Industry information


Protecting the reputation of beef, pork and lamb voted as top priority in AHDB’s ‘Shape the Future’ levy payers consultation


According to the results of AHDB’s ‘Shape the Future’ consultation, livestock sector levy payers see protecting the reputation of all three species and promoting their unique benefits to consumers as key future priorities for the levy board.


Forty-two percent of registered levy payers responded to the consultation which ran earlier this year. This represents a total of 4,478 levy payers out of 10,537 registered.


The consultation was borne out of a promise by AHDB Chief Executive Tim Rycroft, to put levy payers at the heart of everything they do. It came in the aftermath of both the potato and horticulture sectors voting against continuing their levies in 2021.


Levy payers were asked if they agreed with the proposed priorities for each of their sectors by ranking them in terms of importance from 1 to 5, where 1 is low and 5 is high. They were then asked to rank the work that AHDB should do to support those areas.


The priorities in the meat sectors that scored the highest included:


Protecting the reputation of lamb and beef and promoting its benefits to consumers scored 4.6, with pork scoring 4.4 Levy payers are clearly all too aware of the continuing challenges faced by the meat industry, especially from the anti-meat lobby. These scores perhaps acknowledge the importance of a united effort.


Selling every part of the pig for the best financial return at home in the UK or overseas is a key concern for pig producers, delivering a 4.4 score Given the difficulties faced by the pig industry in recent months such a ‘nuts and bolts’ request is no surprise. Improving profitability was also identified as a chief priority for pig producers, scoring 4.4.


Supporting lamb and beef farmers to remain viable despite changes to farm support, profitability and productivity challenges scored 4.2


This score reflects the importance of effective support for levy payers in the post Brexit agricultural economy.


Support farmers to be competitive while driving the highest standards of animal health and welfare, and reducing their environmental footprint scored 4.0 in both the beef and lamb sectors Animal welfare and the environment are high on consumers agendas, so it’s good to see some synergy here.


On the importance of the work that AHDB should do to support the priorities, highest scores included:


AHDB’s We Eat Balanced campaign This popular campaign scored 4.3 with lamb levy payers, 4.2 with beef and 4 with pork. NCB members have also praised the campaigns holistic, cross species approach which has done much to promote the sustainability of British livestock production as well as the health benefits of eating meat.


Educating future consumers Levy payers see education of the young as a key part of the meat industry’s armour to ensure positive perceptions of meat and its role in a healthy diet continue for future generations.


Using pork consumer marketing campaigns This scored highly (4.1) amongst pig levy payers as a means of helping to sell every part of the pig.


Commenting on the consultation, AHDB’s Divisional Director of Engagement Will Jackson said,


“This is the first time we have undertaken such a campaign and to receive nearly 4,500 votes from across our four sectors shows it has been a very worthwhile exercise. Engagement to this degree in the industry is unprecedented. We have been encouraged by the comments and feedback received through this process which will now trigger discussions and decisions about our work.


“We are also very pleased we now have in place your sector councils who will decide on the future priorities for each sector for the next five years. They will now spend time to analyse and discuss this data in order to identify the priorities for each sector, which will be confirmed with levy payers in October.


“The 15 minutes spent voting on the priorities for each sector will make a real difference about how levy funds are invested.”


Credit: AHDB 29


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