Pig Forums available online

The Pig & Poultry Forums, featuring NPA chairman Rob Mutimer in the pig outlook session, are now available online. 

There were three pig forums starting with the Pig Outlook, during which Pilgrim UK's agriculture director Andrew Saunders explained why pig prices needed to increase on a global scale.

Rising commodity prices, particularly of cereals and other feed ingredients, as well as straw, have left many producers struggling to make ends meet around the world, including in the UK.

He suggested that, broadly, the pig price in kilo terms needs to match the wheat price, per tonne. Currently, it is a very long way short, despite recent UK pig price increases.

Rob Mutimer set out what he believes are the pork sector's main challenges ahead, including maintaining its reputation in the eyes of the public, and the political drivers affecting the sector, including a possible ban on farrowing crates, the new farming rules for water and moves to address climate change and the industry's reliance on soya.

Opportunities include the ability to grow our export market and the versatility of pork along with the ability to add value to it, he added.

• If you missed them, the forums can be viewed HERE. 

Balancing consumer demands for higher animal welfare with lower emissions, and greater productivity with reduced inputs were common themes through the nine pig and poultry sessions.

“This is the most seismic time of change for British farming in generations,” said Sophie Throup, head of agriculture, fisheries and sustainable sourcing at Morrisons. Consumer demands are changing, so it’s all about finding the right balance and giving consumers a choice, she said.

The other pig sessions focused on optimising sow and pre-weaning piglet performance against the backdrop of increased litter size and why ammonia is an increasingly important topic and what producers can do to reduce emissions.