Pig World May 2022

1. PIG FAIR GUIDE Everything you need to know about the event. Starts P55 INNOVATION OF THE YEAR Award winner showcases labour- saving device P32-33 INDUSTRY CRISIS As costs soar, will the market go far enough? p16-18 UK Annual Subscription £35 I I European Annual Subscription £90 I I RoW Annual Subscription £130 MAY 2022 ISSN 0966 3592 MAKE VACCINATION SIMPLE There are lots of complications to deal with every day, don’t let vaccination be one of them. Only the MSD Animal Health range of vaccines gives you a straightforward approach to vaccinating piglets against PRRS, PCV, mycoplasma and ileitis at the same time;* saving you time and reducing piglet stress. BRITISH PIG & POULTRY FAIR 10-11 MAY 2022, STONELEIGH See us on stand 74 VACCINATION MADE SIMPLE Tickets from www.pigandpoultry.org.uk * Porcilis PCV M Hyo and Porcilis Lawsonia can be mixed together and given at the same time as Porcilis PRRS during one vaccination event. Porcilis® PRRS contains live attenuated PRRS virus strain DV: 104.0 – 106.3 TCID50*. *tissue culture infective dose 50%. POM-V. Porcilis® PCV M Hyo contains Porcine circovirus type 2 ORF2 subunit antigen and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae J strain inactivated. POM-V. Porcilis® Lawsonia contains inactivated Lawsonia intracellularis strain SPAH-08 ≥ 5323 U. POM-V. Further information is available from the SPC, datasheet or package leafm et. MSD Animal Health UK Ltd. Registered offj ce Walton Manor, Walton, Milton Keynes MK7 7AJ, UK. Registered in England & Wales no. 946942. Advice should be sought from the medicine prescriber. Use Medicines Responsibly. Copyright © 2022 MSD Animal Health UK Ltd. All rights reserved. UK-POR-220300002

2. The Enterisol® Effect! Due to its targeted action, ONLY Enterisol® Ileitis reduces gut lesions caused by Lawsonia intracellularis, improves uniformity AND beneficially modulates the microbiome to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella in the gut 1,2. Balance the microbiome in your favour for productive pigs and enhanced food safety Only Enterisol Ileitis has: FOR LIQUID FEED ❚ Direct effect at site of infection and 25% quicker onset of immunity1 ❚ Multiple methods of administration, including in water – i.e. as easy as taking a drink FOR WATER ❚ Additional benefits by modulating the microbiome1,2 Speak to us about how we can help you improve your pig performance. FOR DRENCH 1. Enterisol Ileitis SPC https://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/productinformationdatabase/Search.aspx; 2. Leite et al (2018) Nature Scientifi c Reports 8: 2857. Enterisol® Ileitis Lyophilisate and Solvent for Oral Suspension for Pigs contains Live attenuated Lawsonia intracellularis (MS B3903): 104.9 - 106.1 TCID50*. UK: POM-V. Advice should be sought from the prescriber. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd., RG12 8YS, UK. Tel: 01344 746957. Email: vetenquiries@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Enterisol® is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, used under licence. ©2021 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Date of preparation: Mar 2021. UI-POR-0005-2021. Use Medicines Responsibly. *Tissue Culture Infective Dose 50%. www.enteric.solutions

3. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD COMMENT & CONTENTS EDITOR’SCOMMENT ‘Every little helps’ – retailers hold the key to pig sector future R message. The cost of producing a pig is now so far out of the ordinary, particularly following a prolonged period of huge financial pressures on farms, that something equally out of the ordinary is required by the supply chain to keep the whole chain going. On the cost front, there doesn’t appear to be any let up on the horizon. In fact, according to AHDB, the gradual feeding through of higher ingredient and compound feed costs could add yet another 20p onto a figure already well in excess of £2/kg. So well played Sainsbury’s for demonstrating its commitment to its pork supply base with a £2.8m investment to support pig prices over a 12-week period. Waitrose has already shown its support on the pricing front and other retailers, sometimes behind the scenes, have been doing their bit. In some cases that ‘bit’, while helpful, is not yet enough, and some retailers and, of course, processors, need to do a lot more. But, speaking to producers and those involved in the trade, there is one name – the biggest name of the lot in retail – that comes up time and again in these discussions about the need for more money to feed back from the retail tills into pig producers’ pockets. “Most of the others are trying, but Tesco is hardly moving,” was a typical comment in the last week of April. It’s not as if it can’t afgord it. The UK’s biggest ALISTAIR DRIVER is Pig World editor. Born and brought up on a farm in Leicestershire, he has more than 20 years’ industry experience. To contact him call: 07787 240832 or email alistair@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk supermarket chain trebled its profits to more than £2 billion last year. Announcing this profit boom, the retailer’s chief executive highlighted that, in order to keep on track, it was ‘laser-focused on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check’, as household budgets come under increasing pressure. That is all very well – but if this comes at the expense of its most under-pressure suppliers, everybody loses, including Tesco and its customers. This is not about an act of altruism – we are already heading for a shortage of pigs in the second half of this year and the more producers we lose, the harder and more expensive it is going to be to source the fabulous British pork retail customers want to buy. Tesco, which also continues to sit poorly in the AHDB Porkwatch survey, told Pig World it was a ‘proud champion’ of the British pork sector and was ‘continually looking at ways we can source more British pork’. ‘Every little helps’, it says – but it certainly needs to do an awful lot more to back up these statements. After four long years, we are not going to be short of talking points at the Pig & Poultry Fair when it returns on May 10-11. All the information you need is in our Pig Fair guide in the second half of this issue. I look forward to seeing some of you there! etailers have the money and the power to secure a bright future for the pig industry – and it is good to see some on board with the MAY 2022 PIGWORLD PIG & POULTRY FAIR 2022: PREVIEW PIG AND POULTRY FAIR OFFICIAL PREVIEW The British Pig and Poultry Fair returns this year as an in-person event after a long four year hiatus! Pig World is provide a detailed preview of the Fair. Find out who’s exhibiting, the seminar programme and much more. delighted to be the offjcial media partner and these pages The Pig World team will be out in force – come and see us on our stand no 71! We look forward to seeing you there. PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |55 INSIDE A detailed preview of the British Pig & Poultry Fair, to be held in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, on May 10-11 INSIDE CONTENTS CONTENTS 46NEONATAL DIARRHOEA Two new products to tackle the problem in pigs 55BRITISH PIG & POULTRY FAIR Extensive guide, including maps, listings, forum details, new products and innovations and much more 65NEW PRODUCT AWARD Who has made the shortlist for the Pig World New Product Award? Plus all the new pig products on display 92INSIDE THE INDUSTRY An exciting new leadership team for Young NPA; the latest industry movers; tributes paid to two industry stalwarts 95 PRICES Clean kill fjgures, GB vs. European bacon prices, straw and feed production costs, and market pointers 4NEWS Calls for retailers to do more to support pork producers, and fury over further delay to EU import checks 14NATIONAL PIG AWARDS The 2022 Awards are open for entries 16NEWS ANALYSIS As costs soar, can the market return producers to profjt? 20NEWS ANALYSIS MPs slam Government over labour shortages and demand new approach 22NPA PIGGY POINTS Defra’s Farming Rules For Water clarifjcation – what it means 24VIEW FROM CANADA Canadian pig sector’s familiar challenges, and perspective on a future trade deal with the UK 26COMMENT The pig industry’s big gamble; when the media calls during lambing season; and why now is the time to review the system for the next challenge 32AWARD-WINNING INNOVATION Award-winning pig handling system improves welfare and saves labour 35MONITOR FARM Using lean management techniques under AHDB’s Monitor Farms programme to improve effjciencies and reduce costs 39MORE INNOVATION How a 2,000-sow unit in Yorkshire has embraced technology and innovation to future-proof the family business 43FARM FOCUS Sam Walton’s thoughts on two impressive pig units PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |03

4. NEWS PIGWORLD Sainsbury’s says it hopes the investment will provide its producers with security Sainsbury’s invests in UK pig price, but other retailers need to do more those not currently part of the model, to a fjxed price from mid-March to June 6. Gavin Hodgson, Sainsbury’s head of agriculture, said the retailer hoped the investment would provide its producers with security. NPA chief executive Zoe Davies described Sainsbury’s move as ‘fantastic news for their pig producers’. She praised the efforts of other retailers that are trying to get more money through to their producers, but stressed that ‘some still need to do an awful lot more’. “There is still one, in particular – one of the very biggest in the country – that has made very little effort so far and that is hugely frustrating,” she said. “We understand why there is a focus on trying to keep consumer prices down – but that must not be at the cost of the producers that supply their pork and are hanging on by a thread. Retailers need to understand that if they lose their supply of British pork, they won’t get it back and their consumers will be missing out.”    NFU Scotland’s pigs committee chair Jamie Wyllie has also called for retailers and processors to act urgently, with pig prices still a long way short of soaring costs. “If the price does not make it over £2 per kg soon, there won’t be a British industry left,” he said. Sainsbury’s has announced it is investing £2.8 million to support its struggling pork producers with higher prices over a 12-week period. However, while it is one of a number of retailers that have stepped up to the plate as pig production costs soar out of control, others are not doing nearly enough to secure their future supplies of pork, according to the NPA. New fjgures published by AHDB in early April estimated that average costs of production had risen to 203-216p/kg, up from 193p/kg in Q4, due to the impact of the Ukraine war on feed prices and rising energy costs. With pig prices averaging just over 150p/kg at the time, this equated to losses of £46-61/pig, on top of estimated industry losses of around £250m in 2021. AHDB subsequently suggested that a further 20p could be added onto costs as more feed price hikes feed through. Pig prices have risen since then, with the SPP standing at just short of 165p/kg in late April. However, the processor contribution price increases, which drove the pig price upwards in March, slowed markedly in April, leaving many pig producers losing thousands of pounds each week and the industry, which has already lost an estimated 43,000 sows, facing a further mass contraction. Some retailers have responded positively to NPA calls for pig price increases to at least cover costs of production, including Sainsbury’s. In conjunction with its aligned pork development group, it has created a pricing mechanism that has paid above the market price for fresh pork since September 2020, investing £5m in doing so. Through this pricing structure, it has offered ‘additional short-term support’ through a £2.8m investment for its pork producers, giving them the opportunity to align all pigs supplied to Sainsbury’s, including NPA seeking clarifjcation on humane killing methods The NPA is still awaiting a meeting with Defra Minister Victoria Prentis to discuss the future of manual blunt force trauma and to ask for legislation to be altered to ensure it can be retained as an emergency option for euthanasia of small pigs. The Department indicated earlier this year that the method would not be permitted in future, even in emergency situations, because the wording in the 2015 legislation made it illegal. This followed a Defra review of its welfare at slaughter regulations and the subsequent approval of the non-penetrative percussive device as a humane killing method for piglets in January The NPA wishes to retain manual blunt force trauma as an option for emergencies, as there are still gaps in knowledge and evidence over the effectiveness of non- penetrative percussive devices. “Our primary concern is for the welfare of the piglet, so we must get this right. Any policy changes must be based on robust scientifjc evidence before being enforced,” chief executive Zoe Davies said.  04 |MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

5. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD NEWS NPA and NFU reiterate calls for fjnancial support, as MPs back case FURTHER SUPPORT FORIRISH PRODUCERS– BUTCONDITIONS ATTACHED The NPA and NFU have again called on Defra Secretary George Eustice to provide direct support for increasingly desperate pig producers. Defra has already rejected a number of calls for fjnancial support for producers, despite packages being provided in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and other member states. But the latest call comes as the fjnancial crisis facing pig farmers deepens, and follows a key recommendation in a damning report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on labour shortages in the food and farming sector (see p18-19 for full analysis). The report, which was heavily critical of the Government’s post-Brexit immigration policy and called for fundamental changes in its attitude and how it engages opportunity, similar to those offered by the devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland and many other European countries,” the letter stated. “Some have already taken the decision to leave the industry with 43,000 sows being removed and others are now seriously considering it. It is, therefore, vital that action is taken swiftly to support farmers while processors work through the rest of their backlogs.” A Defra spokesperson said: “We recognise that the pig industry and wider agricultural industry are facing a number of challenges related to the recent rise in input costs.  “We have provided a package of measures to support the pig industry, including temporary work visas for pork butchers, Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment schemes.” Meanwhile, Ireland’s farmers are in line for a further support package, albeit with a twist. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue was set to announce a further €13m support package, RTE reported in late-April. But while the package could provide farmers with up to €70,000, access to the new fund is conditional on farmers reducing production by 10%. The support comes, with Irish farmers losing an estimated €40 per pig due to soaring costs of production. The latest package follows a €7m scheme already announced for the pig sector in February. with industry on the issue, included a recommendation for Defra to provide direct support to pig producers, rather than targeting it at processors. In a joint letter to Mr Eustice, NPA chairman Rob Mutimer and NFU president Minette Batters thanked Defra for the support they have given to the industry in recent months, but stressed that the invasion of Ukraine has moved the sector ‘from a very challenging fjnancial situation to a critical one from which we fear many will not recover’. “We therefore ask that you urgently reconsider our request for a fjnancial support package to be made available to pig farmers at the earliest Porkwatch survey shows mixed retail support for British farmers The latest AHDB Porkwatch survey showed a mixed performance among the big UK retailers when it comes to stocking British pork products.  Aldi, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s displayed 100% fresh British pork in March, while Waitrose and Lidl slipped just below that mark. There was little movement, however, from Tesco or Asda, which were both on 58%. Overall, across the 11 retailers surveyed, the percentage of British pork on display went up slightly to 81%, while bacon was up from 55% to 57%, ham was slightly down at 65% and sausage was stable at 86%. Across, the categories, M&S, the Co-op and Waitrose were the best performers, with Sainsbury’s recording good percentages of British across all categories, and Morrisons not far behind. Aldi and Lidl were good in some categories and less so in others. But Asda stocked only 26% British ham and 36% bacon, while Tesco was at 42% for bacon, albeit well up on a year ago, and 60% for ham. Tesco, which recently reported it had trebled its profjts to beyond £2 billion, while also indicating that it Tesco is under scrutiny over its support for the pig sector was focusing in the future on keeping retail prices down, is coming under increasing scrutiny within the pig sector over its sourcing and pricing policies. A Tesco spokesperson said it had ‘moved even more of our range from EU supply to British farmers and have run additional promotions’ to support the pig sector. “We are continually looking at ways we can source more British pork,” he said. Do you have a story for Pig World? Email news@pig-world.co.uk PIGWORLD| MAY 2022|05 See our anal sis on

