Pig sector outlook: Challenges and innovations

Jane Jordan provides a market outlook and an insight into some key updates for the sector – from genetic exports, to a game-changing 3D pig tag and recommendations for an industry image re-vamp.

Market outlook

The pandemic created challenge and opportunity for the UK pig sector. Retail sales of pork and bacon sales swelled during 2020 – by April bacon sales were up 12 per cent, sausage sales 14 per cent. Farm gate prices were sustained for the most part of 2020 too. A worldwide de cit of pork continues, with China still driving demand.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Outlook 2021 predicts a fall in pigmeat imports to China in 2021, down by 8 per cent year-on-year, although market analysts here still believe there will be export opportunities for UK pigmeat. Other target markets include the Far East and Asia/Paci c Rim countries.

Closer to home, the sector is struggling to survive despite strong consumer support and fairly sustained volume sales. Europe’s oversupply is keeping continental prices down and that’s having an impact here. The price has crept up in recent months, but not enough to counter escalating feed costs.

AHDB Pork reports production costs reaching their highest levels since 2009, averaging 174p/kg in the first quarter of 2021. It estimates costs/kg up by more than by 10p/ kg from January to March combined with a price slump of 13p/kg on the last quarter of 2020. Rising feed costs, a high straw price (£100–150/t) and a decline in FCR in the rearing/ finishing herd are also annihilating pro t potential.

Speaking at RASE’s National Pig Industry Forum earlier this year, Andrew Saunders, agriculture director at Pilgrim’s Pride UK, suggested that moving pig price/kg in line, to parallel the price of wheat/tonne, might help pig businesses survive in the short term.

Reports from NPA’s recent Pig Industry Group meeting noted soya was still averaging £360–370/t, with wheat prices forecast to stay around £175 post-harvest and barley scarce. Closer to home, the sector is

Sales strong, but logistical challenges for genetic exports

Outdoor sector expansion has helped genetics supplier Rattlerow Farms maintain sales and market share throughout 2020. UK sales manager Simon Guise (left) says in spite of Covid-19 challenges, the rm has managed to increase dam line sales and maintain steady growth of its Klasse AI business.

Rattlerow manages breeding pyramids for a number of large-scale, integrated breeding operations. Objectives are altering in line with consumer needs, with more focus being placed on sow longevity, rebreed intervals and helping commercial herds improve productivity from all resources. Carbon footprint is becoming a fundamental business benchmark for many pig businesses.

“Our genotypes already have the capacity to produce high-numbers born and rear them, but increasingly customers are looking at units of production and what they require each week to keep their businesses on track and meet contract requirements,” he explains.

Quality is also important and herds are beginning to benchmark where they can improve results. “It’s about understanding more about the mechanics of the business, looking at the actual process of producing pigs and identifying where you are losing potential and how you can control that through improved management.”

All livestock genetics suppliers have faced significant challenges postBrexit with the closure of live animal exports to the EU and increased bureaucracy for biological material, including semen and embryos. Sending doses of semen to Ireland has proved particularly problematic since the UK left the EU, with some consignments taking up to a week to arrive, rendering the contents unusable.

Image re-vamp could counter adverse publicity

Some of the sector’s di culties in attracting and retaining sta could be addressed if it re-invented its image and learned to counter adverse publicity, according to NPA chairman Rob Mutimer.

Speaking at the RASE forum session, he said the industry must adopt a more positive approach to promotion and be more vocal about what it does and why.

With exceptional staff shortages in the wake of Brexit, a wide range of jobs and career opportunities exist. “There’s growth potential for innovative products and niche markets, too, because consumer demands are changing,” adds Mr Mutimer.

Another key improvement would be a centralised data collection hub for audits/auditors. Mr Mutimer’s 750-sow herd is currently audited by four separate organisations a year and most of the data collected is common to all parties.

Identification gets an extra dimension

Meanwhile, a newly-developed 3D tag, produced by Andrew Maskery Associates and Dalton Tags, has conquered problems with ear tags becoming dirty, degraded and dificult to read. It has raised digits that can maintain ‘numerical visibility’ no matter how grubby it becomes.

Manufactured from durable plastic, it has a distinct pro le, where numbers are bonded to a at, flexible, traditionally-shaped fob. The unique design allows it to be paired with other tagging options including, buttons/ discs and electronic data capture tags.

Suffolk producer Nigel Drewery has been using 3D tags on his 2,000sow herd for almost a year and says they’re easy to read even when the sows have been wallowing.

Rob Macgregor, who manages 1,600 sows in Norfolk, agrees. “We’ve been using them about four months and we like them. The plastic quality is good, and seems to be fairly non-stick, which keeps tags relatively mud-free. The numbers are bold, a consistent style and easy to read, which is a big help when sorting sows and recording their details. The figures are welded on, they won’t come o – and we’ve tried very hard pull them off.”

Most producers say these tags are a distinct improvement on home-made ‘hot-branded’ ear tags. “We brand tags, but it’s not ideal. The process can produce vapours and the figures aren’t always the best quality; they get distorted and that leads to misrecording,” comments Rob. FG