Pick-ups For Peace

Pick-ups for peace has delivered its hundredth vehicle to Ukraine, exceeding its initial target of sending 100 4x4 cars to the country's Eastern front

One hundred and four vehicles, including two ambulances and a campervan, have now been successfully delivered across four convoys, driven to Ukraine by 160 volunteers from the UK

The charity marked the milestone at a dinner in Lviv for the most recent convoy's drivers The group were joined by Ukrainian military and humanitarian strategists who confirmed how crucial the vehicles are for communities in and around the frontlines – and will be until Ukraine gets back its international recognised sovereign borders as agreed in 1991

Pick-ups for peace have now set their sights on the next 100 vehicles and are scaling up their operations as they commit to the long haul To achieve this target, they are now scoping sources of 4x4 vehicles from all sectors and all corners of the country

Pick-ups for peace co-founder, Vince

Gillingham, who has just completed his fourth mission to Ukraine in as many months, said: "Our original aim of sending 100 4x4s to Ukraine by June has been achieved ahead of schedule We extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have donated vehicles and funds, and our drivers

"Each convoy is getting bigger – there were 66 volunteers in the most recent one – and the momentum behind the charity is awe-inspiring A dozen of the participants were under the age of 25 and had raised thousands of pounds each to donate and transport a vehicle Others have given vehicles even though they will struggle to replace them.

"Our military contacts echo this gratitude and the impact donated vehicles is having on Ukrainian communities and troops' capacity at the front is clearly defined Their message is sobering, however; they need our support for the long haul, until Russia has gone and Ukraine is back on its feet "

Mark Laird, newly back from his fourth convoy to Ukraine, said: "It's incredible to think that what started out as a conversation has grown into something so big. It's not just vehicles we're delivering: Russia wants to break the Ukrainians' spirit, but every convoy brings morale as well, and we make a point of celebrating each consignment in Lviv with a dinner for the drivers and our Ukrainian friends

"I have worked with hundreds of people in Lviv and every one of them is either fighting in this war, or has family members and friends that are doing so The Ukrainians are fighting this war on our behalf, and we are very fortunate that they are willing to do this

"Now that we have charity status, we have a stronger platform on which to build and we are looking to throw the net wide open to all sources of 4x4s The UK's farming and rural community are fundamental to this cause and we are deeply grateful to all those who have funded us so far, as well as the 160 volunteers who have driven vehicles. We won't give up Russia wants us to get bored and back off, but we are doubling down "

The Scottish Beef Event is making a welcome return since its cancellation due to Covid Attendees will get an insight to the operations at Dalswinton Estate, Dumfries, which include the 550-strong herd of suckler cows focusing on maternal breeds with Charolais bulls used at terminal sires, as well as together and create a day where farmers can discuss the future, share ideas and see the Dalswinton suckler herd on the ground ”

Event Chairman, Scott Henderson, commented: “We first approached Peter back in 2020 and are delighted that he’s stuck with us in his offer to host Scotland’s Beef Event It aims to showcase what you as producers can do to reduce your carbon footprint and other input costs which have seen a significant rise in recent years The information to do so is out there, you just need to look for it so we hope to have all that information available and easy to pick up for those attending the Beef Event.”

Together with Farm Manager, Andy Williamson, the team run a stratified breeding operation, which includes a herd of 60 Luings and a few Blue Greys within the hill herd, which are crossed to the Shorthorn These produce a strong calf with good hybrid vigour, ,which is then covered by the Aberdeen Angus to produce the ideal Dalswinton cow – a good, medium sized cow full of milk that retains her hardiness

Charolais bulls are then used to sire the end product, a uniform calf crop with growth rates that suit their customers’ needs wider estate and we have to understand what we ’ re doing with marketing

“A major flaw in our business is that we sell our calves store – effectively we ’ re passing our product on to someone else to take down the chain and make the most of the sustainability we ’ ve worked towards diversifications, which add to the estate’s viability – wind turbines, a wedding venue, which utilises the walled garden, along with residential and commercial property, a whisky bottling unit and holiday, fishing and shooting lets.

