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August 27 Eamon Lambert Ref previous comments about the Co-Op only selling fresh pork sourced from United Kingdom pigs... NOT TRUE. Just been in my local Co-Op and there nestling next to Ian and Sue Whitehead's bacon was Red Lion Pork Loins from Denmark. I challenged the manager who said he was unaware of any agreement to use 100 percent United Kingdom. Digby Scott It's not been turned down, but it has been postponed. Bill Jones Was planing permission granted for Frank Tobin, modest-sized pig finishing houses or did the NIMBYs win again? Let's hope that commonsence works or we are all in trouble and will not be able to put up new buildings for intensive livestock. August 25 Nigel Mears Feed price upwards of £40 tonne from a major compounder, more for Sept/Oct. So pig price needs to be at least £10/pig more to cover it, or another cock up. Stuart Payne Is anyone after a young, keen and ambitious member of staff? If so please see my ad on the Small-Ads page! August 20 Andy Garmin Just noticed the RSPCA People's Choice Supermarket Awards 2010. The Co-operative are asking the public to vote for them on the back of, amongst other claims, that they only sell fresh pork, sausages, bacon and ham, sourced from United Kingdom-reared pigs. I know where my vote is going. Philip Sanderson Did BPEX really think that adding 80p a pig extra to the levy promoting the Red Tractor would make a difference? We give BPEX £8.4 million a year and less than half of that goes on promotion. Do we see it in the newspaper, television and radio? No. Why not? Surely the majority of British pig producers want the levy spent on advertising if we are going to sell an extra 14,000 a week next year. From my point of view I feel that the money we give to BPEX needs to be apportioned differently as I am sure there are many areas where BPEX could cut costs to free more money for promotion. Maybe if we can see better promotion and the impact it can have on our sales of pigs then maybe we would see a point to a levy increase. We need to find out what the Danish producers are spending, because they seem to get their promotion right. August 19 Andrew Knowles Thank you for Philip's comments below regarding the focus groups that BPEX have been holding. These are being undertaken in the light of proposals from some quarters of the industry to perhaps increase the current levy for a period of time to enhance the promotion of Red Tractor Pork. The BPEX board discussed the matter in July and felt it important to discover the views of all in the industry before further discussion at the September BPEX board meeting as to whether to recommend any change in the levy. We are acutely aware that the timing of such discussions is far from ideal given pressures on time with harvest and are extremely appreciative to all those who have participated in discussions, often at relatively short notice. August 18 Robert Mills Surely the bottom line of an efficient pig unit is seen in the accounts ("But what is efficiency?" News page). Found at the bottom of the profit and loss section. One single figure will tell all. August 17 Sally Stockings I have just discovered the Forum and I have decided that this great idea might save me some hand cramp (if your mind is as crude as Andrew's was, please refrain from gaffawing!!!). I have received over 500 cards and letters, funny, touching and supportive. So this is my thank you to all of you. I will not be sending letters in return, but I really want everyone to know how appreciative I am and the boys too. I also wanted to thank everyone for their generous donations. £6,500 was sent to the three charities. Dorinda Blackley Can anyone offer a couple of days' work experience in pig farming to my son William. He wants to be a vet and as we live in Manchester suburb - only had opportunities in dairy and sheep. Found your site absolutely illuminating on the wheat from Russia issue and we do buy all our meat from a local butcher in Altrincham. — Dorinda Blackley (A level Biology teacher). August 16 Phil Gladwin For those of you who, like me, used their finely honed intellectual skills to not buy wheat forward, a crumb of comfort was delivered on Russia Today news this evening (yes I did get rained off). Apparently rain is about to fall in the Moscow area - St Petersburg had a hurricane this weekend and the 'Russian experts' now predict the wheat will be saved and yields will go up. The Russians are now to review the export ban policy in October rather than December as predicted last week. This fits in rather well with the conspiracy theories about contracts below. Philip Sanderson How much money is being spent on the consultants and the consultation meetings to find out farmers' views on the levy increase? I can't see many agreeing with the increase, so isn't this excercise a waste of money which could be better spent elsewhere ie promotion of british pork? Feed prices rising, pig price dropping, therefore making less money. Extra levy would mean £186.30 a week to me, when my deductions are already £564 on a load of pigs anyway. It won't get my vote. August 13 Ian Broumpton Pig price down £8/pig compared to this time last year and feed costs up at least £9/pig so that means that