about AD and identify the potential options for farm-scale projects.

BPEX marketing will have a wide range of information on the totally integrated marketing campaign – Love Summer Love Pork, which includes:

• Foodservice Summer Activity – Score with Pork
• Girls Guide to Grilling – BBQ Activity
• Campaign to rename Picnics – ‘Pignics’

A plasma screen will have live demonstrations of the Lovepork and BPEX Websites showcasing

• the range of pork cuts information and variety of recipes on the Lovepork site
• along with the indepth and industry wide information available from the BPEX site

Come along and say hello – and come armed with questions as there will be BPEX staff from all sections ready to help with information and advice.

Marketing News

ASDA Backs British

Asda have altered its range of top selling extra special British sausages to 13 extra special lines which are all British. Five of them are changing to outdoor bred, with a further four in Sept. This moves these lines into a premium position within their sausage range.

Back to Top

Over 800 pubs and restaurants around the country have requested the new Score with Pork menu promotional kit, within the first 5 days of availability.

Along with the promotional material there is a free Sweepstake kit to download which will encourage footfall through a business and repeat footfall as the tournament progresses. Plus for the caterers there are some great opportunities to sell hand held meals such as the six great recipe ideas included in the Score with Pork recipe leaflet. It is available to download by clicking here.

Back to Top

A small scale sausage manufacturer in Northamptonshire is looking to work with a pig farmer in Northants or the neighbouring counties to supply him with initially 75kg boneless skinless shoulder pork per week. Anybody who can help should contact Tony Goodger.

Back to Top

Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the week: Heat stress

Pigs kept outdoors are particularly susceptible to heat stress; make sure shaded areas and wallows are in place now in readiness for the warmer weather.

Consider painting arcs white, as well, to reflect sunlight. See Action for Productivity 3 and 4 for more information.

Back to Top

Two new members of staff have joined BPEX, both with a remit involving pig health.

Ross Lake is Regional Health Co-ordinator working on the Eastern Health Project, funded by the East of England Development Agency.

Manda Sach is Health Database Co-ordinator, replacing Veronica Wright, who has left BPEX.

Ross was introduced to the pig industry aged 13, working weekends and school holidays on a commercial pig unit until gaining an OND in Agriculture at Shuttleworth College of Agriculture. Most recently he has been a Contracts Manager involved with tree surgery and vegetation management.

Before joining BPEX, Manda worked for the Animal Health and Welfare Business Unit for ADAS for 18 years. During this time she was involved in delivery of both corporate and government-funded research, undertaking various cattle, pig, poultry, sheep and dairy studies.

BPEX Head of Knowledge Transfer, Research and Development, Mike Varley said: "I would like to welcome them both. Manda and Ross have a great deal of experience which will be of benefit to both BPEX and the industry."

Back to Top

The first Stockman Development East Programme has got off to a great start with one participant’s manager reporting how he’d really enjoyed the first session and “was full of it when he got back.” It is good to see pig stockpeople reaping the benefits of opportunities like this to learn more about all aspects of pig production across the whole production chain. The workshops, taking place between now and next spring in Bury St Edmunds, cover topics ranging from Mating Management and Care of the Boar to care of the finishing pig and include visits to a feed mill and an abattoir.

Contact Colin Stone for more details about current and future programmes on 07816 941223 or [email protected]

Back to Top

---

Slurry Storage

The number of planning applications nationally for new slurry stores suggests that either farmers already have sufficient storage to comply with the six month rule or are leaving it until closer to the deadline.

The date of 2012 is firmly fixed in peoples minds, but storage must be in place by 1 January 2012, Nigel Penlington of BPEX recommends that you start planning and talking to suppliers now whilst demand is slack. He is happy to discuss storage options next week at the Pig & Poultry Fair.

Back to Top

National News:

Confidence is Key for Producers

Confidence to invest is a key measure for any industry and the English pig industry is looking forward to a rosier future according to the latest annual survey by BPEX.

The survey covers producers, processors, vets, retailers, foodservice, civil servants and the allied industry and gives a confidence index out of 100 based on the willingness to invest.

This year, for producers, that stands at 45.8, a rise of 4.9 compared with last year.

Across the industry, all sectors were more optimistic about the general financial situation, with the exception of processors who returned a negative figure.

Part of the survey looked at the services BPEX offered and the industry’s view of them and this figure too showed an improvement over last year.

The main points from the survey are:

• the main driver for capital expenditure was increased efficiency
• conversely inadequate return was the main reason holding up investment
• a relatively high proportion of pig units are working at full capacity
• competitiveness is largely expected to increase or remain unchanged

BPEX Head of Supply Chain Development Andrew Knowles said: "Though producers are fairly optimistic about the future, the same cannot be said of processors.

"It was also interesting to see compliance with changing environmental legislation, as well as improving efficiency, were still drivers for capital investment, facing the challenge of achieving sustainable margins.

“The second element is how our customers view the services BPEX offers and while there is always room for improvement overall the quality has improved.

This is despite BPEX going through a transition, moving to a new building while maintaining the same level of service.

"The survey also included a section for ideas on how BPEX could improve what it has to offer. There were some very interesting suggestions here and they are now being actively considered.”

Andrew said he would also like to record his thanks to all those who took the time to complete the questionnaire.

The full survey results are available by clicking here.

Back to Top

The Environment Agency is offering help to producers on its stand at the Pig and Poultry Fair.

Staff can advise about when an Environmental Permit is required or whether a change at a permitted farm will require a variation application.

Environment Agency officers can provide support and advice on filling in application forms and will explain how the EA screens and assesses the impact of ammonia emissions from farms on nearby wildlife sites.