6. Do you have a story for Pig World? Email news@pig-world.co.uk trading conditions at a time when the pig sector desperately needs fairness and a level playing fjeld, it exposes the farming industry to potentially devastating diseases like ASF.” Also citing the increased threat to pig producers of a ‘catastrophic’ ASF incursion, British Veterinary Association (BVA) senior vice president James Russell said the ‘deeply misguided’ move weakens vital defences and fmies in the face of common sense, undermining the Government’s commitment to preserve high levels of animal and human health in the UK. “To remove the requirement for checks entirely appears deeply misguided; we urge the Government to abandon these plans and close off the threat of causing signifjcant damage to our food and farming industries,” he said. “If not, the Government must urgently set out how it will safeguard animal health and welfare in the UK in the coming months.” NFU president Minette Batters said the Government’s ‘unacceptable’ approach had left British farmers at an ‘unfair continued competitive disadvantage’ to our EU competitors. “These checks are absolutely crucial to the nation’s biosecurity, animal health and food safety, and without them we really do leave ourselves at risk,” she said. British Meat Processors Association chief executive Nick Allen said the decision was a ‘double-edged sword’ for many meat businesses. “It makes imports cheaper and easier but comes with some serious risks of food fraud, unfair competition and compromises to animal health,” he said. Warnings of ASF risk, after Government abandons import check plans Serious concerns have been raised about the risk of diseases like African swine fever (ASF) entering the UK, after the Government abandoned plans to commence physical checks on EU imports of animals and animal products from July 1. Prompting widespread fury within the farming industry, it now appears that, having already being delayed three times, physical border checks will never be introduced. Instead, the Government will ‘target’ the end of 2023 as the revised introduction date for a new digitised control regime. The decision also delays a requirement for documentation, such as health certifjcates, on EU imports and restrictions on EU imports of chilled meats. Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees- Mogg claimed introducing the checks ‘would have been an act of self-harm’, imposing new burdens and risking disruption at ports, at at time when British businesses and people ‘are being hit by rising costs’. He said the move would save British businesses up £1 billion per year. However, UK food exporters have faced additional costs, disruption and delays as a result of new EU checks and requirements, including documentation, on exports since January 2021, resulting in a signifjcant drop in EU trade. In the fjrst two months of this year, UK pork exports to the EU remained well down on 2020 and 2019 levels. NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: “Not only does this extend these grossly unfair Jacob Rees-Mogg SIPs scheme extended as progress made on backlog As progress continues to be made with reducing the backlog, the Government has extended the Slaughter Incentive Payment Scheme (SIPS), which incentivises processors to put on extra kills. The scheme was due to close at the end of March, after an initial extension, but it has in the fjrst three weeks of April now been extended again until June 30. By mid-April, around 30,000 pigs had been through the scheme, with more of these extra kills lined up.  The situation has also been helped by the arrival of more butchers under the Skilled Worker route into pork plants. Estimated GB pig slaughterings were 18,000 head higher than a year earlier and more than 50,000 up on 2020. According to Defra, the pig backlog had fallen from a peak of around 200,000 to around 25,000 pigs in late-April. However, an NPA member survey has revealed that serious problems remain on some farms, according to chief executive Zoe Davies, who said it showed that the actual backlog fjgure remains higher than the Defra estimates. The ongoing survey also reveals that ‘99% of producers will have quit within a year, if things don’t improve’, she said. She urged as many members as possible to complete the survey, in order to provide a true picture of the situation to Government. 06| MAY 2022 |PIGWORLD

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8. Do you have a story for Pig World? Email news@pig-world.co.uk Rapid change needed for farms to meet net zero targets, report concludes and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Queen’s University Belfast, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Rothamsted Research. CIEL CEO Lyndsay Chapman said: “This report re-confjrms that we could deliver a large reduction in greenhouse gases to signifjcantly contribute to the goal of net zero carbon by 2050, but even that requires universal adoption of the various known mitigations across all livestock farms in the UK – something we are not currently achieving. “All those within the supply chains must work together to reduce emissions while still producing the nutritious, safe food the UK needs. Farmers cannot, and should not, be expected to deliver this on their own.” Encouragingly, the report notes, however, that greenhouse gas emissions from the pig industry are low compared with beef, sheep and dairy systems.  The main areas for mitigations in the pig sector highlighted in the report are animal health and effjciency, manure management and – the greatest priority – feed sourcing, particularly of protein. Industry consultant Dominic Charman pointed out that, depending on which fjgures have been used in the report, a more signifjcant reduction in ammonia emissions may already have been achieved in the pig industry. “Work undertaken in recent years, funded by pig farmers and organised by AHDB, has shown that UK pig production systems are for the most part signifjcantly below the current ‘accepted’ NH3 production fjgures,” he said. “This data is due to be rolled into the current inventory fjgures, which should result in them being reduced later this year.” Rapid and widespread change is needed on farms to meet net zero targets for livestock, a report published by CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) has concluded. The report, Net Zero & Livestock: How Farmers Can Reduce Emissions, says greenhouse gas emissions from UK livestock production, including pigs, could be reduced by 23% and ammonia emissions by 15%, but there is still much to do in order to get there.   It is believed to be the fjrst of its kind to model and collate data at this scale, covering a range of mitigating scenarios in real life case studies across dairy, beef, sheep, pig and poultry farms, delivered by independent scientists from the Agri-Food Lyndsay Chapman MORE INFORMATION You can view the report here: www.cielivestock.co.uk/expertise/ net-zero-carbon-uk-livestock/ SWINE DYSENTERY CASES REPORTED A growing number of swine dysentery cases have been confjrmed in recent weeks, including three in Yorkshire. The disease was identifjed by clinical signs on a farm in Cheshire on April 11 and subsequently confjrmed by laboratory tests.  A case was confjrmed on a North Yorkshire unit on April 15, also having been identifjed by clinical signs, followed by one in Yorkshire on April 26, in this case with no typical clinical signs, and another in North Yorkshire on April 28. In all four cases, the exact origin of the outbreak was unclear, but was under investigation. Strict biosecurity and biocontainment measures had been put in place on all the units, which were undergoing treatment, with plans to depopulate. AHDB said it was important that heightened biosecurity and monitoring for clinical signs are observed over the next few weeks, especially in the Yorkshire and Cheshire regions. Defra issues Farming Rules for Water clarifjcation It sets out what farmers need to do when it comes to applying the rules for the use of organic manure and manufactured fertiliser to agricultural land, including demonstrating that they have planned applications of organic manure or inorganic fertiliser in accordance with the FRfW. This includes, for example, a nutrient management plan or another written plan. The guidance stressed that if the Environment Agency determines that land managers have followed this guidance, enforcement action is not expected. Defra has published new guidance bringing welcome clarifjcation on the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW), following the confusion that surrounded the interpretation of the rules last year. Defra said the guidance makes it clear it does not intend to ban autumn manure spreading through the FRfW, as soil and crop need for nitrogen (N) can now be based on an annual crop cycle, rather than an immediate requirement. MORE INFORMATION More information on swine dysentery can be found here: https://ahdb. org.uk/knowledge-library/swine- dysentery The NPA’s Lizzie Wilson explains what this means in more detail on page 22 08| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

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10. Do you have a story for Pig World? Email news@pig-world.co.uk Not long left to vote on AHDB’s future choice, while 75% said they feel differently about pork medallions after seeing the campaign, and six in 10 said they are likely to buy pork medallions. A further 61% said the campaign altered their perception of pork shoulder, and 84% agreed the campaign communicated it as a good easy-to-cook midweek meal solution. The campaign reached 76% of UK households and generated nearly 30 million impressions across social media channels, video-on- demand and online video, analysis showed. AHDB’s director of marketing Liam Byrne said he was ‘really pleased’ to see the latest phase of the campaign having a positive impact on consumer perceptions of pork as a healthy mealtime choice. Levy payers who have registered to vote have until midday on May 9 to have their say on AHDB’s future. A total of 330 pig producers and 15 pork processors/buyers registered to take part in the Shape the Future vote by the end of March, as nearly 11,000 levy payers registered across AHDB’s four remaining sectors. While the fjgures for pig producers do not appear particularly high, they cover 74% of pig production and 93% of pigs processed in England, the highest percentages in both cases, suggesting the big industry players are taking part.  Each of the remaining sector councils have identifjed some key priorities they think are important to the industry and AHDB wants levy payers to tell them whether they agree. The Pork Sector Council has identifjed the fjve priorities: Selling every part of the pig for the best fjnancial return at home in the UK or overseas. Protecting the reputation of pork and promoting its benefjts to consumers. Improving animal health and welfare, reducing disease, and demonstrating high standards. Demonstrating that the pork industry takes its impact on the environment seriously and is improving. Improving profjtability to remain competitive at home and overseas. AHDB described the vote as a simple, step-by-step process that should take around 15-20 minutes. Each eligible business gets one vote per sector. Mix Up Midweek campaign boosts perceptions of pork as healthy option AHDB’s returning Mix Up Midweek campaign has improved consumer perceptions of pork as a healthy choice, according to survey results. The marketing campaign, now in its fjfth year, ran for six weeks in January and February, aiming to inform consumers that certain cuts of pork are lean and low in fat, and encouraging them to consider pork as a healthy meal option. In the survey, 92% of consumers reported that they considered pork medallions as a healthy mealtime Pork shipments to EU grow as China volumes fall UK pork exports to the EU are recovering, following the disruption caused by Brexit early last year, but shipments to China are signifjcantly down. In January and February together, pigmeat exports, excluding offal, totalled 37,800 tonnes, 30% up on 2021, according to HMRC data. This refmected a big year-on-year increase in EU exports, although EU shipments remain well below 2020 and 2019 volumes. In February, the UK exported 19,800t of pigmeat, excluding offal, 9% (1,600t) more than in February last year, and nearly 2,000t more than in January this year. But while February’s exports to the EU nearly tripled year- on-year to 11,200t, volumes to China fell by 61% to just 4,200t. Overall offal exports in the fjrst two months of the year, at 19,200t, were more than 700t up on 2021. However, the unit price of exports is falling – at £1.62/kg in February, it was nearly 30p lower than in the same month last year, refmecting the diffjcult trading conditions, according to AHDB lead analyst Duncan Wyatt. Despite higher volumes, the overall value of exports in January and February, at £81.2m, was only £1.7m higher than in 2021. UK pigmeat imports in February, at 71,700 tonnes, were down on January, but 41% up year-on-year. However, Mr Wyatt pointed out this was at a time when the EU market was still relatively well supplied and prices were low. EU prices have risen sharply since February. MORE INFORMATION www.ahdb.org.uk/ Shape-the-Future 10| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

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12. Do you have a story for Pig World? Email news@pig-world.co.uk crossing Large Whites with Landrace pigs, instead of pedigree breeding. The breed’s effective population size – indicating the genetic diversity within it – has fallen from more than 900 in 2000, to just 125 today. Data from the BPA shows just 66 boars recorded in 2021, compared with 16,751 in 1954, 76% of the male pig population. The Large White has now moved onto the Rare Breed Survival Trust’s (RBST) Watchlist’s ‘Highest Priority’ level, alongside the Berkshire, British Landrace, British Lop, Large Black, Middle White and Tamworth breeds. The other four native pig breeds – British Saddleback, Gloucestershire Old Spot, Oxford Sandy and Black and Welsh – are in the ‘At Risk’ category. RBST chief executive Christopher Price said the Middle White breed was seeing improvement, but described the overall situation for native pig breeds as ‘very concerning’. Pirbright study into pig respiratory virus sheds light on coronaviruses Researchers at Pirbright have conducted a study using the development of a pig respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) to help shed light on how coronaviruses cause disease and how the immune system responds to them. The research, published in Frontiers in Immunology, was designed to understand what factors result in mild or severe disease in pigs, to then inform the development of new control strategies for emerging livestock and human coronaviruses. Four strains of PRCV were investigated in the study, which found that viruses that replicated in the lungs caused more severe disease. Scientists also found that all virus strains multiplied in the upper respiratory tract and in the nose, as seen with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. RBST Watchlist highlights fears over future of Large White native pig breed Concerns have been raised about the future of the hugely signifjcant Large White native pig breed in the latest Rare Breeds Watchlist. The breed, known internationally as ‘The Yorkshire Pig’, has had a major infmuence on the commercial pig industry and the development of the hybrid pig. It enjoyed enormous popularity in the 1950s, but its numbers declined dramatically due to a trend for TOPTWEETS SRUC to examine if pig welfare can be improved through breeding A new study led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will look at whether the social competence of pigs can be improved through management and breeding. The study will use the idea of social competence – the decisions pigs make in difgerent social situations, such as whether to fight or flee or play – and whether it can be passed on from one generation to another, to try to improve animal welfare. The research, in collaboration with the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast and PIC, will focus on pigs and their complex social lives, involving a range of positive and negative forms of social interaction. It will explore a wide range of social situations relevant to modern farming environments and how social competence is influenced by the social environment the animals experience early in life and the complexity of the physical environment. It will consider whether selecting socially competent animals will have an impact on productivity, as well as welfare. MOST-READSTORIESAT www.pig-world.co.uk TOP 3 1 PIG FARM CASE STUDY: WHY THE PIG PRICE URGENTLY NEEDS TO MOVE BEYOND £2/KG A severely under-pressure pig producer has highlighted the impact of soaring input costs on their business to demonstrate why the pig price needs to lift beyond £2/ kg, if producers are to survive. 3 PRODUCERS LOSING UP TO £61/PIG, AS COSTS SOAR BEYOND £2/KG Pig producers are currently losing, on average, between £46 and £61 per slaughter pig, with costs of production typically above the £2/kg mark, according to AHDB. 2 SOARING EU PRICES OVERTAKE UK MARKET, AS EU INTRODUCES FARMER SUPPORT European pig prices continue to soar at an unprecedented rate, with the EU reference price now higher than its UK equivalent. LATEST NEWS: www.pig-world.co.uk/ JOIN THE CONVERSATION – FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @pigworldmag 12| MAY 2022 |PIGWORLD