even I can work out a downturn of £17/pig already. August 8 Bill Jones I am only a small feed buyer. The feed companies are running scared. A standard finisher from 30kg to market is up from £209 a tonne to £253.30. Three tonnes bulk was too much on a 30-day credit account. James Hart Having dinner with friends last night (rain stopped play on the combine) and a very experienced and senior grain trader posed the thought that the only reason Putin (an arable farmer's new best mate) cancelled exports is that their / Russian traders can then claim force majeure and resell their badly sold wheat contracts at a much higher price. A lot is sold cheap and therefore there is much to be gained by getting out of their positions but it is only possible if "they are not allowed to export". Watch them restart exports in a few months time when the price is higher was his thought... perhaps another reason to watch the market but not buy right now? August 7 Fred Henley Someone noted on a Thusday evening a few weeks ago that the United States price had risen all week and the speculators would take their profits the next day. HE WAS RIGHT. The same has happened this week even more dramatically. I think the price is cents per bushel. In mid-June the price was 470. On Monday 7am 680, steadily rising to 739 7am Thursday and by 7pm Thursday up to 788. By Friday at 7am 837 THEN THE DROP so by 6.20pm Friday down to 725. Our profitability depends on nameless faces trading without responsibility THEY NEVER PHYSICALLY OWN THE WHEAT AND CAN MAKE MONEY IN SECONDS. WE NEED SEVERAL MONTHS. August 6 мафия мы наблюдаем за вами. Jon Easey After a restless night some people will be glad to know I'm still here. Peter Crichton Re: Jon Easey — my Russian friends have told me to give you a message: (Sleep with the light on? — DS.) August 5 Jon Easey The Russian Mafia have conspired to make your cost of production report out of date already with another £20 per tonne on wheat. Stuart (The Champ) Lumb Digby... would I ever?? My fillings are all still intact and in pristine condition - just my knashers that can't hack it. The Champ is going to be "crowned" shortly.... Digby Scott Dear champ, you really must not propagate the slander of the dentistry profession that pork crackling is somehow injurious to teeth. Stuart Lumb "Mr Disappointed" writes " ..not a picture I'd hang on the wall (remind her indoors to sign up for a photo class this winter) but our roving pig industry champion triathlete had just found out 1) that his medal is only gold-plated 2) that he'd cracked a tooth on a piece of crackling from the event's hog roast. (Suggest Mike Evison puts a bid in to cater at next year's event). August 4 Richard Longthorp What an absolutely bloody excellent NPA News Digest featuring the Nuffield Farming Scholarships. If Digby's hard work and brilliant copy are even half matched by industry enthusiasm and action then we should have at least a dozen candidates this year. So, fingers out. Stop putting it off. Make the most of an opportunity of a lifetime. And don't be an absolute dick like me and let it pass you by. Mike Varley Thanks for the Nuffield Special News Digest - really terrific coverage. I have in my own career been 'lucky' to have travelled the world usually at someone else's expense and visited nearly every corner of the pig producing world. This definitely brings an understanding and awareness of other people's problems and also the similarities of issues and technologies adopted in far flung places. In addition, as cited by some of your Nuffield people, you make friends and contacts all over the world too. I like 'decas horribilis'! July 31 Peter Crichton Re: Smashed (see News page). Digby, Was it the phone or you that was smashed or both perhaps? Steve Thomas Okay so you got trashed and dropped your iPhone, but what happened to the in-built spell-check (see News). Did you bang your head too? To all the United Kingdom swine vets who I saw in Vancouver, it was a real treat to meet up again. Great to see you all looking so well and cheerful. That's the effect a good pig price has on people I guess? July 29 Nick Bird Further to earlier forum discussions — I think it's important to recognise that, well-intentioned though they may be, carbon foot print calculators don't calculate how much carbon (or global warming potential) you actually produce. They are far too broad brush for that. What they do, for the most part, is some very basic sums using so-called "typical" figures "associated" with any particular activity — which is where you end up with a figure of 87kg of "carbon equivalent" per pig, or 0.56 tonnes of CO2 per person per year who eats meat. Two problems with this kind of thinking, it seems to me — first is that the ONLY strategy is not to do something, and it assumes that if you don't do it, it won't be done. That may be true for some things — eg. if you don't drive 50 miles to a shop, then that probably really is 50 miles less car journeys altogether. But not other — if you don't grow the pig then it will just be grown somewhere else, along with the pollution (if there is any) associated with that. It don't reduce global pollution by exporting it. (Though, goodness knows, vegans have tried to highjack the global warming