Improve feed conversion to cut costs
Pig producers could save nearly £9 per pig by improving their finishers’ feed efficiency by 0.54. This might be a staggering figure but it is well within the realms of practicality, says Matthew Curtis, managing director of Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd. BPEX Pig Yearbook 2012 shows that while the FC for ‘average’ feeding herds […]
£50 million Chinese pig deal “huge boost” for farmers
The UK government recently signed the deal following a trade mission to open the country up to British food exports. Defra said most of the pork will be offal, trotters and ears, which are more popular with Chinese consumers than British. Pig genetics are already exported to China, but the UK has so far not […]
Green MEP calls on EU Agriculture Ministers to take urgent action for Europe’s farmed pigs
In response to a question from Keith Taylor MEP, the European Commission has recently revealed that 14 member states will not be ready to comply with the 2013 legislation that will ban confining pregnant pigs to sow stalls for their entire pregnancy. Keith said: “The Pigs Directive gave EU farmers a generous 12 years to […]
Pas Reform granted exclusive use of Microban in hatcheries
Microban antibacterial technology is finding new applications in the hatchery sector, through an Agreement that gives leading Dutch hatchery technology company Pas Reform sole use worldwide. Well-established as a leading innovator of incubation technologies, Pas Reform has incorporated Microban into the polymer used to manufacture setter trays, hatcher baskets and other hygiene-critical hatchery consumables. […]
40 million eggs a day in Europe produced by battery hens despite ban
– Upto 100 million hens are estimated to be unlawfully housed across Europe Despite a ban introduced across the European Union from 1 January 2012 which prohibits the keeping of egg-laying hens in battery hens, over 40 million eggs a day in the European Union will have been hatched in prohibited conditions. Richard […]
Benefits from recording feed conversion
“Efficient feed conversion is the most important economic trait in pig production yet, as an industry, we are quite poor at measuring it,” Ed Sutcliffe, geneticist and technical director of pig-breeding company ACMC told a meeting of Northamptonshire Quality Pig Producers’ Association at Moulton College, near Northampton. Producers record numbers born and have […]
Supermarkets could trigger pork shortage
A massive shortage of fresh pork could result from short-sighted policies of major supermarkets, predicts Matthew Curtis, managing director of Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd. “The Dutch-based Rabobank, which is involved in global food and financing, suggests that the EU sow herd will reduce by 7 per cent as a result of the ban on […]
New turkey project ends chapter in early UK broiler story
Kelly Turkeys is to invest in new accommodation for its turkey breeding programme and so replace two buildings where some of the first broiler chickens were reared in the UK almost 60 years ago. The traditional turkey breeders have been using the buildings at Wyck Farm, Maldon, Essex, for housing pure line and grandparent stock […]
Tough times for egg producers in UK
To stabilise the egg market, the number of laying hens across the EU needs to decline by around 2040 million laying hens but egg prices are unlikely to increase until Easter 2012. This is the view of Mr Klaus Torborg, of Lohmann Animal Health, speaking at a dinner for UK egg producers in Shropshire. He […]