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14. PIG AWARDS THE2022AWARDS CATEGORIES PRODUCEROFTHEYEAR Sponsored by ForFarmers THE2022NATIONAL PIGAWARDS are open for entries! INDOORPRODUCER OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by ForFarmers OUTDOORPRODUCER OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by ForFarmers T FINISHEROFTHEYEAR Sponsored by HIPRA he 2022 National Pig Awards are now open for entries, with the winners once again to be unveiled at an awards ceremony in London, in November. The awards, now in their ninth year, will continue to showcase the very best that the British pig industry has to offer – even in the most diffjcult year in living memory for producers across the country. The award categories will have a familiar look, covering pig production and rearing, stockmanship, unit management, pedigree breeding, training, marketing, innovation and animal care. There will be the usual strong focus on the pig farmers and vets of the future, while the important allied sector will again be recognised in a public vote. The main award, Overall Pig Producer of the Year, won last year by Norfolk outdoor producer LSB Pigs, is again sponsored by principal sponsor ForFarmers and will be split into Indoor and Outdoor categories. Stewart Houston will chair our expert panel of respected industry judges – and he stressed that the judges will adopt a different approach this year, in recognition of the challenges producers have been facing, both in terms of the backlog and the fjnancial situation. “We realise we are going to receive different types of entries this year – and we will have to rely less on some of the usual criteria we have used in the past, particularly the numerical data,” he said. “But we still want to recognise and reward our industry champions – and excellence and innovation come in many forms, especially during a crisis. So we will also be looking at other criteria, such as how producers, managers, stockpeople and vets have coped by implementing contingency plans, how staff have been managed and motivated and what other steps have been taken to support your own businesses and the wider industry. “We know some of you might think you haven’t got much to shout about this year, but very often it is in adversity that people set themselves apart. That has always been true of this sector. So, please, don’t be put off from entering – it could give your team the boost it deserves!” HERDPRODUCTIVITYAWARD Sponsored by Huvepharma INNOVATIONOFTHEYEAR Sponsored by Ceva MARKETINGINITIATIVE OFTHEYEAR NPAALLIEDINDUSTRY MEMBEROFTHEYEAR Public Vote PEDIGREEBREEDER OFTHEYEAR SPECIALACHIEVEMENT OFTHEYEAR STOCKPERSON OFTHEYEAR TRAINEE OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by Rattlerow Farms £500 PRIZE GALADINNER The awards night will feature a sparkling champagne reception and gala dinner, with a special guest presenter, bringing the industry together for its biggest night of the year. Pig World publisher Simon Lewis said: “This has been an incredibly tough year – the most diffjcult many within the industry have ever experienced. “But, in some ways, we feel it is more important than ever to bring everyone to together and recognise the incredible efforts in the face of adversity made over the past year on so many farms. We are confjdent that, with all that resilience, the British pig industry is still set for a bright future. “If ever there was a year that all those connected to pig production deserved an award, this is it! So, we look forward to seeing you in November.” £500 PRIZE UNITMANAGER OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by PIC YOUNGFARMVET OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by Zoetis YOUNGPIGFARMER OFTHEYEAR Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim £500 PRIZE ALSO ANNOUNCED ON THE NIGHT NPACHRISBRANTAWARD DAVIDBLACKAWARD  In association with AHDB Pork 14| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

15. MAY 2022 PIG WORLD NATIONAL PIG AWARDS 2022 THE 2021 AWARDS WINNERS ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN! Entry deadline Friday June 17, 2022 OVERALL AND OUTDOOR PIG PRODUCER OF THE YEAR LSB Pigs INDOOR PIG PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Bradshaw Farms FINISHER OF THE YEAR JH Wormington and Son For entry enquiries, please contact Sue Birch at sue@birchassociates.co.uk or call 07501 011442 HERD PRODUCTIVITY OF THE YEAR R and C Mellor INNOVATION OF THE YEAR Harry Wiseman Tickets: Individual – £195 +VAT Table – £1,755 +VAT MARKETING INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR Cannon Hall Farm NPA ALLIED INDUSTRY MEMBER OF THE YEAR Thompsons of York For general enquiries or to book your place please contact David Tungate at david@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk or call 01825 725288 PEDIGREE BREEDER OF THE YEAR Chris Hudson, Little John’s Hog Roast SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR Julia James, Larkmean Veterinary Group #PIGAwards FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE AWARDS, PLEASE SCAN THE QR CODE: STOCKMAN OF THE YEAR Matt Swaine, Harper Adams TRAINEE OF THE YEAR Chloe Mellor, R and C Mellor David Black and Chris Brant Awards Alongside the National Pig Awards, the prestigious David Black and Chris Brant Awards will once again be presented on the night. Last year, Yorkshire pig vet Duncan Berkshire was a popular winner of the NPA’s Chris Brant Award, refmecting the work he has done behind the scenes to support the pig sector and his articulate media performances during the pig crisis. Former UK Chief Veterinary Offjcer Professor Jim Scudamore received the David Black Award from Lord Benyon, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra, in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the pig industry over the past 20 years. UNIT MANAGER OF THE YEAR Rob McGregor, LSB PIGS YOUNG FARM VET OF THE YEAR Michael Hamill, JMW Farms YOUNG PIG FARMER OF THE YEAR Chloe Shorten, JC Innes ORGANISED BY PRINCIPAL SPONSOR IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPONSORED BY SUPPORTED BY We add performance to your business PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |15

16. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 NEWS ANALYSIS As costs soar, can the market return producers to profjt? With average costs of production well in excess of £2/kg, the UK pig industry desperately needs the recent upward price momentum to continue. ALISTAIRDRIVER assesses some of the market pointers, at home and abroad Additional reporting: SIMONKING The pig price is moving but is it going fast enough? And will it eventually go far enough to get British pig producers back into the black and pull many back from the brink? The pig market is, as always, a complex and uncertain picture, shaped by domestic factors, such as processor and retail responses to high prices, the backlog and falling sow numbers, but also EU and wider global trends. already lofty £200-£220/tonne mark to in excess of £300/t. Meanwhile, according to the Offjce of National Statistics, between February 2021 and February 2022, energy prices have risen by 22% and fuels by 23%, with further signifjcant hikes since, AHDB analyst Carol Davies said. With the SPP at 150.55p/ kg and APP at 153.79p/kg in early April, this all equated to average losses of between £46 and £61 per slaughter pig. AHDB has since suggested that a further 20p could be added onto costs as more feed price hikes feed through. “Continued (sometimes regionally related) backlogs of pigs on farm, low pig prices compared to cost of production, and increasing input prices, are resulting in very diffjcult decisions for many pig producers due to their need Receiving around 170p/kg for his pigs, this equates to weekly losses of around £5,000 on his 500-sow outdoor herd in Wiltshire. Breeding pig numbers have been cut from 550 to 400 on the 750-acre outdoor farm, and staff from 10 to seven. “It has placed a huge stress on myself, my wife, my staff and my bank manager. We have been able to look after our animals to the best of our ability, but it is costing us a huge amount of money to keep these animals,” he told ITV West Country News.    PIGPRICES Encouragingly, the SPP continued to rise in April, albeit slowing as the month went on, standing in the week ended April 23 at just short of 165p/kg, following increases of 7p, 4p and just over 3p during the month. This compared with 155.5p/kg at the start of April and 138p/kg in mid- March and put it 20p above last year’s price and nearly 15p above the fjve-year average. Many pig contracts are directly linked to the SPP and, as discussed in last month’s Pig World, as a weekly price average, it was always going to be slower to respond to the to continue managing their business risks and their business cashfmow,” Ms Davies said. “Some producers have already decided to either signifjcantly reduce stock or stop pig production. This could lead to short or long-term supply issues for UK-produced pork.” There is no sign of any relief on feed, energy or fuel prices, with feed wheat quoted in late- April at £332/t for May. SOARINGCOSTS The one certainty is input costs. In the second week of April, AHDB published an update estimating that the average UK cost of pig production was now in the region of 203p/kg to 216p/kg, a staggering fjgure by historical standards. The cost of production had already risen from 178p/kg in Q3 last year to an estimated 193p/kg in Q4. With an average price of 151p/ kg, this equated to average Q4 losses of 42p/kg or £39/head, following heavy defjcits in the three previous quarters. The NPA estimates the industry lost £250 million cumulatively in 2021. Defra data indicates that feed straights increased by 16% and compounds increased by 14% in 2021. Since the start of the Ukraine war, wheat prices have soared further, from the FARMIMPACT In a series of media interviews in April, Pig World columnist Cameron Naughton outlined the fjnancial mire producers fjnd themselves in. He estimates that his production costs have soared from 165p/kg late last year to 210p/kg now. Cameron Naughton speaks to ITV West Country News 16| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

17. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD NEWS ANALYSIS albeit less dramatic, hikes. This, of course, has made imports from the EU less attractive, and will have supported the UK pig price. However, the EU surge levelled off in mid-April and remained fmat almost across the board for the rest of the month, with the EU Reference Price falling for the fjrst time in 10 weeks to below 159p/kg, dipping, once again, under the UK Reference price. This was blamed on ‘fmat demand’, both at home, partly due to higher retail prices, and, particularly in Germany, in the export markets, alongside strong domestic supplies. “The SPP has got to get over £2/kg, but it’s only driven by the price that people weekly contributions. “This seems to be where the real impetus has come from in recent weeks. I imagine it will take continued increases to keep any acceleration going. Without that, it may be that the momentum, while still positive, slows down,” he said. producers are hoping this does mean focus is diverted from the need to pay them more. “The SPP is going to have to keep going – it’s got to get over £2/kg, but it’s only driven by the price that people pay,” one individual from a pig marketing company said. “The money has got to come mainly the retailer, but also from processors - otherwise we’re not going to have any product.” A second predicted that the SPP will ‘keep going forward’. But he added: “We need the processors to get more help from the retailers, which in some cases doesn’t seem to be awfully forthcoming.” PROCESSOR/RETAILER RESPONSE Those processors contribution price increases that started to shift the price in March stalled in April, with Morrisons believed to be at around the 190p/kg mark and the other big players around 170p/kg. The focus is now very much on how the big retailers respond, and how much they are prepared to invest to save their supply base. Some are clearly doing do so, including Sainsbury’s with its £2.8m investment in getting prices up for its producers. Others, in some cases behind the scenes, are taking action, linking price to producer costs or pumping money into their processor. But not all are on board. Not helping is the determination of some of them to keep consumer prices down as cost of living pressures grow. Asda and Morrisons have seemingly engaged in price war, while, reporting that Tesco’s pre-tax profjts had trebled to more than £2bn last year, its chief executive Ken Murphy said the UK’s biggest retailer was ‘laser- focused on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check’. Pig The contraction of the UK pig breeding herd is likely to start fjltering through soon market than many would like at this time. The Weekly Tribune price, based on weekly data provided by marketing groups, has responded more quickly, reaching just short of 177p/kg on April 22, up from 138p/kg in early March. Depending on their individual arrangements – for example, what proportion of the pig price is based on processor/retailer input, the SPP, the Tribune price in some cases, and input costs – actual prices will vary. But, based on these averages, there is clearly still a very long way to go before farmers get back to break-even point. AHDB analyst Duncan Wyatt said he believed the SPP ‘probably still has some momentum in it’, although much will depend on processors continuing to increase their EUMARKET Another driving force for the UK pig price, of late, has been soaring EU prices. The EU Reference Price shot up from around 110p/kg in early February to nearly 160p/kg in mid-April, closing the 30p+ gap on the UK price, then briefmy surpassing it. Following a long period of over-supply and rock bottom EU prices, the increase was driven by pig shortages, following a contraction of the breeding herd last year. The German pig price, in particular, has staged a remarkable recovery, increasing from just over £1/kg in February to nearly 170p/kg in early April (Reference Price), with a similar pattern seen in Spain. Other major pig producing EU countries have also seen big, pay” Mr Wyatt said it was unclear whether the EU market has peaked, or was simply ‘pausing for breath’. “Markets often consolidate before going again. However the message from European market analysis that I’ve seen seems to be that retail prices need to rise to inject more money into the sector to sustain these rises in pig prices,” he said. One marketing group fjgure said it was important that EU prices start moving again. “We were taking some good leads from Europe. We need Europe to go again. They’re also exposed • CHEALE MEATS LTD • PREMIUM TRANSPARENT FINISHED PIG CONTRACTS AVAILABLE WITH FAST PAYMENT 01277 811631 07711 719001 CULL SOWS AND BOARS Freedom Farm Food assured FREEPHONE 08085 300303 SUE PIGWORLD| MAY 2022|17