agenda. Just in passing, so to speak, I always had the impression that eating lentils tends to make a lot more methane, which has 16 times more global warming potential than CO2... ). The second is that, in their enthusiasm to do create these calculators, there is an over-enthusiasm for "typical" figures. Often one has no idea where they come from and one suspects that many might well be quite spurious, especially for pig production, as there is very little real data. But, most certainly, there will be a big range of values. Treating all as the same is like assuming that all car drivers use the same amount of fuel. Surely, we should be aiming for reductions within the context of what we actually do, rather than saying we should switch to producing something else and import what we grow now. July 27 Stuart Lumb VERY embarrassed - wasn't looking for exposure on website. And forgot to add to blood sweat and tears... the cost! Richard Longthorp Re Stuart Lumb's achievement reported on the News page today — bloody well done. You have to be barking to want to do the triathlon so it probably should come as no surprise that somebody from the pig industry should excel! Well done again. July 26 Robert Mills Surely pig prices in 1990 were a one-off blip as a result of the BSE scare when scientists reliably informed us we who ate beef were doomed? Surely just an interesting anomaly rather than a true reflection how prices have moved since then? July 24 Fred Henley Looked up feed prices for May 1990. Sow ration £170, creep £370 and grower £186, all from national compounder. Don't know today's prices as only got a few B&B pigs just now. Cement was £70/ton and sand and gravel £7. July 22 Digby Scott Philip Richardson is chairman of the Assured Food Standards Pig Sector Board — a pretty thankless task. The industry gives hime precious little feedback (if any) when he asks for it, but will be quick to criticise if he gets things wrong. So I just want to put on record my appreciation of the conscientious way he keeps NPA Producer Group informed with what is happening in assurance, including written reports when he cannot attend a meeting. And his exceptional diligence enables me in turn to keep the wider industry up to date with what is happening. Thank you Philip. July 21 Rob Freeman I am working with a company called St James Pastry Ltd, based in North London (N17). They have between 300kg and 750kg of raw waste pastry trimmings that are currently picked up by a farmer in Essex. They are however, looking for an alternative. The following information may be useful: The pastry is made in a factory that only makes pastry and handles no meat or animal products. The pastry is raw and contains wheat flour, corn starch, vegetable oil, salt and low levels of preservatives. The pastry would need to be picked up from the factory. It is currently stored in a large covered skip provided by the farmer. This is collected and replaced each week. We would want to negotiate a £/p per kg for the pastry. We would like to speak to any pig farmers who are interested in this pastry for feed purposes and based on collection only. Rob@gapfts.co.uk, 07779 593958. July 20 Ian Broumpton We had a beautiful funeral in a packed church for Becky yesterday and we would like to thank everyone for their support and comfort over the past ten days or so and at the funeral. The collection in the church totalled about £1000 to share between the church and the Brocklehurst neurosurgical fund. Also the Brandesburton cricket and football annual fund raising event donated £420 to the fund too. Andrew Freemantle Dear NPA, any chance of a regional meeting for the south-west? David Turton The first 13 years of my life were in Kenya. I was told never to believe the witterings of the Witch Doctor. The Witch Doctor mentality seems well established in Britain and Europe. On one hand we are told we eat the wrong foods, are obese, unhealthy, and resistant to medication. On the other hand we told there is a pensions crisis because we are living longer and longer. You cannot in the main be unhealthy and live longer. I put foward for debate that never in the history of the British Isles has human life been so sustainable, and will be increasingly so. This proposed medication advertising ban for animals is very political. It is driven by a Luddite mentality. I am so glad to live in an age of good science. Science solves problems, ignore science and you fail to compete. There are always problems in life but that does not mean we need to ban everything, because theoretically it might be unsafe. Robert Mills MRCVS( retired) and pig farmer (soon to be retired) I am not surprised by the move to ban advertising to farmers of POM products and I am not sure if it is not backed by self interest of the vet profession and an arrogance in the Veterinary Medicines Directorate that we are considered not fit to have such knowledge. I consider that in looking after animals information is king and a well informed farmer is going to be a better farmer able to have well balanced discussions with his vet about the best way to medicate or not medicate his stock. An ignorant farmer, which is what Defra seem to prefer, is much more likely to revert to "bullying" as reasoned artgument would not be an