Pigs
The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society (RWAS) Spring Festival in Builth Wells next weekend will host a series of short seminars with the heading ‘Profiting from Pigs’.
The new website will go live in the summer and will include an introduction to Welsh pork production, a directory of pig producers and case studies.
“This new website will form part of our plans to increase awareness of pork suppliers in Wales and the quality of their products,” said Melanie Hughes, HCC’s market development officer. “It will offer producers an opportunity to build their online presence and will be a starting point for customers who are looking to source locally produced pork.
“During the Spring Festival, we will be introducing the website to the industry and recruiting interested producers for the directory.”
Other HCC activities during the weekend will include a programme of seminars, delivered in partnership with Farming Connect and the RWAS. Also held in the pig shed, these sessions will be suitable for large and small-scale producers and will cover topics including pig health, artificial insemination and adding value through direct sales.
Luned Evans, HCC’s industry development officer, said: “The seminars are free to attend and will be an interesting source of information for anyone keen to learn about rearing pigs. Speakers with specialist knowledge of the sector have been invited and will be happy to share their expert advice.”
The Spring Festival will take place on 16 and 17 May at the Royal Welsh Showground.
Tulip and Scottish pork producers have taken control of a Scottish processing plant as part of a new collaboration said to be “fantastic news” for the Scottish pig industry.
Pork processor Tulip has teamed up with pig supply co-operatives Scotlean Pigs and Scottish Pig Producers in a new entity called Quality Pork Limited (QPL), at a pork facility in Brechin, based in Angus,
Bob Yuill, deputy chief executive of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), which supports co-operative farming in Scotland welcomed the initiative: “It is very significant that the plant is now effectively in the hands of pig producers. This strategic collaboration amongst the co-ops is hugely important and an example of the kind of cross-European partnership that we need to see more of.”
QPL said they have future plans on upgrading the site by adding a new slaughter line, chilling and lorry wash facilities which will increase the capacity of the operation.
Andrew Saunders, director of agriculture at Tulip, explained: “The purchase of the facility by QPL is fantastic news for the whole of the Scottish pig industry and their planned upgrade to increase the site’s capacity will mean that even more people across the UK and further afield will be able to enjoy quality Scottish pork.” –
QPL said the initiative was supported by the Scottish Government: “The Scottish government has been very supportive of this initiative and I am confident that by working closely with Quality Meat Scotland, Scottish Pig Producers, Scotlean and Tulip we can help secure the future of the Scottish pig industry.”
Pig prices have fallen to their lowest point since April 2013, as higher supplies and subdued demand have combined to produce a similar picture to that in the sheep meat and cattle sectors.
Bpex said that for the week ended 26 July, the UK-spec DAPP fell to 158.02p per kg, marking a decline for the fourth consecutive week.
AHDB Market Intelligence’s Stephen Howarth told meatinfo.co.uk that domestic production is high, with more pigs and higher carcase weights pushing up supply. He said the breeding herd had stabilised, with improved productivity due to mild weather.
Howarth added that there are more pigs coming in from abroad: “European pig prices are quite a bit lower than ours which has pulled some extra imports in.
”The increased supply has been met with subdued UK demand. Despite good barbecue weather, Howarth told meatinfo.co.uk that this has only slight offset the negative impact of this year’s mild climate, which is not conducive to the consumption of the higher value pork products – frying and roasting cuts.
He added: “I think people are still in a mind state that they have been in for the last few years and watching the pennies.
”However Howarth was also keen to stress that current prices are still historically quite high, and would have been at record levels 18 months ago. He said exports have been steadily rising over the last three years, despite the strengthening of the pound. Feed prices are also low, which helps with producers’ margins.