18. PIGWORLD MAY 2022 NEWS ANALYSIS to global commodity prices and must be hurting, too,” he said. herd contraction. But while high stocks of pigs will lift global supply in the fjrst half of the year, low producer profjtability in the face of rising costs will limit growth in the second, according to USDA. Global trade in pork is expected to fall by 4% to 11.7 million tonnes in 2022, due to a 19% reduction in imports by China and a similar drop from the Philippines. However, Mr Wyatt said the USDA might be wrong on Chinese production. Reuters has reported a big reduction in soybean imports into China – 91m tonnes in 2021-22 versus 100m t the previous year – which analysts suggest could be a sign of an imminent drop-off in pork production as producers cull pigs on the back of heavy losses, driven by high feed prices. “The market intelligence I’ve heard is that the Chinese market may even go short in the second quarter of the year, and it’s possible that import demand picks up again,” he said. While stressing the diffjculty in accurately predicting Chinese production and import volumes, he said this scenario ‘would probably be constructive for the price in the EU and UK’. FALLING DOMESTIC SUPPLIES The NPA estimates that 43,000 sows have been removed since the start of the crisis, as producers have quit the industry or reduced their herd size. It is not a factor on the market yet, as the backlog continues to be cleared, keeping supplies up, but this breeding herd contraction will start fjltering through in terms of pig numbers soon. AHDB’s January pig outlook forecast that the backlog would prevent a shortage of clean pigs showing through until the second half of the year. When this actually happens will depend on the original size of the backlog and subsequent progress on it, and the extent and timing of decline in the sow herd, Mr Wyatt said. He has modelled some scenarios for the removal of the backlog and believes it is currently on track to be eradicated around May-June time. AHDB’s forecast was based on UK sow numbers falling from 415,000 head to 385,000 head by the middle of the year, but High feed costs, driven by soaring wheat prices, are hitting pig producers globally Mr Wyatt said this might have been an under-estimate. “A drop of 45,000 head, or even higher, may be more likely. If true, this would not only reduce the number of clean pigs later in the year, but also probably also accelerate the speed at which the backlog is cleared. Other things being equal, that would support pig prices. “Again, a rise in retail prices, if it were to happen, would help sustain this,” he said. The pig marketing companies, which have been on the frontline of all this, are clear about what is coming in terms of pig supply. “We’ll see pig shortages in the UK soon due to people leaving the industry last summer. There are processors out there that have been fairer than others,” one representative said, suggesting that the tightening of supply will be benefjcial when it comes to driving up the price for producers. “Some processors are aware of some drop-outs, but probably not all are aware of what’s coming down the road. When you’ve got 44,000 sows dropping out, there is going to be a pretty seismic change in supply.” Another added that the shortage this year will be nothing compared to the next year, if things don’t change, while a third agreed that, without higher prices, further contraction is certain, with many pig businesses ‘hanging by a thread’. ONE CERTAINTY While there are some signs of encouragement for the UK pork market at home and abroad, there is little certainty around any of it, leaving producers desperately hoping for a return to that upward trend. In the absence of any clear prospects of the unprecedented cost pressures easing, there is only one certainty – that pig prices must go higher still to prevent further irreparable contraction of our industry. Amidst all the other variables, much clearly depends now on how far retailers are prepared to go to make that happen. GLOBAL FACTORS Global pork market trends will also play a part in where the UK market goes, with China, as always, the key player. The USDA’s latest outlook for pork forecasts a 3% increase in global production due to a 7% increase in output in China, which recorded its highest pork production in three years in Q1, offsetting a 2% fall in EU production due to the breeding Duncan Wyatt “When you’ve got 44,000 sows dropping out, there is going to be a pretty seismic change in supply” 18| MAY 2022 |PIGWORLD

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20. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 NEWS ANALYSIS “I’ve never seen quite such a hard-hitting report” That was a reference to the shambolic performance in front of the committee by Immigration Minister Kevin Foster, who had to correct the record on two key claims he made. The hapless Minister had failed to understand the level of English required for the Skilled Worker Visa Scheme, describing it as equivalent to a ‘1’ at GCSE level (G, under the old system), when Government guidance appear to suggest the requirement is for a GCSE level 4 or 5. The committee condemned his ‘fmawed understanding’. But the ‘more serious example’ was when he suggested that labour shortages in pigmeat production were not a real problem, as only one large pork processor had sought a licence to sponsor Skilled Worker Visa applicants. When EFRA pointed that all four, in fact, held licences, he corrected the record but maintained that ‘the key point remains’ that only one had ‘sponsored any butchers to date’. But EFRA highlighted evidence from businesses that have found the Skilled Worker Visa route bureaucratic and ‘unattractive for several reasons which can deter them from seeking workers through it’. This was backed up in a recent Pigs Today podcast on the EFRA report and labour issues by Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, who said it initially took one of his members fjve months from getting someone on the Home Offjce Skilled Worker list to them starting work. There is still a big time lag, but more butchers registered last year are starting to come through now, easing pressures in plants, which are ‘starting to live with this massive delay’, Mr MPs urge Government to address labour shortages – but will it listen? The Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s hard-hitting report on labour shortages was scathing about the Government’s handling of the issue, calling for a signifjcant shift in mindset and policy. ALISTAIR DRIVER considers whether it will bring about the necessary change One of the big frustrations felt by pig producers caught in the centre of the horrifjc pig industry crisis has been the lack of accountability on show from all parties involved. This refusal to accept fault or responsibility has hindered the response, seemingly translating, in the Government’s case, into a lack of will, and action, to address the core of the problem - labour shortages. The Prime Minister, infamously and unforgivably, tried to laugh off the crisis at the Conservative Party Conference, while Ministers have tried to pin the blame for the backlog on China exports, Covid, over-production and the shortcomings of processors – anything but post-Brexit policy. In a forensic and hugely well-informed report on its inquiry into labour shortages, published in April, Neil Parish’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee drives a coach and horses through all of that. The committee of MPs is crystal clear that failures in the Home Offjce’s post-Brexit immigration policy, exacerbated by Covid and alongside various supply chain issues, have left the food and farming sector desperately short of labour, leading to more than 500,000 job vacancies in the sector, out of a workforce of four million. The report highlighted how the lack of butchers in processing plants has been ‘particularly severe’ for the pig industry, resulting in the horrendous backlog, tens of thousands of healthy pigs being slaughtered and a fjnancial, logistical and mental health nightmare for farmers. It sets some clear recommendations to address the problem, starting with the Government, particularly the Home Offjce, actually taking it seriously and listening to and engaging with the industry, alongside other common sense and easily achievable policy tweaks. However, while EFRA has infmuence, it does not have direct power. It remains to be seen if the Government will take any notice. FAILURETOGRASP THEISSUES “We have been struck by the Government’s failure to grasp the labour issues faced by the food and farming sector and the actual experience of businesses on the ground,” the MPs concluded. “There’s also been an unwelcome tendency for the Government to blame the sector for not doing more to tackle the problem or fully utilising the immigration system, sometimes on the basis of incorrect information.” 20| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

21. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD NEWS ANALYSIS Allen said, adding that it costs around £10,000 to bring each worker in under the scheme. Mr Allen also echoed the frustration expressed in the EFRA report that Home Offjce Ministers had ignored the recommendations of its own Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to add butchers to the shortage occupation, which makes them easier to recruit. The committee also criticised Defra Secretary George Eustice’s suggestion to the inquiry that labour shortages were a ‘commercial risk’ for which businesses ‘should be prepared’. This demonstrated a ‘lack of understanding about the severe impact on farms and farmers’ mental health of these labour shortages’, and ignores the pandemic and the impact of the Government’s own immigration policy as causal factors, the MPs said. a hard-hitting report and I really hope the Home Offjce takes on board the comments and listens. But if you watch what’s happened with Ukraine immigrants trying to come here, you have to wonder how much of that is embedded ideology in the Home Offjce and how much is incompetence.” In the podcast, Mr Parish urged the Home Offjce to accept that it hasn’t got it right and understand the ‘catastrophic’ impacts of, for example, butcher shortages. “Since we’ve left the EU, the spotlight is on the Home Offjce as there is no longer free movement of people. “Therefore, it does have to step up to the plate. We’ve got to bring in those workers and have a proper controlled visa system that is not so bureaucratic and expensive. “They need to have some sympathy for the industry’s situation, rather than just a sort of rhetoric where they are ‘big and tough’,” he said, stressing that it was also important to address the supply chain issues. Defra will now have to respond to the EFRA report, and the response will be debated in Parliament. A Government spokesperson said: “We will carefully consider the EFRA Committee’s recommendations and respond in due course. “The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.” Immigration Minister Kevin Foster (right) endured a diffjcult time when he was grilled by Neil Parish during the inquiry WILLTHEYLISTEN? So will the desired ‘sea change’ materialise? This might be easier said than done. In the podcast, Mr Allen and NPA senior policy Charlie Dewhirst highlighted the ideological barriers to change at the Home Offjce and the diffjculty in even getting to speak to Ministers. “We tried very hard to make our case to the Home Offjce and the door was not open or indeed ajar. We had a real problem battling some of the ideology within the migratory policy,” Mr Dewhirst said. “Whatever your view on Brexit, it does give you control over your own migration that should allow you to respond to the shocks we’ve had over the last 18 months in a more fmexible manner. So, hopefully some good may come out of this report.” Mr Allen described the Home Offjce as ‘very unapproachable’ and said the door was ‘absolutely slammed shut’, with not even NFU president Minette Batters granted an audience, despite asking for a meeting for three years. “I’ve never seen quite such The Home Offjce is urged to lower the English language requirement to a ‘basic user’ level for Skilled Worker Visa roles in food and farming, add key roles, including butchers, to the SOL, as recommended by the MAC, and develop an action plan with the industry to minimise bureaucratic barriers and costs businesses face in applying for visas for vital overseas labour. The report calls for Defra to fjnally provide direct fjnancial support for producers, and for its fairness in the pig supply chain to be taken forward ‘as a matter of urgency’. There is an acknowledgment of the long-term need for the sector to shift its focus away from immigration, towards domestic workers and technological innovation, and for Government to work with industry on a long- term strategy to achieve this. The EFRA report is clear that a failure to act will jeopardise the UK’s food security, risking ‘shrinking the sector and leading to higher food infmation at the price of the UK’s competitiveness, making the country more reliant on food imports’. “We tried very hard to make our case to the Home Offjce and the door was not open or indeed ajar” RADICALRETHINK The core recommendation of the report was a plea for Government to change its attitude towards labour shortages, and for a ‘radical rethink to prevent future interventions coming too late’. This will involves a ‘step change’ in how Government engages with industry, ‘taking seriously the concerns they raise and acting promptly on them’. Pigs Today A PODCAST BY To listen to the lively PIGSTODAY podcast on labour shortages, featuring Neil Parish, Nick Allen, Charlie Dewhirst and Pig World editor Alistair Driver, search ‘Anchor Pigs Today’ CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW! NEWSINTERVIEWSANALYSIS PIGWORLD| MAY 2022|21

22. PIGGYPOINTS Defra’s Farming Rules for Water clarification – what it means COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT Defra’s recent clarifjcation on the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW) should go some way to clearing up the confusion that surrounded the interpretation of the rules last year. The guidance makes it clear Defra does not intend to ban autumn manure spreading through the FRfW, as soil and crop need for nitrogen (N) can now be based on an annual crop cycle, rather than an immediate requirement, as the Environment Agency initially stipulated, according to RB209. The guidance ‘tells the EA about criteria that they should consider when they assess if they should take enforcement action under the regulations’. If the agency determines that land managers have followed this guidance, producers should ‘not normally’ expect enforcement action. It stresses that the EA will ‘generally prioritise giving advice and guidance before taking enforcement action’, although it ‘may still escalate and impose civil or criminal sanctions if appropriate, particularly if advice, guidance and warning letters do not achieve the necessary changes in behaviours’. The guidance sets out what farmers need to do when it comes to applying the rules for the use of organic manure and manufactured fertiliser to agricultural land. rate to meet the soil and crop need of an autumn/winter commercial crop, not including conventional cover crops or green manure: On tillage land, where the soil is shallow or sandy from August 1 to end of February; or on other soils, October 1 to the end of February. On grassland, for shallow or sandy soils, from September 1 to end of February; or on other soils, October 15 until the end of February. So, this does mean you will be able to spread throughout September! GREENCOVER No matter whether you’re spreading FYM or slurry, land managers should plan to have established green cover by October 15 as a reasonable precaution to help prevent agricultural diffuse pollution resulting from applications to that land. There are exemptions for black-grass control and where land is left bare prior to root crops, such as sugar beet, for example. If applying low RAN organic manures, land managers may justify delaying incorporation if it is not practical to do so within 12 hours of spreading and if they have assessed relevant risk factors as not being signifjcant over the application and incorporation period. There may be circumstances where it may not be appropriate to incorporate organic manures, such as into a growing crop or if you’re using precision application equipment. We now just need to monitor how this guidance is used/enforced against by the EA on the ground. The message to producer members is that this is all based on risk. Provided you have considered the risks associated with spreading and, if higher risk, mitigated them where possible according to the guidance, and you can demonstrate and justify what you’ve done and why, you should be absolutely fjne. year, and show your applications of manures and/or fertiliser are tailored to meet this. Or you can use your agronomist or, any FACTS-qualifjed advisor of course. Land managers should consider soil and crop need for N based on an annual crop cycle, and plan to avoid applying organic manures that raise the Soil Phosphorus Index (soil P index) above index level 3 or target levels for soil and crop on land (whichever is higher) over a crop rotation. This is unless they can demonstrate that it is not reasonably practicable to do so, for example where there is no opportunity to export or treat manures to avoid this risk, or in some circumstances where a farmer imports manures as part of an integrated system, OR if they have taken all appropriate reasonable precautions to help mitigate against the risk of diffuse agricultural pollution. Plans should consider the different approaches to avoid signifjcant risk of agricultural diffuse pollution due to nitrate leaching depending on the readily available nitrogen (RAN) content of organic manures. Farmyard manure (FYM) is considered to have a low RAN content (<30%), whilst slurry is considered to have a high RAN content (>30%). The RAN of the manures you are using can be decided on the basis of industry standard fjgures, or testing. For low-RAN manures like FYM, there will be no application rate limits beyond those which already apply as a result of other existing regulations or crop and soil need limits. For high-RAN manures, like some slurries and digestates, there will be an application rate limit of 30m³/ ha, per application, between a ‘closed period’, with no repeat applications permitted for at least 21 days. You can, however, spread during the closed period if using an application agronomist or advisor of cou Lizzie Wilson is the NPA’s policy services ofgicer, specialising, among other things, in environmental regulation “Provided you have considered the risks associated with spreading and, if higher risk, mitigated them where possible according to the guidance, and you can demonstrate and justify what you’ve done and why, you should be absolutely fi e” PLANNED APPLICATIONS Land managers should be able to demonstrate that they have planned applications of organic manure or inorganic fertiliser in accordance with FRfW, including, for example, a nutrient management plan or other written plan. This doesn’t need to be onerous – there are lots of simple tools available to help calculate and plan the nutrient requirement of your grass or crops over the growing 22| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