option. When I practised as a vet I always preferred a knowledgeable client arguing his corner so that two minds, one expert in his stock and stockmanship and one with a little knowledge of disease and pharmacology, would come to a better decision than one with half the expertise. But that was a very long time ago and things may well have changed. Would this embargo also cover other non antimicrobial products such as vaccines and hormones and palliative treatments and what would be the logic behind that? If we cannot get the info from the manufacturer we will try other places, probably the internet, and end up with less reliable info and probably links to less reliable sources of medicines. I must admit I am strongly biased as it was a visit from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate which was the final straw and decided me it was time to retire. I had just suddenly had enough of petty bureaucracy. July 19 Fred Henley Porkwatch last week, Tesco worst as usual, both in UK product and percentage unknown. Morrison now best in total UK product and very good in source labelling. Sainsbury's slipped to second in UK product but very good in source labelling. Tesco is always worst to do as product in similar packs, labels on side and back, small print and mixed on shelves. July 15 Digby Scott Thank you for the update Ian. I have just been reading the front page report, and looking at the pictures, in the East Riding Mail that Sam sent me. Ian Broumpton Rebecca's funeral is on Monday 19th July 2pm at Brandesburton. Unfortunately the cause of death remains a total mystery and an inquest has been opened and adjourned until November 6th which of course by another twist of fate happens to be our other daughter's birthday. Robin Wilson For two weeks I thought that you'd all been on holiday, and June 29th stayed as the last forum post, and no news! Discovered that you'd been working hard only after a refresh - hope you can get back to normal soon! [Robin, go here for some of the stuff you may have missed: http://www.pigworld.co.uk/Pages/Old/old10.html - D.S.] Digby Scott Geof, I know your message wasn't intended for the Forum, but by putting it up I can answer everyone else who has been in touch about this. The site has recently moved servers and I think there have been some problems with propagation (the interbnet catching up with the new location of the site). The pages you are seeing no longer exist except in your browser's cache. If you press your browser's refresh button the current pages will appear. You may have to do this for the next few days. Browsers vary but for most people the refresh button will be the the two little green arrows at the top right of the address line at the top of the page. Geof Asher Digby, whether my computer is on the blink or not I don't know but I keep getting the Forum reverting back and forth on subsequent visits, no prices update since week before last and no news since 7th. Is it my computer? July 13 Digby Scott Our industry has been moved by the way Ian has shared his unimaginable loss through the NPA website. People have called or emailed to offer help and to ask us to we let him and his family know that they are in our thoughts. The Curtis family didn't hesitate to offer help on the pig farm, likewise Jon Roads at Roadhogs, and others. Ian Broumpton This was composed by Anita in memory of Rebecca. If love and words could save you God picked you for an angel He only picks the sweetest ones We loved you and we needed you He has some special places We will love you forever, Becky — love Mum and Dad. July 9 Digby Scott I have phoned Ian to let him know that all of us in this close-knit community of ours will be thinking of him and his family at this tragic time. Ian Broumpton Just when you think everything is going so well you have to come down with a bump. New fattening house one year old and doing well, pig prices good, even money in the bank for once, production at an all-time high. Then this — your daughter gets married on 22nd May. She has a wonderful time, goes on honeymoon and we joined them to babysit and everything was so good. Then in the middle of last night a phone call tells you that our daughter has collapsed and died on her son's second birthday, at the age of 24. Who looks after the pigs on a family farm at this time. Who really cares about them now? July 7 Chris Robinson Yes — you can get rid of large amounts at an alarming rate! July 6 Lisa Norton Wonder if anyone can help me! I am looking into breeding rare breed pigs and want to know is there is any money in it? Ian Campbell Derek Wells' funeral service takes place Thursday 8 July at 1pm in St Gregory's Church, Sudbury, July 5 Digby Scott We will if more people do the audit and send their results in. One would assume that when the carbon tax is introduced, miscanthus would be a great carbon off-setter. Richard Longthorp Re carbon audits:
