Susan Stewart, AHDB senior export manager, said the recent opening of new markets in Mexico, Chile and the Dominican Republic was supporting British pork’s reputation abroad, adding that further trade show events were taking place in Canada and Manila in the next few months. Liam Bryne, AHDB marketing director, said the organisation was working with Waitrose and another retailer to improve the look of pork product placement on retail shelves, adding that recent pulled pork shoulder and pork medallion campaigns had seen double digit rises.


Launch: Pathway for Pigs The Pig & Poultry Fair also saw the soft launch of the Depart- ment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Animal Health and Welfare Pathway for Pigs, which is designed to im- prove biosecurity to control endemic diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), which costs the industry an estimated £ 52 million (€ 61 million) a year. It will also work to reduce sow confinement during farrowing and reduce causes of stress which can result in tail biting, with the ultimate goal of not having to dock tails. Pig farmers currently eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) with more than 50 animals can apply to join the scheme this summer, with full commercial onboarding taking place later in the year. It involves a two-hour veterinary visit to discuss the health and welfare of animals on-farm and an agreement on achievable actions. Anonymised information is submitted, including the results of diagnostic testing. Christine Middlemiss, chief veterinary officer at Defra, was quick to point out that this will not be used by Defra for inspections. Farmers will have flexibility to focus on what is most relevant to that farm, and government will have a greater understanding of the national disease pic- ture so as to support PRRS control measures and productivity. Farmers will be paid £ 684 (€ 806) per review.


Stewart Houston, pig sector lead, said the calamitous situa- tion in the pig sector had led to the decision not to roll out the scheme in full immediately but said the pathway’s vision of financially rewarding farmers, stimulating market demand and strengthening the regulatory baseline was a sound one.


Endemic diseases Middlemiss said it was vital to get a picture of the nature of endemic diseases across the national herd and that the govern- ment had steered away from taking a prescriptive approach. Martin Jenkins, Defra policy lead, said the opportunities of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway were enormous and included reducing the use of medicines and antibiotics as part of the government’s One Health agenda and curbing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the cattle sector by tackling Bovine Viral Diarrhoea. Environmental challenges, such as ammonia and methane emissions and the move to net zero, were raised in the con- text of whether this was possible in the light of the Ukraine war and soaring input costs. Dr Jonathan Foot, AHDB head of environment, said current market pressures should help accelerate the UK towards net zero. Good environmental performance was also good economic performance. “Net zero does not conflict with producing high quality food.” Dr Foot said there were key things for producers to look out for in the years ahead, including policies to increase forest cover from 13% to 17% of the UK: * 2022 – Introduction of farming rules for water with restric- tions on slurry and manure in autumn; * 2025–27 – Mandatory building design for intensive live- stock units introduced. Slurry pits/stores to be covered; slurry spreading to be allowed only when using trailing hoe or direct injection; * 2030 – Target to cut ammonia by 16% and methane by 30%.


▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 38, No. 4, 2022 39


The 2022 edition of the Pig & Poultry Fair in the UK show- cased 335 booths.


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