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24. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 INTERNATIONAL IO THIS MONTH’S COMMENT COMES FROM CANADA OUTLOOK COMMENT COMMENT Trade deals are critical to us, but we can meet most nations’ demands It’s a pleasure to provide an update on the pig industry in Canada, as yet again the world fjnds itself in a volatile and unstable situation. The last couple of years have been quite a rollercoaster for our industry, with periods of decent profjts followed by periods of severe losses. During the Covid pandemic we experienced a lot of uncertainty on the labour front, especially in our slaughter and processing facilities. This, of course, put a huge strain on the plants and affected their margins tremendously. It also created a backlog of pigs on the farm, which affected production costs and resulted in much lower prices just to get the pigs slaughtered. Hopefully the backlog of fjnisher pigs is pretty well over at this time. Prices are strong at present, but feed costs are the highest we have ever experienced, showing us some profjt, but certainly not enough to renew our ageing barns or update to the new animal welfare standards. Renovations of the sow barns into stall-free housing is progressing, albeit slower than what had been hoped for. producers are forced to align themselves with the bigger players in the industry and many have turned to custom fjnishing pigs for these larger slaughterhouses. This allows the producers to continue to raise pigs and utilise the barns they have. Margins are very tight, but they are enough to allow producers to continue in the industry. One example of a very successful model is where several producers have banded together to buy their own killing plant, thereby being able to return a much higher share to their shareholders. It had some initial growing pains, but has become very profjtable for the producers involved. issues always arise in terms of the expectations to meet animal welfare demands – as well as antibiotic and ractopamine uses. However, the Canadian industry is phasing out the usage of gestation stalls, to meet welfare demands; antibiotic use is also reducing signifjcantly so, again, we do not see this as a major stumbling block for the export of pork to other countries. Plus, for several years now, the pig industry has stopped the usage of ractopamine, due to the demands of export customers. Canada already exports pork to over 100 countries and therefore has the ability to fjll the demands of most nations. A continuing challenge for the farm is always labour, both for our barns as well as the slaughter plants. We are very dependent on foreign workers that come in for two to four years from other countries, to fjll the void in Canada’s own labour market. Also, still very much on our radar is African swine fever (ASF). Our industry continues to be extremely vigilant to prevent the introduction of this devastating disease into the North America continent. With our huge dependence on trade, it would be devastating to our industry if ASF were to spread here. One of the strengths of our industry is the care that is taken to maintain high biosecurity standards. Jurgen Preugschas is president of family pig business Pigs R Us, in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, is a former member of the Canadian Pork Coun- cil and is currently a director of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency CANADA-UKTRADEDEAL The Canadian industry is, however, extremely dependent on the export market, with close to 70% of the pigs born in Canada being exported to and eaten elsewhere in the world. This means that strong trade agreements are critical for getting farmers access to the markets in other countries. Currently, Canada and the UK are in negotiations to create a free trade deal, which would include meat and meat products. Canada and the UK have historically enjoyed a good trading relationship, and the hope is that this will continue. Canadian producers believe that with the high-quality pork we produce, the trade of pork could be very benefjcial to both our countries, though “The Canadian industry is phasing out the usage of gestation stalls, to meet welfare demands; antibiotic use is also reducing signifjcantly, so we do not see this as a major stumbling block” STRUCTURALCHANGE The Canadian pig industry continues to undergo massive structural changes due to the swine producers’ lack of profjts. More and more of the independent PRODUCTION Kevin Porter 0207 216 6449 kevin.porter@ccmediagroup.co.uk ART EDITOR Sarah Crowhurst sarah@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk DESIGNERS Chrishna Othendee, Jessie Moane EDITOR Alistair Driver07787 240832 alistair@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk PRODUCTION EDITOR Allan Norbury 01825 725296 allan@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk SUB EDITOR Sally Rush 01825 701243 sally@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk GROUP SALES DIRECTOR Martin Goult M.Inst.M 01825 983124 martin@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS Nic Wood 01580 883844 nic.wood@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk Because of the sensitive nature of all intensive livestock production, Pig World is available only to those who are directly involved in pig production, or directly connected to it (allied trades, food chain, government, research, etc). News and views in Pig World do not necessarily reflect the ofgicial position of the NPA, except where stated. We strive for accuracy – if you have cause for concern please call. Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Ofgice Village, River Way, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1SL, UK T 01825 983105 F 01825 983108 E info@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk W www.pig-world.co.uk Price per annual subscription: UK £35 European £90 Rest of the world £130 NPA members receive Pig World as part of their membership package. GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR AND PUBLISHER Simon Lewis 01825 983119 simon@lewisbusinessmedia.co.uk Printed by Stephens & George Print Group, Goat Mill Road, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, CF48 3TD 24| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

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26. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 COMMENT A major shortage of pigs locally could play into our hands, as long as we don’t get greedy COMMENT How things can change in a month. Still no summer at all this year, which has confused the sows, with no summer infertility, which means we should have plenty of pigs for next Christmas. That is a ‘fjrst’ in my pig life. Mat’s romance with the auction yards was short lived, even though it did allow us to unload 50 porkers a week to relieve the stocking density slightly. First week, the price was pushing over £2/kg; second week back slightly; third week, reality, as the buyers thought we were desperate, which we were, and the price just did not warrant the extra expense. Mat quietly pulled the pin on that exercise. I’ll bet there were some surprised buyers the following week when they showed up for more bargains and found nothing to buy. However, all was not lost as our buyer, the Cowra Abb, gets to kill all the pigs from the auction as they now are the only abattoir to kill pigs within reasonable reach of Sydney, where all the auction pigs end up. Therefore, our buyer would have seen our pigs come through, and suddenly changed their grid to pay far more for pork than before. Yes, miracles do happen! Then another bit of news. Another 1,000-sow piggery is to close for the familiar reasons - a shrinking staff pool, and still not enough margin in prices to allow renovations, even though the complex is 50 years old and very ‘tired’. Family prefers to drive tractors than feed pigs, I suspect for the same reasons here as in the UK? This closure has huge ramifjcations for our piggery as we are the major supplier to our processor and the other 1,000-sow piggery was a secondary supplier to the same processor. We, in turn, were the secondary supplier to his wholesaler where the majority of his pigs went. Add to that, two more smaller piggeries are mooted to close as well (500 sows total). That means there will be a massive shortage of pigs come Christmas later this year once the big piggery is empty. It is no surprise then that our buyer is subtly increasing his price now to keep our pigs coming, knowing that the other buyer will be desperate for our pigs. Interesting times ahead, so long as we don’t get greedy and price ourselves out. The Sydney market is also supplied from the adjoining states, so the only advantage we have is freight. Due to the Ukraine war, diesel is now well over £1/litre, so that is on our side as well. We have had fmoods here, right down the east coast - 200-300mm overnight, in some cases in hours, made rivers rise. I bleed for the dairies, who mostly farm on the rivers where rainfall is normally ideal, that found their entire herds washed out to sea. Neil Unger advises a 500-sow farrow-to-finish pig unit in Australia, alongside an arable unit cropping 3,400ha annually “It is no surprise that our buyer is subtly increasing his price now to keep our pigs coming, knowing that the other buyer will be desperate for our pigs” The stakes have rarely been higher – my massive gamble on the pig industry COMMENT I suppose that I am not naturally a huge gambler. The one and only time that I bet on a horse race, I won. A small group of us at college crammed into the Ford Escort owned by one of us, and headed off to a grimy little betting shop in Newport, Shropshire. Someone must have claimed to have a good tip for the Cheltenham Gold Cup that snowy 1987 April day and ‘The Thinker’ came home for our one-off betting syndicate. I can’t even remember how much we won, but can pretty much guess at how and where it was spent. It was later that year that I took a rather bigger gamble by buying 60 PIC Camborough Blue gilts, some Large White boars, renting a bit of land and borrowing a heap of money. That one was a bit of a slow burner but overall, has done me OK and has at least kept me out of mischief most of the time. If I had the benefjt of the same foresight that gave us that tip in April 1987 as to the fate of the pig sector, I would have run away screaming and cashed in my chips in about 2019. I have raided the piggy bank to keep going and even been down the back of the sofa and, fortunately, things have turned. I have been very much buoyed the rapid rise of the German pig price by over 60%, by the interview in April’s Pig World with the Karro CEO and by a particular Canadian Industry commentator whose contention is that the pig supply is in decline in pretty much every major pig producing country of the world, owing to low prices, for the fjrst time ever (he contends that you can’t totally believe the Chinese fjgures showing their production to be up). So far, so good, then – onwards and upwards – that is until a weasel from Russia proved the theory that absolute dictators get madder and more ruthless as the length of their tenure increases and they age. My current massive gamble is that pig prices will have to increase to much more than the hugely increased feed cost as a result of the tragedy in Ukraine. Countering this, we appear to have a government who cares the square root of zilch about national food production and even less about pig production, seems to think that food appears by magic and that the role of ‘land managers’ is to offset the excesses of our nation’s urban lifestyle. So, for all of us, the stakes are now rather high, prices are heading in the right direction and others in the supply chain acknowledge that we need much higher prices. But things were so much simpler when I was 21 and winning at gambling seemed rather easy. Chris Fogden is a first-generation farmer and Nufgield Scholar, who owns and manages 950 outdoor sows on 40ha of rented land within the rotation of a large Norfolk arable estate “If I had the benefjt of foresight I would have cashed in my chips in about 2019” 26 | MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

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28. PIGWORLD MAY 2022 COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT We have got a great story to tell - even if it is the deranged ramblings of a mad old peasant When crisis media interviews coincide with lambing season Muriel Naughton, with her husband Cameron, rents 800 acres from the Crown Estate in Wiltshire. They have 500 outdoor sows on a three-week batch production system. Weaners are liquid- fed to bacon weight in straw yards and then sold through Thames Valley Cambac I get many phone calls on the farm landline during a working day. The majority have that tell-tale pause that usually means either an elderly relative or a call centre. With regrets to any hesitant family, I generally immediately put the phone down. Any call centre callers that slip through usually ask either for Ian Naughton, at which point I say, ‘No! He’s dead!’, or they ask for Cameron. When I ask to take a message, they never want to speak to me. After all what use could I possibly be – I’m just a woman answering the phone. Invariably, they just say, ‘I’ll call back’, to which I grimly reply: ‘Good luck!’ Or they say, ‘I’ll send an email’, which of course they don’t. The other day, the phone rang and when the caller asked to speak to Cameron, I nearly said We have some golden rules; no media during lambing, no media during harvest and, if at all possible, no visits to the outdoor unit in the middle of the winter. In fact, if we didn’t have to speak to anybody at all, that would be great but, as we know, most of the media in our area are based in London or Bristol and there aren’t many pig farms within an hour and a half of either. I suspect there are even less that are prepared to speak to the media, particularly during this time of meltdown when all we really want to do is sit in a dark corner and bang our heads against the wall (which I’ve tried and it hurts, but less than keeping pigs does). So I knew things must be worse than normal on the cash fmow front when Muriel appeared in the middle of the lambing pen and said ‘we’ve just had Channel 4 on the phone and you better ring them back and talk to them’. So two hours later, I am attempting to explain the sheer lunacy of the situation to a fjlm crew. As is generally the case, they are very supportive and not trying to stitch us up (unlike the Government). We are very lucky that the EFRA report was so damning of the government response. It’s a great story for the media - all they need is one geriatric peasant to try and explain how bollocks’d he and his business have been by the Government’s refusal to accept responsibility for the mess that they have dumped us in. I play the mad old peasant role for all it’s worth and they manage to get an hour and a half deranged ramblings distilled down into four minutes of interview. Funnily enough the next day I am on a Zoom meeting organised by our bank at which the keynote speaker is Neil Parish, chairman of the EFRA committee, so I give him a heart-felt thank you on behalf of the British pig industry for attempting to hold a morally bankrupt government to account. The day after that BBC Points West ring up also wanting an interview - apparently everybody loves a yokel falling apart on television. However, the day after that is much more fun, when number one daughter and a dozen of her university friends appear, slightly hung over after a 21st birthday bash, and ask for a tour of the farm. It actually recharged my batteries and gave me some confjdence for the future seeing the sheer joy and excitement these bright young consumers and decision-makers of the future had from being with animals and actually holding a piglet. We have a great story to tell, we have a great product to sell, there will never be a convenient time to show people around but if you get the opportunity to engage constructively with the media and customers – go for it! If we don’t help ourselves the government certainly isn’t going to. Cameron Naughton “These interviews have coincided with our lambing season – we don’t have many ewes but they seem to cause huge disruption” ‘sorry, no’ and put the phone down, but I did pause to ask if there was a message. He then told me he was from Channel 4 News and wanted to fjlm a piece that afternoon. I decided, reluctantly, that was a message I probably should pass on! The next day I took a phone call from the new agricultural producer for The Archers wanting to fact check a story, and the following day, the local TV rang also wanting to fjlm a piece – feels just like the bad old days of crisis interviews. Unfortunately, these media interviews have coincided with our lambing season – we don’t have many ewes but they seem to cause huge disruption. We also had a visit from the local Food Festival organisers who want to do a producer visit in the autumn. Prior to their arrival I thought I had better remove ‘Dog with psychological issues’ from the house. I shut the dogs in the stable just as the fjrst visitor arrived, realising as I did so that the last occupant of the stable had been a ewe and newborn lambs, and the dogs were now happily crunching cleansing! If I left them, I could guarantee they would be sick later, so I removed the dogs and decided to sit them in the truck only realising just in time that ‘Dog with psychological issues’ had snatched a takeaway. A tug of war ensued, and we agreed to split the difference with the dog retaining a modest mouthful and I a gloopy handful. Finally, the dogs were put away and I turned to see our guest leaning on the fence beaming at me. I had to divert to a water-trough and surreptitiously wash my hands before shaking his! These things just wouldn’t happen on an arable farm! “If you get the opportunity to engage constructively with the media and customers – go for it” 28| MAY 2022 |PIGWORLD