But is this good, bad, does anybody know? July 4 Terry Cross I certainly want to help government cut waste (News page) and have an excellent suggestion. 50 percent grants on sales of Big Wheel feeders! July 1 Oliver Bown In response to the questions on rooting bracken on the Isle of Mull, Middle Whites don't root very much due to their short flattened snouts. Tamworths have long snouts and are recognized as more likely to root and clean bracken. You need to watch Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency as bracken rhizomes are rich in Thiaminase and therefore needs to be supplemented as I believe somebody else commented on. Jdy Scheckter has an estate on Islay and they have been using rare breed pigs to control bracken. June 29 Ian Campbell I am sorry to inform those of advanced years in the pig industry that an old East Anglian friend, Derek Wells ex-MLC, passed away on Saturday shortly after arriving home from holiday. He was 73 and had been diagnosed with advanced prostrate cancer in April but had continued to process the pig records of a number of producers in the Essex area having continued operating Pigplan with them since his retirement from MLC. June 24 Dick Openshaw and Digby Scott This is a reminder to allied industry companies to bin all correspondence from the "Expo Guide". Details about this Mexican-based scam are here. And here's a reminder about business directory scams in general. June 23 Nigel Woolfenden Nick is absolutely right to advise caution as bracken roots and shoot are both poisonous to ruminants and pigs. In pigs, signs of bracken poisoning are actually those of thiamine deficiency, as the toxic agent breaks down the vitamin in the pig's body and symptoms may resemble heart failure. Affected pigs show anorexia and weight loss. Death can occur suddenly after recumbency and laboured breathing. I suspect that the pigs may be leaving well alone, as a low dose would make them feel ill, and forcing them to eat larger quantities could be fatal. Glyphosate needed? June 17 Barney Kay It's so true about the three weeks for the nicotine to leave your body. Suddenly you realise your body is not so twitchy. Have you had any smoking dreams yet? I used to wake up in a panic that I'd slipped off the wagon and had a ciggie, because the dream had been so real. It was the best feeling lying in bed realising I hadn't failed and was still an ex-smoker! Richard Blant Okay then... what did Rachel put you under? Peter Moran Totally irresponsible to tell everyone what you are doing (The Boking Diaries). Have you thought of the consequences if everybody follows your example? You may prolong many people's lives with consequent damage to pension schemes and serious disappointment to those who have been eagerly awaiting their inheritance. Have you fully considered why your family were not anxious for you to take Champix? James Hart Well done you... have just bumped into your blog and it all makes sense. Best of British. June 16 Wendy Houston The whole farm, not just the pigs. It's amazing what gets done when the boss is away! Nick White I seem to recall that bracken is poisonous - certainly to cattle, not sure about pigs, so be careful - perhaps a vet can clarify that one. No doubt bigger pigs would do more effective rooting (although I seem to recall hearing that a bunch of escaped weaners once made a right mess of a client's well manicured lawn in a short space of time), and it may help to confine them in a smaller area to concentrate their efforts and then move them on to another patch (always assuming that it is safe to do so). Richard Lister Excellent information Wendy. I take it Andrew was in China whilst you embarked upon this piece of work. June 15 Digby Scott Thanks Wendy — was that just the pigs or the whole farm? I hope others will be persuaded to do the exercise and send in the result. I can see the carbon tax being a big deal for farms in a year or so. Wendy Houston I did a C Plan carbon footprint calculation (re "How to do a carbon audit on your pig unit", News page) out of curiosity earlier in the year and the result was 715.95 tonnes. I will say though, that it requires quite detailed information which is time-consuming but I did it accurately enough to give me a good guide to what our carbon footprint is. The internet tells me the average person has a footprint of 10 tonnes. June 14 Guy Bolton I live on the Isle of Mull in Argyll, Scotland. A friend of mine has a croft which has not had any livestock on it for many years and as a result the bracken has taken over. We decided to get some pigs to see if they would turn over the ground damaging the bracken roots and hopefully kill it and at the same time provide us good quality pork. We purchased five weaners age thirteen weeks. They are Oxford Sandy and Black crossed with Middle White. We have them fenced in an area which is 150m around the outside. Now to the problem. They aren't digging it over. In six weeks they have only scratched the surface off a third of their pen to a depth of 4 or 5 inches. They do a lot of lying around and seem to have very little interest in rooting or digging. Can anyone give us any advice on which would be the best breed for this job. It maybe that the area is too big or that pigs just don't like bracken or its roots. We are total novices but very keen to do a good job and hopefully get the ground back into some kind of order. Any advice would be welcome. Thank you. Guy Bolton. June 12 Hugh Crabtree Just back at our Fremont office in Nebraska after the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. Fewer exhibitors, fewer people, torrential rain