The UK Pig Fair is now a biennial event run in conjunction with the poultry industry. Many companies hold seminars before the Pig Fair as clients can kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Ceva Animal Health Ltd is a French company which supplies veterinary products to both the UK pig and poultry industries and is becoming increasingly well known in the UK. Coombe Abbey Hotel in Warwickshire, originally a 12th Century Cistercian Abbey, provided a very pleasantly appointed venue for Ceva’s pre Pig Fair meeting. Opening the seminar Paul Penny, Ceva’s UK Swine Manager highlighted the importance of reducing variability in terms of operating a pig unit. “Consistency is very important, with inputs and outputs being even,” commented Penny.

Dr. Edgar Garcia Manzanilla qualified as a vet at the University of Barcelona and is Teagasc’s (Ireland) Pig Development Research Officer. He also spoke about consistency of production to maximize profits. “This is not the case on many Irish units,” suggested Manzanilla.

“Many units have been badly planned. Finishing places do not match sow output. One 300 sow unit had too many finisher places leading to underutilization of pens and an 800 sow unit had too few finisher places which resulted in overstocking, reduced DLWG and disease problems. In addition an extra 700 pig places had to be rented to take the surplus pigs. In the case of a 1500 sow unit there was again insufficient G/F accommodation and the manager had to wean sows later to let the backlog of pigs clear. Bad planning creates inefficiency and the bigger the farm the bigger the mess,” he said.

The industry is nowadays looking to replace antibiotics with vaccines to minimize disease and this means more vaccinations, which must be carried out quickly and effectively. Eduardo Velazquez gained his vet degree at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and is Ceva’s UK & Ireland Swine Veterinary Service Manager. Velazquez reminded the audience that vaccinations prime the immune system and that injection technique is very important – leakage will mean that the pig doesn’t get the correct dosage. Age is also important and if the pigs are not housed by age and have been mixed then some are too old and some are too young in relation to vaccinating at the correct age and will not receive the right protection.

Most vaccines are IM so the needle must be at right angles to the injection site. Otherwise the vaccine will end up in sub cutaneous fat.

“Correct storage of vaccines, using the right size of needle and regular needle replacement are all very important factors,” said Velazquez. “Goals should be 100 per cent of pigs vaccinated, 100 per cent correct dose, vaccinated at the correct age, and also vaccinated in the correct place,” he stressed.

Ceva has developed its own Smartvac device, an ingenious feature being that the pig will only be injected if the Smartvac is at the correct angle to the skin. Dosage is from 0.5ml – 2.5ml. Needles are replaced after 20 injections and it’s possible to vaccinate 500 pigs / hour. An App is available which automatically records vaccine use, needle changes etc. This data is invaluable for Assurance Scheme records plus it means that management can be quickly alerted if pigs are deliberately not being injected.

The final speaker was Yorkshire based independent industry consultant Richard Bull of Taurus Concepts. Bull has over 30 years’ experience in the industry and he addressed the issue of the economic impact of inconsistent production on the pig business.

“It’s essential to have a stable pig flow. This can be affected by many things such as service targets, weaning age and date, under or overstocking and of course disease,” commented Bull.

The UK’s Red Tractor Assurance scheme recently highlighted the need for correct stocking density. Many farms have old buildings built to house a specific number of pigs. It’s great to see productivity improving but this can lead to overstocking unless pens are thinned out. Plus overstocking leads to poorer DLWG. Conversely understocking also affects performance. Bull has developed a very sophisticated ‘What If’ computer model. For example this vividly shows the effects of changes in DLWG & FCR, drop in litter size, increased mortality etc. at the touch of a button on the financial state of the business. In conclusion Bull quoted from the Sky cycling team’s boss, Sir Dave Brailsford. “Small improvements in a number of different aspects can have a huge impact on overall performance.”

The 2018 UK Pig & Poultry Fair was a lively affair (given good pig prices of late) and it attracted over 500 exhibitors. AHBDPork always gives an industry update on day one and this year’s announcement related to antibiotic usage. The pig industry worldwide has to reduce the amount of antibiotics that it uses and it’s very encouraging that the UK has more than halved its antibiotic usage within the last two years. This comes just seven months after the announcement by RUMA (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agricultural Alliance) that the UK pig industry must reduce antibiotic usage in the pig industry by over 60 per cent from between 2015 and 2020.

