Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year. The winner is...
5th Oct 2018 / By Alistair Driver
Congratulations from everyone at the NPA to the deserving winners of the Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year award.
The award, announced at a glittering ceremony in Central London on Thursday, went to Rob, the NPA's vice chairman, and Helen Mutimer (picture: Tim Scrivener), who run a breeding herd of 700 outdoor Landroc sows at Swannington, in Norfolk.
They finish all progeny in straw-based sheds through to slaughter for a mix of markets. This includes producing pigs for Waitrose as well as supplying pork to local eateries via their own butchery. Around 250 pigs a week at 105kg go into Tulip at Spalding for the Waitrose supply chain. A further 30 pigs a week are transported to the local abattoir and returned to the on-farm butchery to supply about 150 pubs, restaurants and colleges through the Swannington Farm to Fork business.
The all-in, all-out grower-finisher system sees all accommodation fully cleaned and disinfected between batchs. A Landrace grandparent herd supplies replacement gilts on a system using 100% artificial insemination and chaser boars.
Weaners are moved into tents at 28 days on another farm three miles away, where they are grown to 25kg, producing some 14,000 pigs a year. At 25kg, pigs are transported to one of four finishing farms within a 10-mile radius.
To read more about why the Mutimers picked up the prestigious award, click here
The other finalist was Christian Andersen, Bedfordia Farms, in Bedfordshire, overall winner at the 2016 National Pig Awards.
NPA chief executive Zoe Davies, one of three judges for the award, described the Mutimers' enterprise as: "An outstanding business that produces top-quality, high-welfare pigs while playing to the strengths of everyone involved. Their outward-facing approach, attention to detail and quest for ongoing success mean Rob and Helen should be seen as ambassadors for the industry.”
"Both finallists were excellent and it was a very difficult decision for the judges. If it had been up to me, they would both have won! Congratulations to Christian and his team, too."