“It may be that we need to look more at finishing our cattle and adding these benefits to the end product, marketing our animals better The end consumer is now very interested in the product they buy – how was it reared, is it local, what is its global impact – so if we are doing all we can to improve our carbon footprint, improve our biodiversity appeal and have a desirable end product, we should be the ones to market our animals.

Peter Landale, whose family has owned the 5000-acre estate for more than 100 years, commented:

“Agriculture and particularly beef farming is coming under increasing scrutiny We see this as a real opportunity to bring the beef industry

Calves are sold store at 10 to 12 months of age having grown from 300kg or so at weaning to 400kg at time of sale, averaging around the £1200 mark in line with the current good trade for cattle.

The team is very open and honest about beef production at Dalswinton, and is continually looking at how they can improve not only profit margins but also the sustainability and viability of the herd

Peter explained: “We recorded a loss of £81 per cow before subsidy for the 2022-23 year, but we ’ ve got to look at the

“There’s a phrase, if you chase rainbows you ’ re never going to catch them, so we tend to stick with a plan and make small changes rather than drastic ones It looked a good plan to build numbers to 550 cows but should that number instead be 400 to reduce input costs, look at finishing calves and leave a better margin?”

A key part of the day will be the three seminars looking at important issues within the industry – Agriculture

Beyond Support, Sustainable Farming in Theory and Sustainable Farming in Practise The opening seminar will feature Cabinet Secretary for Rural

Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, as well as Brian Richardson, Head of Agriculture at Virgin Money and Professor John Gilliland, AHDB Environment Team

Discussing the options available to farmers as the future of financial support goes through a transition period, these three industry experts will give their own professional insight to the challenges resulting from the transition from the Basic Payment Scheme to the new form of support

“We are currently in a huge period of change and the economics of what farmers are doing is going to change so we are here to share the support arrangements available We are on the journey to net zero and there are challenges ahead for livestock producers but it is key for farmers to start that journey,” stated Brian Richardson

“Regenerative farming is the buzzword of the moment but it’s all about sustainability and farming plays an important part of that as well as maintaining the countryside It is critical that future support brought in looks at food production The industry is long term so it’s important that future plans are long term

“It’s all about maintaining a productive and profitable beef industry and we are here to support farmers on that journey. We hope they will go away from Scotland’s Beef Event with a need to take that knowledge further ”

From mid-day, the Sustainable Farming in Theory seminar will hear from experts in breeding for sustainability while incorporating cattle health planning, reducing emissions and reducing costs There will also be discussions on trees and peat and their role in carbon sequestration

Then, on-farm producers from across Scotland will discuss how they have introduced Sustainable Farming in Practise on their own units This will include realistic key performance indicators in suckler cows, cost reduction and improving profits, and the effect of regenerative practises.

Canadian Aberdeen-Angus breeder Arron Nerbas encouraged UK beef farmers to ‘challenge tradition’ at the recent British Cattle Breeders Conference

Mr Nerbas said many farmers had probably heard of the phrases: ‘that works for us ’ or ‘that is how we have always done it ’

He said these can be the most expensive words in farming because they make people resistant to change.

“Tradition is very much entrenched in farming, but we need to be open-minded and consider our options as we move forward,” he urged

Mr Nerbas runs 75 purebred and 475 commercial Aberdeen-Angus cows across 2023ha (5000 acres) in Manitoba, Canada

Mr Nerbas and his brother, Shane, have been practising regenerative and holistic grazing principles since 2005 –ideas he says his parents, Cynthia and Gene, have embraced, but would not have considered when they started farming

This means they have a small 575kg cow, on average, that can thrive off grass and outwinter on bale grazing for four