There are a number of topical seminars held at the Pig Fair and the one entitled “Pig Outlook: Preparing for the road ahead” attracted bumper audiences; in fact it was standing room only. The seminar was chaired by Alistair Driver, PIGWORLD editor. Driver opened proceedings by quoting from a RASE survey about farmers’ views on the future. “Sixty-six per cent were more positive with 20 per cent being very positive – and more positive than broiler producers. On BREXIT, 47 per cent felt positive, 53 per cent were uncertain but nil were negative.”

Driver then highlighted the challenges the industry faced, namely legislation, post BREXIT changes, Disease (ASF), labour/ staffing and animal rights. The opportunities were the application of new technologies and the higher demand for pig meat.

Andrew Saunders is a director of Tulip (Tulip sources its pigs from BQP’s 350 farms based in E.Anglia, SW England and the Midlands). Saunders is also MD of Dalehead Foods and is a very well respected figure in the UK pig industry. “Since BREXIT, the value of Sterling has fluctuated wildly and the road ahead is bumpy,” commented Saunders.

The UK is still only 53 per cent self-sufficient in pig meat so there is much scope to increase home production. The problem is that there is huge demand for just loins and legs, which can be met through imports. But the pig carcase is not just loins and legs and any UK processor has the whole carcase to get rid of. Sixty per cent of UK imports are from the EU where Germany is the key player, setting prices. Most of UK pig meat exports still go into the EU, although exports to China (5th quarter/offal) are increasingly important.

The UK is very proud of its high welfare status, with the Red Tractor Assurance scheme and of course the UK is a world leader in outdoor production. The USA is keen on welfare friendly products although ironically ractopamine is still used in the USA. Post BREXIT, new trade deals are being talked about and much has been made in the press about American “bleached chicken.” Australia likes high welfare production and exports could increase to that country. “The UK pig industry is very proud of the transparency of its supply chain, much better than many UK industries,” added Saunders.

“Tariffs post BREXIT will affect feed ingredients, with prices likely to be quite volatile. Significantly Tulip has cut its use of soya from 16 per cent in 2000, to five per cent today,” he said.

Most cull sows are exported to Europe and BREXIT will impact on that trade. With regard to labour and staffing, 70-80 per cent of pig unit employees are non-British. More British youngsters need to be encouraged to work with pigs and Tulip has links with Easton and Otley Colleges, located in the east of England. Disease is always a worry and ASF is looming in Europe. Hence biosecurity is of major importance. In summary, Saunders highlighted the need for the UK industry to improve on farm productivity (as the UK lags behind Europe), and to invest in biosecurity and food safety. “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail,” (Benjamin Franklin).

The second speaker was Ed Barker. Barker studied politics at university and is the Senior Policy Advisor to the UK’s National Pig Association.

“The pig sector is more optimistic about BREXIT than cereal farmers (pig farmers get very few subsidies: cereal farmers rely on them). The BREXIT voting in Parliament is very complex with the Lords voting against motions which the Prime Minister wants passing. Also the Government has a tiny majority in the Commons and relies on the DUP (Northern Ireland politicians) to get motions passed in the Lower House. Fortunately two thirds of the DUP MPs are connected with the N. Ireland pig industry.

In Barker’s opinion, future trade deals are more likely with the EU, as the EU has historically been the UK’s major trading partner. However the Government is looking at the USA but a sticking point could be differing welfare standards.

“The Irish issue (resolving issues between N. Ireland and Eire) ‘will define BREXIT’, with many complex issues involved and many difficult decisions will have to be made. There will not be a clean break from the EU – it will happen bit by bit,” said Barker.

Q&A

Saunders was asked if UK producers should expand and increase sow numbers. In reply Saunders said that producers should look at improving output to get more pigs as opposed to putting down more sows, plus exports need to be increased. “UK will continue to import from the EU and it’s important that imports are up to UK welfare standards. Less pork is being eaten and this trend has to be reversed. New products have to be developed to ensure pork consumption doesn’t decline any further,” he said. Driver reminded the audience that whilst UK sow numbers have probably halved in the last 20 years actual pig meat production is now greater, albeit with fewer sows. Barker highlighted the attitude of different farming lobby groups to Government. Most groups were worried about losing grants and subsidies; however MPs were pleasantly surprised that the NPA was not out with a begging bowl but simply wanted more flexibility on planning issues and building tax agreements.

Summary

Of the 100 pig producers attending the seminar, a show of hands indicated that just ONE producer was pessimistic about BREXIT. And British pig farmers are certainly not the greatest optimists on the planet! •

— Norman Crabtree