on the second day and NO Barbequelossal cook-out competition. Despite all that, the mood was reasonably good and there is some new construction enquiry in the wind. The coming market for equipment suppliers is the remodelling of now aging building stock following the boom years of the ninties and early noughties. I thought this would get hold a few years ago but only now is there talk of a Refurb Roadshow by one company - remember that?! Interestingly, this is being lead by a feed company which is recognising that monitoring is going to have to be a part of identifying where things are going wrong. After 15 years of steady supply of telemetry for pigs over here it seems we might be on the verge of the movement growing apace. I sincerely hope the United Kingdom sector can keep ahead of the game by using the available technologies to get more for less and demonstrate we have a "green" as well as "welfare conscious" product to offer to consumers. Meanwhile, I'm off to find my daughter's birthday present...they're red, shade the eyes and are apparently very very cool! June 10 Richard Longthorp Interesting stuff about ripping up the regulation and Jim Paice's Farm Regulation Task Force chaired by Richard Macdonald. How well the pig industry now finds itself placed. With a skills offer second to none and means of demonstrating our professionalism (PIPR) we must surely be in pole position to take advantage of this new political climate. Robert Mills Forty years ago I too was busily running round dispensing "expert" advice to farmers on how they could improve things. When a farmer told me, "If you know so much, why don't you try it?" I thought, he is right, and why not have a go? The best career move I could have made and also the steepest learning curve I have come across. Today I am contemplating retirement but have had a more rewarding life than ever possible as a vet. But above all I learned farming is an art not a science and you choose your own path between often conflicting advice from various experts. June 9 Peter Crichton We can give a really good cull price for any 2 tonne sows out there! David Overton Many years age a well known pig adviser with the then ADAS used to say "You are better to produce 16 pigs per sow and only need 12 to make a profit, than to produce 25 and need 26 to show a profit". That still holds as good today as it did all those years ago. Helen Thoday Hi Robert, I am not sure which region you are in but we are currently looking for case studies of those achieving 2TS or those who have made great achievement in getting there in the last year or so. Alternatively if you would like to share your current figures with your regional KT Manager and see what improvements could be made to further production and profitability we are here to help. Helen Thoday (South) 07973 701202. Nick White To date the sale weight output per sow is not a figure that many producers will be familiar with, or indeed have available from their chosen recording system. Yes I know there is a very useful calculator on the BPEX site where various parameters can be entered to arrive at a figure, but that is not the same as having the figure generated from the actual recorded data. I am pleased to announce that users of the Pig Focus weekly recording system now have that figure available on a routine report. Mike Varley Blindingly obvious!! If it were really obvious then the English industry would be all doing 2000kg per sow per year now! But the reality is that our industry is only acheiving 1600kg. Our task is to provide a focus, tools and the knowledge for all units to move ahead significantly on this. In the world of the blind the one eyed man is king and at the moment the French and the Danes are the kings of the 2TS world. June 8 Digby Scott Two Tonne Sow is just a label. It draws attention to the fact that some English herds would not survive a significant change in the sterling/euro relationship. BPEX aims to provide some of the tools that will help individual producers reach the two-tonne target. More details here. Robert Mills If you get more pigs weaned per sow and can increase carcase weights wou increase profit. What a surprise. Surely we don't need a two tonne per sow programme to tell us the blindingly obvious. Mike Varley Rick Dewhirst makes a very good point on the Two Tonne Sow programme that BPEX are embarking on. The whole aim is to reduce unit costs of production and the pursuit of extra saleable meat on every four legs produced and for every producing sow is one good way to do this. This makes good inroads into spreading overall fixed costs of production over more carcase wieght sold. The 2TS index provides an excellent yardstick for individual producers to gauge their success. It does however have limititations when we compare across different industries and the Italian case is an example where killing weights are so much higher with totally different carcase types that confound the comparison. The use of the 2TS index however still yields the conclusion for the United Kingdom industry that the pursuit of more sow productivity coupled with appropriate increased carcase weight are two prime factors in significantly reducing production costs.
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