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30. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 COMMENT COMMENT The Sustainable Farming Incentive explained Our latest Horizon report, Assessing the impact of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) on farm businesses, looks in detail at the pros and cons of taking part in the SFI at farm level. But fjrst, let’s look at what the scheme actually entails. Details about the SFI were published by Defra on March 30 and a pilot is already under way, with over 900 farmers taking part. In June, applications will open for the wider rollout (SFI 2022), which will be open to any farmer who is eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Currently, there is no closing date for applications, so farmers can choose to join the wider rollout when it suits them. The three standards available for SFI 2022 are: Arable and horticultural soils Improved grassland soils Moorland and rough grazing. SFI 2022 agreements will last for three years and work at a ‘fjeld level’, ie farmers can choose how many fjelds they would like to enter. The idea is that farmers who are unsure or interested in ‘testing things out’ can do so at relatively low risk. There’s fmexibility within the three- year agreement, as farmers can: Increase the number of fjelds (land) they enter into the SFI. Move to higher ambition levels within a standard (eg, introductory to intermediate level). Add more standards as they become available. These conditions can be reviewed after each year, but farmers won’t be able to reduce the number of fjelds they enter, or move from a higher to lower ambition standard, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In terms of additional standards, there may be an integrated pest management and hedgerows standard available from 2023, and low and no input grassland standard in 2024. As part of the Annual Health and Welfare Review, livestock farmers will be able to apply for funding to have an annual review of eligible livestock carried out by their choice of vet or vet-led team. Farmers who keep more than 50 pigs, 20 sheep or 10 cattle (and are eligible for BPS) will be able to take part. Our Horizon report features qualitative research, conducted with Harper Adams University, looking at farmers’ attitudes and intentions to the pilot SFI scheme and the 2022 roll out. It models the likely impact on net profjt of participating in the scheme using AHDB’s virtual farm network. It shows that, at the current payment rates, most SFI standards will only provide a small fjnancial benefjt to many farmers when the costs of actions are included. Those farmers already undertaking some of the actions required, and who don’t have to take land out of production, will benefjt the most. To fjnd out more about the SFI, join one of our webinars on May 3 and 5 via ahdb.org.uk/events Amandeep Kaur Purewal is a senior AHDB analyst (policy) “Those farmers already undertaking some of the actions required, and who don’t have to take land out of production, will benefjt the most” Light at the end of the tunnel – so now is the time to review your system for the next challenge COMMENT There has been some movement at last, both of pigs and in the price. It is clear, though, that this is not enough so far on either part, but you don’t need me to tell you that! It has been great to see the tightness of pigs in pens and yards starting to ease – I am astonished that we have not seen far more health and/or vice issues, given the challenges pigs have been under. That said, this is where the challenges really start to kick in, as we try and extricate ourselves from what has been the worst period for UK pig farmers in living memory. What is it that we need to ‘reset’, then? Well, pig fmows are up the spout; all-in-all out protocols are still out the window on many farms; cleaning and disinfection between groups has been missed completely for some; repairs are needed on buildings not made for bigger pigs… the list goes on and on. This is a good opportunity to review with all members of the team why a lot of these things were put in place to start with. Before we had ‘wasting disease’ (PCV2), many farms had set-ups that allowed a lot of what has been happening on farm recently. We were not good at keeping pig fmow right. Today’s great hygiene practices were pie in the sky. Yet the pigs cracked on and grew anyway. PCV2 changed all of that and set us on a course where we needed to control the health of our pigs by what we did with them – hence, we devised better management to look after our pigs. The advent of vaccines for the virus came quite a few years later, so many of the management practices have stuck around. This has been the fjrst major test of the national herd when these interventions have not been possible. As I said, I am surprised that we have managed as well as we have, and I’m sure part of it has been a ‘honeymoon’ phase, but… …we are not out the woods yet, of course. There are still a few tens of thousands of pigs backed up on farms – a number that is at least reducing week by week. Now is the time to work out how and when we can get those breaks back into the system and return to our more usual pig fmow. Time to do the repairs to the pens and fjttings, and make sure everything has a really good wash-out and dry. Use this as an opportunity to have a good review of your system and you will be ready for the next part of the challenge ahead – how to make the numbers stack up. There’s no magic wand for that part, but I know that pig farmers in the UK are made of tough stuff and that we can push forwards together to get a better supply chain that works for everyone. Duncan Berkshire, is one of the lead vets within the five-vet pig team at Bishopton Veterinary Group, based in Yorkshire VETERINARY VIEW “Now is the time to work out how we can return to our more usual pig fl w” 30| MAY 2022|PIGWORLD

31. Shape the future of farming Voting is now open! Have you had your say on the future of farming and the work that AHDB does for you? Vote now! If you registered to vote you should by now have received an email from AHDB and Civica. Or if you asked for a voting pack, you should have received one in the post. The portal will remain open until midday on Monday 9 May 2022. If you require any technical support with how to vote please email support@cesvotes.com or call 020 8889 9203.

32. PIGWORLD MAY 2022 FEATURE 2021 NATIONAL PIG AWARDS WINNER A stockperson uses a pig board to move pigs up onto the machine Pigs move one by one into the conveyors Conveyors hold pigs comfortably while they are vaccinated A sorting door splits gilts from boars as they exit Award-winning pig handling system improves welfare and saves labour Norfolk farmer Harry Wiseman won the National Pig Awards Innovation of the Year in 2021 for his ingenious device that automates the process of split sexing and vaccinating weaned piglets. HELEN BROTHWELL discovered the motivation behind it and its potential for wider use C ontract farmer and designer Harry Wiseman used his engineering experience to automate the process of split sexing and vaccinating large batches of weaned piglets on his fjnishing unit, with the highly successful, unique design going on to win the Innovation of the Year award at last year’s National Pig Awards. Judges recognised the machine’s signifjcant benefjts in reducing stress for both piglets and stockpeople, as well as saving labour. It provides a practical solution to the pig industry’s ongoing struggles to maintain staffjng and the need to reduce risk of injury, particularly during repetitive processes such as vaccinating and sorting pigs. Alongside his work contract farming the arable side of the family business, in Norfolk, Harry took on the running of the 2,000-place fjnishing unit from his brother around six years ago. It is a straw-based system, taking weaned piglets through to fjnishing on a contract with BQP. He also works as a freelance designer, having previously worked full-time designing equipment in the root vegetable processing sector. Harry had been thinking for a while about how vaccinating and sorting the piglets could be made easier and, in 2021, when his only employee was heavily pregnant when the next batch of piglets came in, it was the prompt to fjnd a way to automate the process and avoid the need for a person to lift the pigs. Another driving factor for the innovation was that the piglets are starting to come from a fjve-week weaning system, so the machine really comes into its own when handling these heavier, stronger animals. “I used the 3D computer aided design package Solidworks to design the prototype over three to four weeks and it Harry Wiseman collected his award from host Stephen K Amos and Paul Penny, swine business manager at sponsor Ceva Animal Health then took us a couple of weeks to fabricate it,” he said. “We asked a couple of local fjrms to laser cut and fold the steel and did the fabrication on farm ourselves.” Several versions followed as they developed the machine further, with ongoing support from BQP fjeldsman Mark Jagger. ACCURATE VACCINATION Originally, the machine was built on a single chassis, however it now has two parts; the fjrst is to lift the piglets up on to the handler and the second is the conveyors, where a single operator can administer injections and then separate the gilts from the boars as they exit. There are two conveyor belts angled in a 32 |MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

33. FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES After video footage of the system was shared on Twitter, fellow BQP producer Charlie Loftus worked with a local engineer to build on the original design and create a machine for his unit. Some other producers are interested in having a look at the handler in action and Harry is happy to supply designs and amend them, if needed, to make sure it works for a particular system. The opportunities to develop the machine further include the addition of a weigher that could separate smaller and larger pigs and the incorporation of a ‘magic eye’ camera which could automatically split sex the pigs. “For a larger business like BQP, handling several batches of piglets each week, there is potential to fjt the machine to the back of the lorry,” Harry suggested. “Or perhaps it could be transported in a van to follow the lorry, ready for piglets to be vaccinated and split-sexed.” job was spread over a couple of days, due to the amount of lifting involved. PIGS MORE SETTLED Harry reports that the piglets are defjnitely happier and more settled after vaccination and sorting, eating and drinking well, compared with how they looked previously after each pig was lifted up individually to carry out the process. With hindsight, he acknowledges that he would select slightly different materials and colours. “I went for the stainless steel used in the root vegetable industry, which is easy to clean, and bright blue belts – just because they were what I was used to. Using more natural colours for the belts and making it less shiny would probably help a little when moving pigs up on to it,” Harry said. Other improvements he plans to make include automating the door which splits the gilts from the boars, so it is powered electronically rather than manually using a cable. “Also, now that we’re comfortable with the speed and how the system works, we’re going to try vaccination and split sexing the next batch of piglets straight v-shape to hold the pigs comfortably while moving them along, which makes it less stressful for the pigs and makes accurate vaccination much easier. “Feeding piglets into the conveyors can be tricky, which is why we split the machine into two sections. There is now a small seat at that transition point, so someone can help guide the fmow of piglets and make sure none turn around,” Harry explained. “We had tried to avoid the need for a second person, but we have found it’s useful as they can still help carry out vaccination from where they sit.” Meanwhile, another person gathers the pigs up on to the machine, with the help of a pig board. Processing each batch of 2,000 piglets with the machine takes around four hours, whereas previously the Straw spreader STRAW SPREADER Always thinking of ways to make tasks easier, especially with the industry’s labour shortages, he has also used his skills to design and build an automatic straw spreader. It breaks up the bale and spreads the straw without chopping it, so the amount of dust in the environment is signifjcantly reduced, which is of benefjt to both pigs and people. “The spreader fjts on the front of the telehandler and is narrow enough to fjt down the scrape-through passageways either side of the buildings,” he explained. “As well as spreading straw into the lying areas of the pens, it can be run backwards to drop a little straw in the muck passages if necessary; we do it at the clean end of the sheds to stop slurry getting too wet.” Harry concluded that, while pig production is still relatively new to him, winning the award has given him the confjdence to continue trying new ideas over the coming years. Vaccinating piglets off the lorry, rather than two days after they arrive,” Harry added. “Once they are in their groups and have sorted out their pecking order they stay in those same groups until fjnishing, up to 20 weeks later.” For the next batch, they will also be trying the IDAL needleless vaccination for the fjrst time, which will administer two vaccines at a time. Harry hopes administration via the needleless injection will be more straightforward and, combined with the machine’s conveyor system, will further reduce the stress on the piglets. Harry using the machine for split sexing pigs PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |33

