Using surplus milk in pig feed (updated - April 9)

Due to the current shut down of the food service sector because of COVID-19 there is a lot of surplus milk, which potentially presents an opportunity to some pig producers.

The sad sight of dairy farmers having to dump unwanted milk has been one of the many unwanted knock-on effects of this crisis. 

For those with liquid feed systems, there may be the potential to utilise some of this raw milk, but for those that haven’t used raw milk in feed before, there are some guidelines which must be adhered to:

• Unprocessed milk must be brought in from a registered processor or producer.
• You must register your farm on the national milk register (see info below) before feeding unprocessed milk or milk products (England and Wales only, not Scotland).
• Movement restrictions (21 day standstill) will apply to any holding (apart from a slaughter house) that you send animals to if you feed raw milk or raw milk products, unless they move to a holding also feeding raw milk or raw milk products.

Take a look at the guidance on Gov.uk

The national milk register in England or Wales

In England or Wales you must be registered on the milk register if you want to feed unprocessed milk or milk products to your animals.

For Red Tractor producers, there is also the requirement that bought in feed must be from an assured source (FW.e in the Red Tractor Pigs Standards).

In order to meet the standard producers can only bring milk in from Red Tractor Assured dairy farms and must ensure the warranty declaration is completed and held in records.

One of the requirements in the declaration is that the milk is free from contaminants and therefore checking the dairy herd health status prior to purchase will help you check that the form is completed correctly.

To register send an email or write to: 

APHA Customer Service Centre - One Health

Animal by-products

Worcestershire County Hall

Spetchley Road

Worcester

WR5 2NP

In the email or letter you need to provide:

• the name of your organisation or trading name
• your full address, telephone number and email address
• a designated contact person from your organisation (this can be you)
• a list of the milk and milk products you will use as farm animal feed
• details of any milk processing establishments or food retail or manufacturing businesses that have agreed to supply you with feed.

For Red Tractor producers, there is also the requirement that bought in feed must be from an assured source (FW.e in the Red Tractor Pigs Standards).