FARM FACTS

Farmer: Arron Nebras

Area: 5000 acres

Location: Manitoba, Canada

Cattle: 75 Aberdeen Angus

475 commercial Angus

Other: practising regenerative and holistic grazing principles since 2005

Canadian Ur ges Far mer s to T hink Outside the Box

months in daytime temperatures of -30C, with no fertiliser used

“The key benefits are healthy soil, increased resilience to drought and increased biodiversity,” explained Mr Nerbas

“Over the past 20 years, through our grazing management, we have increased our forage production by 2-2 5 times You don’t have to get more land or more cows to make more money ”

The herd has been closed for 20 years with new genetics introduced via artificial insemination (AI). However, in the future, they plan to use their own bulls because they feel they have enough genetic variation within the herd

Mr Nerbas said Aberdeen-Angus cattle were well suited to his system thanks to their efficiency and ability to maintain body condition within his 100% forage-fed system

When choosing replacements he takes a system-based approach, rather than letting his cows define the system he runs

“Farmers love the cow too much,” said Mr Nerbas

“I see cattle through a different lens I love what the cow can do more than the cow itself ”

He believes farmers should choose the system they want and find the cow to fit it

Heifers are selected on phenotype alone and strict system pressure determines which ones make the grade Milk and cow size have been reduced over the years to make the herd efficient foragers He said this works well in their ‘optimum performance model,’ aimed at producing maximum meat per acre.

He expects heifers and cows to birth unassisted, maintain body condition, wean more than 50% of their bodyweight at 205 days and re-breed at 55 days post-calving

These strict but simple selection criteria are delivering less than 2% assisted calvings and they are weaning 85% of calves put to the bull

He added: “Change is often where you will find opportunity ”

Mr Nerbas was speaking at the British Cattle Breeders conference in Telford, Shropshire, on 23 and 24 January as part of seminars sponsored by the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society

In the week ending April 8th, the GB Standard Pig Price (SPP) reached a new record high of 216.7p/kg deadweight, according to the latest market commentary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS)

This was 37% higher than the same week last year and 45% above the five-year average While the market has historically edged higher in March and April, the unusual feature in 2023 has been a steady upwards trend since the beginning of the year, with the SPP rising by 8 3% in thirteen weeks

Iain Macdonald, QMS Market Intelligence Manager, explains: “While a large part of the year-on-year change reflects the sharp increase in pig prices between spring and summer 2022, when pork processors had supported prices in an attempt to protect future security of supply, the further price lift in 2023 appears to have been driven by a sharp tightening of supply ”

Going back to June 2022, while a census was not carried out in Scotland, the census results for England had shown year-on-year declines of 17% in the English sow herd and of 1 4% in prime pigs on farm Recently published December census results showed that the pace of year-on-year sow herd contraction in England had reached 20%, while the year-on-year fall in prime pigs had accelerated to 7 9%

This lagged impact on the prime slaughter market is reflected in Defra slaughter statistics as GB abattoir throughput fell by less than 1% year-onyear between June and November 2022. However, slaughter numbers then fell by 8.7% on a year earlier in December 2022, followed by declines of 2 6% in January and 18 6% in February Over the three months to February 2023, prime pig throughput at GB abattoirs fell by 10 1% year-on-year and was down by 8 4% on the five-year average Meanwhile, data from ScotEID showed an 18 5% year-on-year reduction in pigs leaving Scottish farms for slaughter in the first quarter of 2023

Iain continues: “Adding to this decline in pig availability has been a rebalancing of carcase weights from the elevated levels seen over the winter of 2021/22. With abattoirs able to handle the volume of pigs ready for slaughter this year, the average carcase weight of standard pigs at price reporting abattoirs was around 6% behind year earlier levels between December and February

“As a result, the year-on-year decline in prime pig throughput of 10% in the December to February period at GB abattoirs turned into a 15% reduction in the volume of pigmeat produced ”

