Livestock

from Anglia Farmer February 2021

Exporters say pigmeat consignments are facing lengthy delays at Calais

Brexit puts pork sector at risk of standstill

• Export delays hit cull sow trade • Red tape and inspections blamed • Minister warns of worse to come

Red tape and paperwork are hampering pork exports to the European Union – bringing parts of the industry to a standstill and risking knock-on effects on farms.

The National Pig Association said excessive bureaucracy associated with new paperwork requirements were causing delays at Dover, Calais and other ports. With pork being a perishable product, these delays were making UK shipments unattractive to buyers, it warned.

Despite the Brexit trade deal agreed between the EU and UK just before Christmas, the NPA said the full overall impact of the new rules was yet to be felt. But export volumes were lower than normal for the time of year and the pig sector was already feeling the effect.

One load of pigmeat was caught at Calais for 20 hours undergoing vet checks and then rejected upon finally reaching its destination in Germany because of the delay. In some cases future orders have been cancelled.

It is having a big impact on the pig sector

Some shipments have already been rejected, says Zoe Davies

jor delays. One processor said each Export Health Certificate (EHC) needed 12 stamps for the English, Dutch and French versions required in duplicate when sending product to the Netherlands, with a 15-tonne load stamped 72 times.

New rules requiring inspectors to check labels on each box in a consignment of pork products means that the whole pallet has to be offloaded and broken apart to check the boxes in the middle, adding more time to the process.

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: “We are seeing a bureaucracy overload and it is already having a big impact on the pig sector. This is partly an inevitable consequence of Brexit – we always knew it would mean more red tape, checks and delays.

“But there is a political element, too. Why are 30% of all UK consignments to the EU are being checked? This is far more than many other third country exporters to the EU – for New Zealand, for example, the figure is 1%.”

Knock-on effects

Dr Davies said that the delays were forcing processors to cancel some shipments, with the cull sow trade particularly badly hit. Processors were wary of sending shipments out in case they were rejected due to deterioration of product following severe delays.

Hauliers must comply with new rules, says government

Agri-food exporters and hauliers are being urged to ensure they meet necessary requirements before taking shipments of perishable goods to the border.

Exporters must provide the right documentation to hauliers, including export declarations and the extra certificates needed for products like plant and animal products, it says. Hauliers heading to Kent must also get a negative Covid test and obtain a Kent Access Permit.

Failure to do so risks facing a fine and being turned away. But the government says compliance has also been relatively high so far. It says good compliance and low border traffic has kept disruption at the border to a minimum.

Even so, the volume of HGV traffic has steadily increased since Christmas and the New Year, reaching near normal levels. By the fourth week of January, some 40,000 trucks were said to be heading to France each week.

New rules

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said there could be significant disruption if traders and hauliers failed to comply with the new rules. Exporters must provide the right documentation to hauliers – including export declarations and extra certificates for animal products.

“We have always been clear there would be changes now that we are out of the customs union and single market, so full compliance with the new rules is vital to avoid disruption, and the best way to ensure readiness is to follow the guidance on gov.uk and use the ‘Check an HGV’ service.”

The British Meat Processors Association said it was receiving a growing number of calls from meat companies highlighting the plethora of border problems. Red tape was causing a serious and sustained loss of tradewith the EU, it warned.

Revitalising grassland can get more from tired leys

• Over-seeding is cost-eff ective option • New grass is most nitrogen-effi cient • Best mixes use recommended seeds

Over-seeding grass leys could be a valuable option for livestock producers wanting to maximise forage yields and quality this year – while avoiding the hassle of full reseeding.

Using Westerwolds or a tetraploid-based grass mix to breathe new life into fl ooded and waterlogged pasture could be a simpler option if conditions prevent a full reseed, says Jim Juby of Horizon Seeds.

“Many people have had grassland under water for some weeks now and it’s inevitable that much of this will have suffered due to the anaerobic conditions,” he says.

“Even when water levels have gone down it will take a long time for earthworms, the soil biology and grass to return fully – and the grass that returns will be of very poor quality nutritionally.”

Reseeding a proportion of your grassland is usually the ideal tactic. But for many farmers it won’t be possible to get in with a plough until later in the season – even though it would be highly advantageous to rejuvenate damaged swards before fi rst cut if possible.

Single-pass operation

“If you can get on using a small tractor with a light footprint, one option is to use a tined cultivator then spin the grass seed on and roll the seed in. An Einbock grass harrow or similar would be ideal as you could carry out all operations in one pass.

“A tetraploid-based mix would be the seed of choice for this approach, as this has seed twice as big as diploid varieties which means twice as much stored energy to help the new seedling establish fully. A seed rate of 20-25 kg/ ha would be ideal.”

Using Westerwolds annual rye grass would be another option, says grass would be another option, says Mr Juby.

“Both a shorter-term ley and a “Both a shorter-term ley and a longer one will grow at the same rate longer one will grow at the same rate so you should be able to get three good so you should be able to get three good cuts during the year whichever option you take. You can then look at a full reseeding programme later in the year when, hopefully, soil conditions are better. Mixes are much more robust than

“A lot of advances have been made in recent years especially in critical areas such as performance consistency and response to nitrogen inputs. Understanding what likely milk yield you can expect from your grass and allow comparison of different options to be made.”

Cover crops

“But it does all depend on the condition of your fi elds. If it’s not too bad in the next few weeks, you should still consider a spring reseed under a cover crop of spring barley which you could then take for wholecrop in July to boost homegrow feed resources.”

Replacing non-productive grass varieties with a reseed or rejuvenating

You should be able to get three good cuts during the year

swards by over-seeding will always deliver benefi ts, suggests Mr Juby. In fact, one of the biggest improvements comes from greater nitrogen utilisation effi ciency, he says.

“A modern perennial ryegrass will give a 50% better response to nitrogen than something like Yorkshire Fog or most of the other weed grasses that thrive when reseeding is delayed or swards are damaged.

“So, if you don’t address your grassland issues in the short term, you’ll effectively be wasting half the nitrogen you apply and that’s a cost few businesses can live with in the present circumstances.”

Return on investment

Farmers who are considering a a full reseed should adopt a risk management approach and choose inputs wisely to ensure they get the most out of the investment. Regardless of the intended use, growers should ask some basic questions to make the best decisions when it comes to choosing the right varieties for a reseed.

Mixes are much more robust than single species varieties and have a greater resilience to disease threats as well as better ability to cope with diverse growing conditions, says Mr Juby. A good starting point is to make sure all the varieties in a mix are in the current Recommended List.

“A lot of advances have been made in recent years especially in critical areas such as performance consistency and response to nitrogen inputs. Understanding what is in your mix will also help you establish what the likely milk yield you can expect from your grass and allow comparison of different options to be made.”