Wales Farmer 12 NEWS


Hopes fly highfor pigs and poultry


By Anwen Humfrey


OPTIMISM for the future of the British pig, poultry and egg sectors was strong among visitors and industry representatives at the 2012 British Pig and


Poultry Fair. Improving prices and fairer


regulations across Europe mean moreproducers have greater con- fidence in their business than they have had in recent years. While the industry still faces challenges in the face of rising input costs and uncertainty in exchange rates,potential for greater innovation means pro- ducers and processors still have the opportunity to develop their enterprises. “Thereisareal buzz among


visitors and exhibitors,and you get the sense people arepositive about British production and investing in the long-termfuture of their businesses,” said RASE chief executive David Gardner. Mr Gardner said visitors’


VISITORS to the fair saw pig farmer’s son Jack Bosworth awarded the ABN Innovation Award for his idea to promote the pig industry via social media. His enterprise, Hog in the Limelight, offers farmers alow-cost way to produce videos to tell consumers, retailers and customers about the high welfare systems Red Tractor farms employ. Presenting Jack with his £1,000 prize, Nigel Lee, business development manager of Fair partners ABN, said Hog in the Limelight went to the heart of promoting the best of British production.


response to the launch of RASE’sChampion Pork and Poultry Initiative at the two-day event at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, showedpeople were also enthusiastic about showcasing the fantastic job Britain’s producers were doing. “The Champion Pork and


Poultry Initiative is about getting everyone in the industry to do a little bit to raise awareness about British produce,” he added.


“The judges liked that not only were the videos aiming to counter negative publicity but also promoted farmers generally in terms of quality and the Red Tractor standard.” Simon Heath, ABN sales and marketing director, said the company was proud to encourage innovation within the pig and poultry sector. “The British Pig and Poultry Fair continues to be an important opportunity for the industry to discuss how we can promote British producers and products,” he added.


“Morethan 100 producers


have so far pledged to get involved –whether that’sputting up abanner on their farm, using social media to talk about what they’re doing, or hosting aschool visit. If everyone does alittle, together we can achieve alot.” The launch of the initiative


waspart of apacked programme of events and workshops open to the fair’s10,000 visitors.Other sessions included advice on


renewableenergy,managing mar- ketfluctuations,animal health and welfare. Andrew Knowles,BPEX head


of communications,said the event wasanexcellent opportuni- ty to engage with alarge number of producers. “The BPEX stand has been


very busy providing producers with awide range of technical information and advice over the twodays,”hesaid.


IN THE LIMELIGHT: Jack Bosworth gained an award for his pig promotion project.


PLANNINGmatters


Design for life or strife? – time to put pen to paper


yard?All of asudden youfind yourself asking yourself –ifonlyIhad designed the layout of farmdifferently life would have been so much easier. Sound familiar? Strategic planning and good design


EVER had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong and the cattle have just escaped the


areanessential part of the agricultural industry.While manylarge scale farms have clear growth strategies based on adetailed business plan; in my experience manysmall to medium sized units fail to set aclear strategy fordevelopment which can significantlylimit operations. Strategic planning forfarmdevelopment is an impor-


tant part of modern agricultural life.Itmay sound com- plicated, however in practice youalreadyhavemanyof the tools at your disposal –years of knowledge,apad and apencil. Formanythe thought of putting pen to paper is a daunting task, however in reality most greatdesigns start out as asimple sketch. Some of the best and most efficientlydesigned farms


aredeveloped from asimple plan with aclear set of notes identifying current issues around access and live- stock, while also recognising howabusiness is planning to,orcould develop in the future(especiallyimportant if property development formspart of your business plan). It is important forany strategy to reflect your aspira-


tions –however it is often worthwhile considering what other options maybeavailableprior to implementing anychanges to the unit layout or function. Forinstance,you maywant to erect anew barn for


storagepurposes,however locating abarn next to a redundant stone building mayimpact on the long-term viability of aconversion project, or reduce the saleabil- ity of the unit upon completion. The main emphasis fordeveloping astrategic plan is


often focussed around design matters and howlivestock and machinery navigate afarm. Agood starting point is to list all the issues thatarise


on adaily, weekly, monthlyand yearly basis.Atthis point it is preferable to engage with as manypeople as possible,beitfriends,familyorcolleagues to attempt to mapout anyitems to consider.Reviewing the farm’s accident register can also assist identifying anyunderly- ing problems. The best farmlayouts develop from continued re- assessment. As soon as youput pen to paper youare well on your waytounderstanding the value of strate- gic planning. Significant alterations can be costlyhow- eversetting realistic goals needn’t be expensive. Progressive development planning can also lead to achieving long termgoals forgrowth.


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


In the latest of aregular column for Wales Farmer, WAYNE


REYNOLDS, director of Atriarc Group, offers an insight into the value of good design.


Dual purpose design is an important factor to con-


sider –can anew barn be located to create acattle run? Or will anew barn impede movements to and from a location? When considering physical structures; the costs of


relocating abarn, fence or similar obstacle can limit options fordeveloping the layout and function of a farm; however all options areworth exploring –nomat- ter howextreme. If planning permission is required, astrategic plan


can assist the local planning authority assessing an application and whether the proposed development, and location, is the most suitable(especiallyimportant if visual impact maybeanissue in areas of open or pro- tected countryside). Setting out aclear strategic plan can also aid setting


work programmes as well as assist raising development finance as design objectivescan be referenced in future business plans (a must forsecuring grant subside). One of the hardest parts of the process is setting


aside the time to contemplate howyour farmcurrently operates and howyou would liketooperateinthe future. Afew days each year reviewing past and present problems can save manyhours of work at alater date.


In next month’s issue Iwould like to open up the column to readers’ questions –doyou have aplanning related query? If so why not forward it to wayne@atriarcgroup.com.


July 2012


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