BPEX Weekly: February 12, 2010

Look Out For . . .

New Action for Productivity sheets.

These cover Gilt Management, Pleurisy and AI. The latest factsheets in the popular Action for Productivity series will be available in the next few weeks.

Pig Unit Ventilation

A new BPEX DVD featuring expert advice from John Chambers, will be available to producers in March. Also check the BPEX calendar for ventilation workshops in your area.

BPEX Roadshow

Butchers Product Evaluation Roadshows 24 Feb and 10 March

Butty Competition

Bacon Butty Competition on Lovepork website

Marketing News

Butcher Backs Burnley

A local butcher G L Heys, who makes sausages for Burnley FC and is a regular entrant to the BPEX Roadshows was recently featured on TV’s Football Focus. Along with proudly displaying all his wares were his BPEX awards on the wall of his shop.  What great PR! 

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Just under 100 products were judged this week, by the ‘never daunted’ LIPs Ladies along with our Master Butcher and other industry representatives. 

The products were entered into six categories which were: Fresh pork cut, Pork ready meal, Best cold eating product Pork and pastry, Best cured product and Best innovative pork product. The standard of the entries was superb and varied from Faggots to Cured Hams and even more encouraging was the fact that the Best Innovative Pork Product category attracted a high number of entries highlighting the versatility of pork.

Additionally, as quoted by the team of judges, ‘as the products were all of such a consistent high quality, whoever goes on to achieve the championship title will surely deserve it’. 

The champions will be announced at the Final which is to be held at Butchers Hall, London, during March.

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The social media whirlwind of fan based groups has now moved into promoting Sausage Rolls – albeit on the back of a celebrity story. So all budding Sausage Roll producers join in the publicity hype and promote the enjoyment of a good home produced sausage roll. Click here for more.

The promotional video is fun to watch too. Interestingly or sadly, there are five other Sausage Roll fan pages on Facebook alone with more than 2300 fans between them.

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Compass Catering is looking for high quality Sausages which are produced from locally sourced meat for a site in Carlisle. Compass want the meat and production to be within a max 50 mile radius of Carlisle.

Anybody who would like to be considered for this should get in touch with Tony Goodger, email tony.goodger@bpex.org.uk.

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A large scale manufacturer for the foodservice market is looking to buy pork ribs (up to 25 tonnes per week), belly and shoulder meat. If anybody can help, they should get in touch with Tony Goodger, email tony.goodger@bpex.org.uk

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Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week: Pollution Inventory

A little reminder… Producers with EPR (IPPC) permits need to complete their Pollution Inventory before the end of February 2010.

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Permanent Piglet ID

The UK industry still has a problem with achieving good, clear slap marks however they are a legal requirement.

Clear slap marks also ensure that you get paid properly for your pigs. On a trip to France Joe Blackstone, Midland Pigs, discovered the weaner ID marker, which was one step up from the early slap marking already taking place on his unit. The ID marker runs from compressed air; this means piglets can be marked in their own accommodation without having to be moved.

The piglets are marked on each side at 7 -10 days, in the usual position with standard permanent ink. As the pigs grow the ID marks remain permanent and expand with the pig.

Another benefit of having a permanent ID on a young pig is that it ensures whole supply identification, especially against theft. It is important to remember that this system is only suitable for one-site farrow to finish units. View the full case study here.

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The latest information to help farmers and advisors make spring nitrogen decisions is now available from ADAS, on behalf of Defra.

This site contains not only the latest advice but access to the tools needed to assist planning of fertiliser use, including making the best use of manures and slurries. Remember, all farms and land inside an NVZ must comply with all the NVZ rules. Key requirements now are to plan nitrogen use in each field (SNS, crop N requirement, crop available manure N, fertiliser N) before applying any N, and keeping the required field records (a common failing). Non compliance can result in a reduction in the Single Farm Payment. Click here for more.

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National News:

Improvac and Assurance

Producers are advised that the joint ABP and Genesis Technical Advisory Committee has been reviewing the use of immuno-castration. Currently the use of Improvac and similar products falls outside the spirit of ABP and Genesis pig assurance standards and are prohibited.

Trial work under the auspices of companies manufacturing such products will be permitted on assured farms, but any producer contemplating a trial should notify his Certification Body and ensure his abattoir is willing to receive the product.