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35. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD FEATURE AHDB MONITOR FARMS ‘Eye-opening’ techniques reduce labour and costs while maintaining results g How lean management techniques are being used by pig managers under AHDB’s Monitor Farms programme to improve effjciencies and reduce costs P their own ways to make practical changes,” said Mr Turner. “Often this makes their daily life easier, helping with staff morale, as well as business fjnances. “There are multiple ways of improving things on different fjnishing units. Everyone can do it. “For example, on one unit, forks are now left in the same place so staff always know where they are. It’s a small task and a small change but it saves 20 minutes a week, which really adds up over a few years. “I’m a hands-on learner and have found lean management is a really practical way of looking at pig farm routines. When you see the results and the value it adds, you want to do more. While you might seem too busy to change things, if you don’t, they can cost more in the long run.” ig managers are saving labour and money by stepping back and looking at things with fresh eyes, using proven lean management techniques to fjnd more effjcient ways of working. Improvements often relate to simple things, with small changes achieving savings which add up over time – without compromising performance. James Turner, a fjnisher unit fjeldsman for Boarcross, explained how carrying out a ‘waste walk’ on a pig unit reveals a surprising amount of lost time and effjciency. “It’s an eye-opener to see the amount of time you can save through making simple changes,” he said. “We all know there are ways to do things better, but often we just don’t get around to it.” Mr Turner is one of several pig managers introducing lean principles through AHDB’s Monitor Farms and SmartPork programme, receiving support from the organisation’s knowledge exchange managers and independent consultant Neil Fedden, of Fedden USP. A waste walk is just one of several lean management techniques and involves watching each step of the production process at a time, and prioritising those that need the most urgent work. Waste can relate to many areas, for example: transport and unnecessary movement around the site; too many steps involved in a task; pig mortality; broken equipment or skills being under-utilised. “When you get everyone in the team to walk through their routine and picture it, they see where the waste is and can fjnd LEAN MANAGEMENT Pig producer David Childerhouse runs another of the Monitor Farms introducing the use of lean management principles and is committed to continuous improvement. When they started breaking down processes into sections, he could see immediately where time savings could be made, especially when multiplied many times. “Lean management might initially sound like a term for a bigger company but it can be applied to all businesses. It’s about having the confjdence to step back and look at a process to improve simple tasks,” he said. “It can create time to do value- added jobs that you want to do but don’t get round to doing. “I’m excited to get onto the next phase, not just for me but also to take the concept to the team so they can lead changes. We’re in a situation where we’re fjghting for our lives in the pig industry at the moment and can only focus on the things we can directly infmuence, which are good pig production and the team we work with.” Initial online training modules led by Neil Fedden aimed to provide the theory and get Monitor Farm managers to start using the techniques. “Once people see the tangible early benefjts of lean management, they become very enthused and want to move on to bigger projects, and we’ve seen the same with this group James Turner of pig unit managers,” Mr Fedden said. “The challenge can be getting other members of the farm team involved, it’s important to work as a group when making changes and agreeing to do it the same way. When we do a waste walk, we get everyone involved from the start, drawing out the farm and routines to make it very visual.” AVOID APPROXIMATION Mr Fedden emphasises the importance of measuring a task properly and objectively. “Our brains are great at approximating and we can sometimes discount ideas too quickly, thinking they won’t make much of a difference,” he said. “Decisions should be based on measurements. An exercise like a waste walk enables you to gather the true data which shows whether an idea is really worthwhile. “The data gives people confjdence and helps them to narrow down the David Childerhouse recording a podcast with Andrew Palmer David Childerhouse PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |35

36. PIGWORLD MAY 2022 FEATURE AHDBMONITORFARMS Neil Fedden Andrew Palmer measure progress against as they begin their next practical projects to drive effjciencies, knowledge transfer manager Andrew Palmer explained. “There’s already lots of confjdence among the managers on the farms and the next stage aims to demonstrate the fjnancial benefjts that can be achieved by further changes,” said Mr Palmer. “Importantly, these will be carefully planned and informed using lean techniques to measure and review current operations in a structured way.” possible solutions,” he continued. “They should aim to make a joint decision on the best option and not be afraid to try something new, or to discount it if it doesn’t work as well as hoped. “The time freed up by initial improvements can be used to think through what can be done to better understand larger, more strategic issues.” The Monitor Farms are now completing a spreadsheet analysis of performance and fjnancial data to give a baseline to Savings and benefjts The savings from a single change can run to several thousand pounds per year, as illustrated in the following examples from two more of the Monitor Farms involved in the SmartPork programme. By fjnding multiple new ways of working across the business, these can mount up signifjcantly. The introduction of a bale trailer has saved 137 hours a year Saving 365 hours A barrow and scoop are saving £3,650 per year in labour costs on an indoor farrow-to-fjnish unit, with 500 to 1000 sows. Feeding farrowing sows used to be a labour-intensive process, with staff going back and forth numerous times to refjll their buckets from the feed hoppers outside each of four sheds. The producer had considered investing in an automated feed system. However, following a waste walk, they worked out that if they purchased a barrow and scoop to fjll the individual sow hoppers it would achieve the same time saving as an automated system (taking into account maintenance and checks), but with signifjcantly less cost. The barrow and scoop system saves one hour per day across the four sheds, totalling 365 Meanwhile, the estimated savings from this new way of working are 45 minutes every other day, a total of 137 hours per year. This totals £1,370 per year in labour costs, assuming a wage of £10 per hour, plus diesel savings and a reduction in carbon footprint. minutes each time every time the sheds were mucked out, plus the diesel used to go back and forth. Following a waste walk, the team decided that it would be more effjcient to load all 10 bales onto a small trailer and take them to the fjnishing sheds in one trip. While it takes a few minutes to load and hitch the trailer, overall, it takes less time than multiple round trips. In this case, the small trailer was already owned by the farm. However, to purchase a second- hand trailer, the costs would be circa £2,000. hours of labour per year, or nine weeks (assuming a 40-hour week). This is worth £3,650 per year, based on a wage of £10 per hour. Bale trailer saves over £1,300 Introducing a bale trailer has saved over £1,300 per year by streamlining the mucking out and bedding up process on an 800-sow outdoor unit which fjnishes pigs indoors. Previously, a loader was used to carry two straw bales at a time from a central point to bed up fjve fjnishing sheds. This meant fjve round trips of 15 Find more case studies and information about lean management and waste walks on AHDB’s website: ahdb.org. uk/knowledge-library/lean- management-for-farmers-and- growers 36|MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

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39. PIGWORLD XXXXXXXXX 2018 COMMENT & CONTENTS MAY 2022 PIGWORLD FEATURE FARM FOCUS they have all been on the farm for at least 18 months. “We do all the jobs in-house and we try not to let any one of the team specialise too much, so everyone gets a variety and sees all stages of production,” Matthew added. Creating and maintaining a good environment for livestock and for staff, which encourages high standards of health and welfare, are top priority on the unit. Matthew can see that these factors are increasingly important. “Welfare standards and transparency of in-farm practices will become more important in the eyes of consumers,” he said. ““We do all the jobs in-house and we try not to let anyone of the team specialise too much, so everyone gets a variety and sees all stages of production”.” “We also know these high standards are part of good performance and effjciency on farm. We have to keep looking at weak links in the chain, and also at industry expectations.” One area that they’ve ‘tackled’ is the abnormal behaviour and noise levels from ‘rowdy’ sows in loose straw years. “We’ve high-performance sows, like many units. They perform well but they have competitive attitudes and, as dry sows, need to be encouraged towards calm behaviour in the loose straw yards.” Plenty of straw is used in large, open yards and plenty of access to space, water and feed is provided to achieve this. Embracing innovation future-proofs family business The Wilkins’ 2,000-sow unit in Yorkshire has embraced technology and innovation to improve pig welfare, performance and effjciency N unit. This is helping to keep the business on the front foot. Matthew Wilkin, with his parents John and Annette, have built up White Syke Farm to its current 2,000-sow unit, producing approximately 60,000 weaners a year, sold at 7kg. Starting 30 years ago with a greenfjeld site, John and Annette established their fjrst pig unit with 200 sows, taking piglets through to fjnishing. The decision to specialise as a breeding unit was made in 1994, as Matthew got more involved in the business. The development of a second neighbouring site has seen facilities, and sow numbers, grow rapidly, particularly since 2006. “We’ve been able to do this by carrying ew ideas, fresh knowledge and a practical mindset sums up the ethos on one Yorkshire-based breeding out all our own building works, and sourcing good quality second-hand equipment,” said Matthew. “It has enabled us to expand, and we’re always looking to improve the unit and take on new ideas as the industry evolves.” Matt Wilkin, left, and his father, John, showcasing the alternative farrowing system DRIVING FORCES Improved welfare, productivity and effjciency continue to be driving forces at White Syke Farm. “These are all factors that will future-proof the business going forward,” he added “The whole team are on board with this, and we’re keen to review and update regularly.” Alongside Matthew and John, a team of six full-time staff run this breeding unit. “We’re not too worried about taking on newcomers to the pig industry and training them on our systems. We also get on-farm specialised training from our vets.” A committed and well-trained team is important and, despite being a young team, PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |39

40. PIGWORLD MAY 2022 FEATURE FARM FOCUS COMMENT & CONTENTS After two years of using the pens, they’ve seen no drop in productivity and the staff have been happy with the system from a practicality point of view The Farropen won the Innovation of the Year title at the 2020 National Pig Awards FARROWING PENS In the farrowing houses Matthew has already addressed sow wellbeing and high welfare standards by installing his own- designed free farrowing pens. The Farropen, which is also now installed on a few units across the UK, earned him the Innovation of the Year title at the 2020 National Pig Awards. “We were early adopters of a free farrowing system,” he said. “We liked the idea of allowing sows 360o movement while ensuring the piglets’ safety and well-being. “We looked at a few systems, but we felt they had practical limitations, which is why we designed the Farropen. This keeps sow and piglet welfare in mind and is also staff- friendly and easy to operate.” And two years on, they’ve seen no drop in productivity. Pre-weaning mortality is between 9% and 11% and the staff have been happy with the Farropen system from a practicality point of view. sow yards at a rate of 0.1% to 0.2% per litre, depending on agitation levels. “Within three days the sows were much calmer and, as we completed the fjrst cycle of sows on this BehavePro Liquid, we noticed fertility and farrowing improvements that we put down to using the product,” said Matthew. Conception rates improved by around 5% and removed sows dropped by 75%, and they saw an increase in piglets born alive of 0.2. The current average piglets born alive, at the end of January 2022, was 15.2, and the farrowing rate has also increased by around 5%. There are other benefjts from calmer sows, such as fewer injuries or setbacks in performance that can’t be easily measured, although Matthew admits they do have a cost attached, even indirectly. “Another very positive benefjt is that these calmer pigs are easier and more pleasant for staff to handle – people do not like working with aggressive pigs. And the sow yards are much quieter, which is a big plus,” he said. During late autumn, they noticed the sows were more restless and Cargill’s Jason Evans – who recommended using the product – suggested they increase the dose rate in sow yards from the 0.1% level to 0.15%, to counter the reduced water intake in cooler weather. “We were back on track in just two days,” Matthew added. “With a liquid, it’s easy to alter rates. So if we’re moving sows, or vaccinating them, and know they are likely to encounter a little more stress than usual, we can increase the rates a little. It supports the sows in these periods.” “We looked at a few systems, but we felt they had practical limitations, which is why we designed the Farropen. This keeps sow and piglet welfare in mind and is also staff- friendly and easy to operate” “We will keep fjne-tuning the system and improve animal health, welfare and productivity in a cost-effective way, so we keep enjoying our work and produce pigs that the market wants in an increasingly effjcient and sustainable way,” he added. CALMING PRODUCT They also introduced a fast-acting plant- based ‘calming’ product from Cargill in August 2021. This liquid was added to the water system in the service house and dry Within three days of using the Cargill product the sows were much calmer 40 |MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

41. Neopigg® Max STARTGAINADVANCE Champion growth Help your piglets on the road to success Preparation and precision for the perfect kickstart Neopigg® Max Start, Neopigg® Max Gain and Neopigg® Max Advance are a range of dry starter diets aimed to drive the best growth performance in piglets from 4 days of age to 18kg. At 23 days post weaning when Neopigg® Max Start, Gain and Advance diets are fed, there is: a 39g/day improvement in growth rate of piglets • Resulting in up to 707g extra growth a o t p u g n i v i r D • £0.58/pig improvement in return on investment from starter feeds U • t p o The Neopigg® Max range helps your piglets on the road to success; ensuring champion growth and driving return on investment. Start, Gain, Advance with Neopigg® Max. Contact us to obtain your range: Phone: +44 (0)1845 578125 www.provimi.eu/uk-neopigg-max Come and see us at the Pig and Poultry Fair; Hall 2, stand 81 e r e f f i d n i y r a v y l l a c i p y t l l i w s t l u s e R . ) i m i v o r P ( K U l l i g r a C f o s t e i d r e t r a t s r e m r o f s u s r e v e r a d e t o u q s t n e m e v o r p m I * r a f t n u t i s m o i t a . s n Huwa-San ADVANCED WATER HYGIENE Application: Proven to eradicate biofjlm from drinking systems New look, same trusted quality Leaves no odour, no colour, no taste Biodegradable Efgective bactericide, fungicide & virucide Advanced water hygiene Contact our Huwa-San Livestock Team today so we can arrange a site visit to discuss your needs: Tel: 0330 332 5222 or info-uk@roamtechnology.com Livestock » Foot and Mouth Disease Orders » Diseases of Poultry Order, Avian Infmuenza and Infmuenza of Avian Origin in Mammals Order » General Orders * www.roamtechnology.com APPROVED Huwa-San TR-50 (PCS 98876) is a registered biocide. Use biocides safely. Before use, read the label and product information. * Only applicable for products mentioned on the corresponding certifjcate. PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |41