Computers on the stand will allow officers to access the GIS mapping tool and run the first stages of the ammonia screening process if requested. But producers must bring some information with them. To find out more, click here.

Back to Top

With the winter now a receding if painful memory for many outdoor producers, it is necessary to be aware of the continually changing environmental needs of outdoor sows.

Early summer is the most dangerous time for sunburn and all the distressing consequences that come with it.

To prevent or minimise the risks, thick mud wallows or shading should be available from mid May onwards, for all dry sows. (Avoid wallows for farrowed sows as they can encourage litter desertion).

The cooling effects of the ‘swimming pool’ type wallow are more appropriate to mid and late summer where the risk of heat stroke is high, having little protective effect against sunburn.

Back to Top

Assured Food Standards (AFS) has announced it will mark the 10th anniversary of the Red Tractor food assurance scheme with Red Tractor Week. Running from 14–20 June, Red Tractor Week will celebrate 10 years of great food and farming under the Red Tractor logo.

The Red Tractor logo now features on £10 billion (annual retail sales value) worth of food and drink products. To celebrate this achievement and 10 years of Great Food and Great Farming under the logo, TV presenter, writer and British icon Janet Street-Porter, has been brought on board to front the Red Tractor Week campaign.

To encourage Red Tractor members to get involved and push awareness of the week, AFS has launched an online toolkit. www.redtractor.org.uk/week. This will provide Red Tractor members and supporters with downloadable marketing and promotional material – including ready-made posters, banners, leaflets and shelf barkers. These can then be tailored to match specific activities being organised by the trade. The aim of providing the online toolkit is to work in tandem with the industry to enable members and supporters to communicate the values of Red Tractor.

Back to Top

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.

Back to Top

Find out more about what BPEX can do for your business with the new BPEX Directory – a compact summary of all your BPEX services. It provides everything you need to know in one place, from on-farm practical advice and latest market prices, to consumer research and help in setting up a retail shop. Plus all the contact details you need to get in touch with the BPEX team both in your area and in our main office, to help you get the most from your levy money.

Click here to view the Directory online and to order a hard copy e-mail: [email protected] or call 0247 647 8793.

Back to Top

Three finalists have been named in the new ABN Innovation Award. The award provides a unique opportunity for young people from both outside and within the industry to put forward exciting and innovative concepts for marketing British pig or poultry food products to the UK consumer. The winner, who receives £1000 in prize money, will be announced on the second day of the RASE/ABN British Pig and Poultry Fair, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on May 11/12, 2010.

The three are Kerri Worrall, 32, from Pulham St Mary, Norfolk. Kerri is a freelance PR consultant, graphic designer and copywriter, Tom Martindale, 22, whois currently studying agriculture and marketing at Harper Adam’s University College, Shropshire and Alastair Butler, 29, from Halesworth in Suffolk, a partner in the family business running a 2,000 sow outdoor free range unit.

Back to Top

International News:

Welfare Legislation Roundup

Wageningen UR Livestock Research has produced a report on EU animal welfare legislation on pigs.

The relatively short report provides a brief overview of the EU pig welfare legislation, and its translation into the national legislation of member states. It also provides a glimpse of what national governments have funded recently regarding pig welfare research.

According to its findings, governments of more than half the member states fund research on pig welfare issues. The main themes are floor design, group housing, environmental enrichment, castration and farrowing pens. To see the report, click here.

Back to Top

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution reviewing the Commission action plan for animal welfare for 2006-2010 and suggesting improvements for the next plan.

Broadly speaking, the resolution acknowledges that the current 2006-10 plan has worked well, in particular the measures taken to reduce harmful antibiotics in animal feed, but that there is still room for improvement. MEPs ask the Commission to investigate the use of animal health products further and to study the growing resistance to antibiotics in animals.

The resolution also emphasises the need to enforce properly the existing rules, such as the ban on battery cages for hens and the rules on the protection of pigs and the transport of geese and ducks. EU budget funding is needed to enable the Commission to monitor implementation of the law.

For the future, MEPs call on the EU executive to propose general animal welfare legislation "to achieve a common understanding of the concept of animal welfare, the associated costs and the fundamental conditions applicable". In addition, it proposes laying down a "common basic level of animal welfare" across the EU to ensure fair competition in the single market.

Parliament also backs the idea of a European network for animal welfare, as envisaged in a Commission paper of October 2009.

Back to Top

The production of slaughter pigs in Denmark will probably continue to decline over the coming years according to a report in the latest Export Bulletin.

At the same time exports of piglets, which might have been fattened to become slaughter pigs and thus create employment at Danish slaughterhouses, will expand again.

A forecast from the Association of Danish Pig Producers shows in 2015 exports of piglets will be 13.5m. or as much as 65% higher than in 2009. Already, next year, exports will increase especially to Germany and reach up to 9.9m. (+20 %).

The explanation is simple: The big Danish slaughterhouse price is not competitive. To see the full Export Bulletin, click here.

Back to Top

The European Commission has decided to relaunch the negotiations on an Association Agreement with the Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). The Commission believes that clear economic benefits for both the EU and Mercosur could be obtained from an eventual deal. Earlier negotiations were suspended in 2004.

Mercosur is a large market with great growth potential and an increasingly important partner for the EU. Any future free-trade agreement, the first such trade deal for Mercosur, would give EU exporters, investors and service providers better access to this market than ever before. For the EU, the economic benefit could be an increase of around €4.5 billion of exports per year.

Back to Top

For the latest international prices, click here.

Back to Top