The joint TAC proposed earlier in the year that consumer acceptance research within the UK should be conducted prior to any endorsement of the product by assurance.

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National AIG Meeting

The NPA is holding a National AIG meeting, from10:00 – 14:30, on Wednesday, March 24, in the Barnaby Room, The Haycock Hotel, London Road, Wansford, Peterborough PE8 6JA

The NPA would like to invite you and your staff to a National meeting designed specifically for the allied trade industry.  As a valued and vital part of our industry, we would like to help you to better understand the issues that pig producers will face giving you the advantage you need to make the right choices to shape your business and exploit the opportunities going forward.

Hear the views of leading producer Mike Sheldon and of BPEX head Mick Sloyan as to what future prospects are and take the opportunity to discuss what NPA does for its Allied Industry members and to tell us what more you would like to see from your organisation.  A brief outline agenda is attached.

This event is free and open to both members and non-members so please feel free to encourage all of your allied trade contacts to come along!  You will need to register by either emailing Zoe Davies or using the attached fax back form so we have a good idea of numbers for catering.

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BPEX, together with EBLEX, has challeged the World Cancer Research Fund over it's report linking the consumption of processed red meat to colorectal cancer. Leading cancer specialist Prof Karol Sikora said: "Whilst vegetables and fruit contain protective factors, there is almost no evidence that red meat itself actually causes cancer." To see the press release, click here.

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Below are the latest BPHS assessment dates.

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

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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has officially launched SmallSteps4Life - an innovative approach to motivating young people to take simple steps towards improving their health and well-being, both inside and outside the classroom. To see more, click here.

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AFS, NFU and the AHDB are well underway with planning for Red Tractor Week 2010. Our high profile celebrations of 10 years of great food, great farming and great standards will engage the media and create a spike of awareness for Red Tractor. But to really make a difference and put Red Tractor on people’s radar, we need as many of you to get behind it as possible. For more information on Red Tractor Week click here and go to the ‘Get Involved section’

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International News:

Inspection Fees in EU

The European Commission has created a new web page on inspections fees that can be accessed by clicking here.

On this page, is a study commissionned by the Commission on Study on fees or charges collected by the Member States that have been published in 2009.

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The European Commission has officially announced the winner of the EU organic logo competition. From 1st July 2010, the organic logo of the EU will be obligatory on all pre-packaged organic products that have been produced in any of the EU Member States and meet the necessary standards.

It will be optional for imported products. Other private, regional or national logos will be allowed to appear alongside the EU label. The organic farming regulation will be amended in the coming weeks to introduce the new logo into one of the annexes.
The ”Euro-leaf” design shows the EU stars in the shape of a leaf against a green background. It is a very straightforward sign containing two clear messages: Nature and Europe.

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Biotech crops have now been grown commercially on a substantial global scale since 1996.

A paper which examines the production effects of the technology and impacts on cereal and oilseed markets through the use of agricultural commodity models has just been published. It analyses the impacts on global production, consumption, trade and prices in the soybean, canola and corn sectors.

The analysis suggests that world prices of corn, soybeans and canola would probably be, respectively, 5.8%, 9.6% and 3.8% higher, on average, than 2007 baseline levels if this technology was no longer available to farmers.

Prices of key derivatives of soybeans (meal and oil) would also be between 5% and 9% higher, with rapeseed meal and oil prices being about 4% higher than baseline levels. World prices of related cereals and oilseeds would also be expected to be higher by 3% to 4%. To see the report, click here.

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The routine of using antibiotics in the Danish pig production must stop says the Food Minister Eva Kjer Hansen who is prepared to introduce a”yellow card” scheme for vets and farmers who use too many antibiotics. The food administration will tighten its grip on the vets and farmers who are not aware of their responsibility according to the latest edition of the Export Bulletin. To read the Bulletin, click here.

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For the latest international prices, click here.

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An Israeli cardiologist has broken a taboo in his country by devoting a complete cookbook to pork recipes, according to a German website. Jews do not eat pork for religious reasons, so pork consumption is hardly known in Israel, though it can be found on restaurant menus and in supermarkets.

Eli Landau, aged 60, says his publication is totally new, although increasing numbers of people have shown interest in the white meat.

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