Over and above this fall in prime pigmeat output, the volume of sow meat produced for export and further processing has fallen even more sharply, with GB abattoir throughput of sows and boars down by 24% year-on-year in the three months to February 2023. While some of this decline reflects the elevated sow slaughter levels of winter 2021/22 due to herd contraction, throughput was still nearly 14% below the five-year average, a stronger decline than for prime pigs

Defra figures highlight the scale of the decline in UK pigmeat production this year, with the UK producing 25,800 fewer tonnes in the first two months of 2023 compared to 2022, more than double the 12,500 tonne increase in UK pigmeat production that was seen in the calendar year of 2022

Meanwhile, after adjusting domestic pigmeat production to account for import and export volumes, total UK pigmeat market supply is estimated to have fallen sharply since summer 2022. The estimated decline between July 2022 and February 2023 is enough to more than offset the previous lift in supply from the first half of 2022

“As well as reduced trade flows, the price of pigmeat imports and exports will have been having an impact on the domestic pig market Indeed, the average value of pork imports to the UK from the EU rose sharply in 2022, reflecting the surge in EU pig prices In the first two months of 2023, the average price per tonne imported to the UK from the EU was 26% higher than a year earlier, while exports averaged 78% more expensive than in early 2022.”

These external pricing pressures are likely to have continued given that EU pig prices have risen at nearly twice the pace of GB prices since the start of 2023, narrowing the difference between GB and EU farmgate pig prices to around 4-5% since the beginning of March compared to a gap of around 12% at the beginning of the year

“Looking forward, the sharp decline in pig numbers reported in England in December 2022 suggests that domestic supply is set to remain tight for much of this year Although the steep fall in sow slaughter in early 2023 could be a sign that some producers are beginning to rebuild herds now that farmgate prices have rebalanced higher and the cost of straight feeds has fallen back sharply, any recovery in prime pig numbers will come at a considerable lag.

“Meanwhile, external factors look set to support a tight domestic market In the EU, the pork market continues to look tight Indeed, EU pigmeat production reduced by 5 6% in 2022 and the EU Commission is forecasting a 5 1% decline in 2023 While the EU Commission had been expecting pork import volumes from non-EU sources to rise in 2023 to support consumption, tight supply in the UK limited the volume exported from the UK to the EU in January and February ”

Iain concludes: “Looking further afield, the Chinese pork market has softened slightly further in recent weeks after an improvement in supply led to a sharp fall in wholesale pork prices between October 2022 and February 2023

“However, there are reports of a spike in cases of African Swine Fever in China and futures market pricing in China suggests that traders are expecting supply to tighten in the second half of the year, potentially supporting demand for imports Similarly, there have been reports from the Philippines that ASF is leading to a shortage of pork ”

Farmgate cattle and pig prices have reached a new record high as the lamb trade struggles to match levels of early 2021 and 2022, according to the latest market commentary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS)

Forecasts from leading agriculture analysts point to further instability in the global red meat market in 2023 from both the supply and demand sides, with increased trade flows required to bring markets back towards balance

Iain Macdonald, QMS Market Intelligence Manager, explained: "Set against slightly reduced world output, global beef demand is forecast to remain resilient despite economic headwinds, with consumption almost unchanged. For this to happen, mismatch between supply and demand at country-level means that global trade in beef will need to rise significantly "

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast a 0 3% reduction in world production to 59 2 million tonnes in 2023 This is despite beef production being projected to surge by 17% in Australia, as its beef sector continues to rebound from a drought induced herd liquidation in 2018 and 2019, plus expectations of 2-3% output growth for major producers Brazil, Mexico and China and a 1% increase in the UK

Offsetting these gains is a forecast 6.5% fall in output in the USA, the world's largest beef producer, where drought in key calf producing states was followed by elevated cow slaughter and then fewer young cattle being placed in feedlots Small declines have also been modelled for Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the EU

Iain said: "Imports are set to reach 18% of global consumption in 2023, up from 17 7% in 2022 and well above the