42. TC Farm Services Limited QUALITY NAMES, QUALITY SERVICE, QUALITY SUPPORT Flooring Flooring Feeding systems for pigs and poultry Feeding systems for pigs and poultry Bulk bins and auger systems Inlets Inlets Fans and controls First stage heating solutions Concrete pig slats Winch motors Winch motors Dicam controls Dicam controls Polypropylene panels Polypropylene panels Polypropylene feeders Polypropylene feeders Electric and hot water heat pads Tel: 01347 821553 Mobile: 07710 025445 Email: tcfarmservices@aol.com TC Farm Services Limited South Korean Company Purchases IP Rights to 360° Freedom Farrower® Livestock equipment company, WinDouble Co., based in Seoul, South Korea, has purchased the global patent, design and trademark rights to the 360° Freedom Farrower® from the Leavesley Group. The decision to close down their pig farming operations, along with the subsequent streamlining of their agricultural business, has led the Leavesley family to reluctantly consider the novel farrowing system to be no longer relevant to their core business activities. forthcoming UK Pig & Poultry Fair under the “Free Farrow” label. Refl ecting on this decision, Mr Atkin said: “We are acutely aware that free farrowing systems are not at the top of farmers priority lists at the present time, but we feel that it is important to let producers know that we are still here as a space effi cient alternative to the farrowing crate and we are looking forward to discussing the options with those producers who are planning for the future”. The deal, which has been brokered by Leavesley Group agent Mr Andrew Atkin of Free Farrow Ltd, brings to an end a long relationship with a product conceived and developed on the Leavesley Group farms over the last decade. Commenting on the sale, Mr Atkin said: “The 360° Freedom Farrower® arrived a little ahead of its time, but we have always believed in this unique product and its potential for replacing the traditional farrowing crate. Having established a foothold across many countries, the time is now right for a focused business to take this product forward into a developing market”. Commenting on recent debate, Mr Atkin has observed a tendency towards recommending larger pen sizes which he believes to be completely unnecessary as the 360° Freedom Farrower can be adapted to suit most layout requirements but anything over 5m² is not an effi cient use of space and an additional cost burden to producers. Both Mr Yoon and Mr Choi will be joining Mr Atkin at the Pig & Poultry Fair on Stand No.47. If you need any further details please contact Andrew Atkin on 07903 842161 or email andrew.atkin@freefarrow.com. Windouble Co., will not only seek to capitalise on changes to welfare requirements in Western countries, but also sees opportunities to market the farrowing system throughout SE Asia, along with the complete range of pig farming equipment. Windouble Co. CEO, Mr Hee Kwon Yoon and investment partner Mr Hayong Choi, said: “We are very pleased to have secured this excellent product and we aim to provide the most cost eff ective solution to farmers looking to replace their farrowing crates”. Mr Atkin will continue working with the new company in an advisory and agency role. To this end, the decision was made to exhibit at the 42| MAY 2022 |PIGWORLD

43. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD FEATURE: FARM FOCUS The technology in both sheds enables the monitoring and collection of vital information Alex Saunders An immaculate unit putting pigs fjrst Alex Saunders has returned to the home farm to make a go of rearing pigs for BQP. SAM WALTON went along to discover how he’s doing I when he had built the fjrst of two new Quality Equipment fjnisher units in Suffolk, with the second, partially built at the time, completed in July 2019. His father and grandfather have nearby units and Alex, who was working away from home part-time then, was given the opportunity to build two new fjnisher houses on the home farm, where his father lives, but suffjciently far away from the existing unit. This he has done, entirely on his own Netting in the roof ridge t was good to catch up with Alex Saunders, who I last visited in December 2018, ventilation and lighting. In September last year, Alex came home full time to also help on both the other units, which have strict hygiene rules governing movement from one to the other. He has had a problem until recently with pigeons and starlings gaining access through the roof ridge. Not only can they carry disease, but they can also clean up a lot of food, so he has fjtted a wire mesh down the whole length of both buildings, in the ridge. The only way to describe it is ‘ingenious’. He is always looking for innovative ways to minimise tail-biting, while improving animal welfare. In 2020, he started working with BQP and Greengage by using technology in both sheds which enables him to monitor and collect vital information, so he can make fact-based changes to improve welfare. When the pigs come in, he scrapes out the passages every other day and as they grow, they are scraped every day. I suppose that attention to detail would just about sum up this immaculate unit. Healthy, clean weaners fjnancially, and now complete, ‘immaculate’ would be how I’d describe the unit, which also has a purpose-built straw shed. Alex, a runner-up for the 2021 Stockman of the Year Award, is a fjnisher for BQP with 1,800 pigs in total, coming in at 7kg and leaving at around 110kg. The former full-width pens for 50 pigs have now been divided to give pens of 25 with a division down the centre of each building. He feels this has improved performance and is less stressful than having 50 in one pen across the whole building width. The building is fjtted with an automatic curtain system, which controls The unit has a purpose-built straw shed PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |43

44. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 FEATURE FARMFOCUS One of the barns converted to pens All pigs are straw-based through to 110kg A true stockperson if ever there was one Creating an enriching environment for pigs Edwina’s fortes, creating new ideas and toys, which keep the pigs entertained and prevent any signs of tail-biting or vice. Dedication indeed. She speaks highly of BQP, who in return think highly of her dedication and I did not see one poorly pig. She and Mike still have a few beef cows for their 30 acres of grass and, as she has to pass these in their yards at this time of year on her way to the pigs, she also stops and has a word with them, and they too respond to her stroking and talking. A true stockperson if ever there was one, which is refmected in the improved performance fjgures from a recent batch showing a DLWG of 873 grams per day, with an FCR of 2.4 and mortality of 3.9%. Edwina Peck has reared pigs in Norfolk for BQP since 1997. SAM WALTON discovered how the care she provides is second-to-none I Year award. Edwina, with her husband Mike, kept sows for BOCM PAULS prior to 1997, selling weaners. A lot of you will recall how the pig industry went through one of its worst spells towards the end of the 1990s, and it was at that point that they decided to let the sows go and set up a bed and breakfast system for BQP on their Norfolk farm, a route travelled by many. That meant altering considerably by extending and adapting several of their former barley beef buildings. One of these now has 16 pens with 18 pigs per pen, another has 24 pens of 20 pigs, and another has eight pens of 18 per pen, all scraped out every day. There are also a couple of straw yards for 120 or so pigs per yard. All in all, they usually have around 1,200 pigs per batch. We know that most units have a hospital pen, but Edwina has six of those and the care she gives to smaller or needy pigs fully expected to see what I actually saw, on visiting Edwina Peck, a fjnalist in the 2021 Finisher of the is quite remarkable – she monitors them frequently every day, for which she was complimented by the award judges. All pigs are straw-based all the way through to 110kg, and they have built a new Dutch Barn for straw, as they do a muck- straw-swap with a neighbour. Pig enrichment seems to be one of Edwina Peck was a fjnalist in the 2021 Finisher of the Year award 44|MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

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46. PIGWORLDMAY 2022 FEATURE NEONATALDIARRHOEA HIPRA expands vaccine portfolio HIPRA’s new vaccine against Clostridioides diffjcile and Clostridium perfringens type A is designed to help producers tackle recurrent neonatal diarrhoea problems. H fjrst and only vaccine against Clostridioides diffjcile and Clostridium perfringens type A, designed to complement vaccination plans against recurrent neonatal diarrhoea problems. C.diffjcile and C.perfringens type A are present in most farms, and cause productive loses, habitually increasing the severity of other problems producing neonatal diarrhoea. Their clinical signs are unspecifjc (liquid-to-pasty, yellowish-to- brownish diarrhoea), and mostly occur in the fjrst week of life. IPRA has recently launched a new vaccine – Suiseng Diff/A – described as the Juan Hernandez CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENSTYPEA CLOSTRIDIOIDES DIFFICILE Liquid, pasty, yellow diarrhoea Yellow to brown diarrhoea Seen during whole lactation Frequently at seven to 10 days of age Acute, death Increased pre-weaning mortality Macroscopic lesions: Non-specifjc, thin, congestive and fmaccid intestinal wall Reduced growth performance Macroscopic lesions: mesocolon oedema of what the new product can achieve when it comes to piglet health and performance (see table below). “The obvious place to start with controlling the aforementioned diseases would be within the gilt herd and then developing into a full herd vaccination from there,” Mr Henandez said. “So, if you have been struggling with recurrent neonatal diarrhoea and never really managed to keep it in check, perhaps now is the time to speak with your vet and consider if Suiseng Diff/A is what you need to fjnally take control.” “If you think you have recurrent neonatal diarrhoea problems in your gilts and sows, you can discuss diagnosing it with your vet. Testing is very simple and can be done with HIPRA’s Enterocheck Plus kits, which uses an easy-to-collect rectal sample,” said Juan Hernandez the company’s technical vet for the UK swine business. HIPRA says it is already the market leader in neonatal diarrhoeas with Suiseng Coli/C (formerly known as Suiseng). “The introduction of the new vaccine offers the user the possibility of even better control of neonatal diarrhoea problems where these pathogens are present. A vaccination programme including both products of the Suiseng range offers a broader range of protection,” Mr Hernandez added. Diarrhoea 31% reduction of piglets with diarrhoea Pre-weaning mortality 100% reduction due to C.diffjcile 87% reduction due to C.perfringens type A Weaning weight Increase in ADWG of 17g/day Antibiotic injections 50% fewer treatments Protection until weaning At least 28 days of protection VACCINATIONPROTOCOL The new vaccine has the same vaccination protocol as Suiseng Coli/C, with initial vaccination requiring two doses three weeks apart, that is on weeks six and three before farrowing. Re-vaccination requires only one dose, recommended to be applied three weeks before farrowing. HIPRA highlighted some tangible evidence 46|MAY 2022| PIGWORLD

47. ??????????????????????? #*-"/?%?*01..?%!/?%,$" ? ?"?/$)%$?0#%- !%)/?0?0?/!?*-%!%)/?0?-,.*-?%*" 2/.%)01!?%,$ ?????????? ???????????????????? 543210/..-,+*)0(,-0’&%$*0#*"%! ?/-05%"*/"*0?-)*-"0/$)0?*$*-/?0?-)*-"?0 /$%?/?"/(*????4??4??!,?00?00?%,"*! -%??"/?*"??4??4??!,?00?00??????????0???0??? ?0?4??4?0?,-.,-/?%,$?0?????0?4??4?0/$)0#%-,?%)*0’ .*-0/-*0-*?%"?*-*)0?-/)*?/-?"0,(0?4??4?0?,-.,-/?%,$?01??0-%???"0-*"*-+*)? Paneltim The No.1 choice for pen divisions and gates Doors & Panels Divisions & Gates Walls & Divisions Regarded as the best material for pen divisions and gates. Paneltim plastic panels have a number of advantages. These are: Strong A range of colour, size and thickness is available for different applications Made to measure and short lead times Non-corrosive – unaffected by dung and urine Installation service available or DIY supply only. Easy to clean – saving labour and water usage 100% recyclable Hygienic It’s about how we can help you F Dr k r , Dr k r , Call 01359 240529 to see how we can help you www. quality-equipment.co.uk Str w Dr k r , Email: info@quality-equipment.co.uk for our latest brochures and Catalogue. Em mail: i nfo@qu uali f lit t i tcou uk PIGWORLD| MAY 2022 |47

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50. MAY 2022 PIGWORLD FEATURE NEONATAL DIARRHOEA New vaccine offers comprehensive protection against neonatal diarrhoea Ceva has launched a new vaccine to tackle neonatal diarrhoea and the serious problems it causes on pig farms N in the farrowing house, and therefore can pose a problem on UK farms. Estimated costs for herds affected by neonatal diarrhoea with mortality of 10% can be as high as £111 per sow per year. Enteric problems early in life can cause variation within litters and piglet weights at weaning. The occurrence of neonatal diarrhoea can be contributed to by numerous factors and involve a number of pathogens including Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. Clostridium perfringens Type A (CpA) has been recognised in numerous studies as an important pathogen in causing neonatal diarrhoea and, therefore, focus has been placed on effective control of the bacteria, according to Christina Gale, Ceva’s swine range/product manager. The main clinical sign of Clostridium perfringens Type A is non-haemorrhagic mucoid diarrhoea in suckling piglets (pictured right) The diarrhoea is usually characterised by being foamy, fmuid and yellow. “Correct diagnosis can be complex and require a combination of methods but it is important to get this right to ensure the correct control methods can be implemented,” Ms Gale said. “Ceva offers diagnostic support for neonatal diarrhoea which can be accessed by contacting your vet, so please enquire if you feel your farm could benefjt from this service.” “Vaccination is a control method which has been proved to be effective, with studies (including by Fricke, R; Bastert, O; Jäkel, C; Variation in piglet weights at weaning (Source: Anja Joachim) eonatal diarrhoea causes signifjcant economic losses and increased use of antimicrobials “Enteroporc COLI AC provides comprehensive protection against neonatal diarrhoea in a single 2ml dose, with seven E.coli and Clostridia antigens in one vaccine, including the β2 toxoid unique to Enteroporc COLI AC. The vaccine is effective at reducing mortality caused by E.coli and Clostridium Perfringens C and clinical signs, and therefore can be benefjcial on farm,” she said. The primary vaccination schedule is based on two shots, usually at fjve weeks and two weeks before the expected date of farrowing (see below, left). Regular booster vaccination before each farrowing is very important in order to secure optimal level of antibodies and protection. Ms Gale concluded: “Clostridium perfringens Types A and C both play a role in the clinical neonatal diarrhoea observed on pig farms worldwide. Toxins produced cause changes to the gastrointestinal tract which results in loss of productivity, therefore having an economic impact, as well as a negative impact on animal health and welfare. “Vaccination of breeding stock with vaccines containing the major toxins is important to ensure maximal protection. Ask your vet for more information about Enteroporc COLI AC and Ceva’s diagnostic support service.” Stained perineal area in a piglet with clinical diarrhoea Springer, S; and Sperling, D in 2021) showing good effjcacy of vaccines containing both the alpha (CPA) and beta2 (CPB2) toxins. According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology in 2003, these are suggested to play a role in the virulence of CpA.” Ceva UK launched Enteroporc COLI AC in March 2022 and is "very excited" to be bringing this product to the UK market, according to Ms Gale. Recommended vaccination schedule of Enteroporc COLI AC 50 |MAY 2022| PIGWORLD