Howard Revell awarded NPA Lifetime Fellowship during busy British Pig & Poultry Fair

Pig industry veteran Howard Revell was presented with an NPA Lifetime Fellowship during an NPA reception at the British Pig & Poultry Fair. 

Howard, who is retiring from his role of Pilgrim's UK agriculture director at the end of May, has represented the NPA's Producer and Pig Industry Groups for 15 out the past 18 years, chairing PG for some of that time.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: “This is recognition for his years and years of service at NPA. From a personal perspective, he was one of my very first bosses in the pig sector. He has been a constant mentor and huge support and champion throughout my career.  

“He has constantly and diligently worked behind the scenes for NPA throughout the sector, fighting for the good of the farmers. He has made a huge contribution to the pig sector.

"Many of you will have no idea just how much effort he has put in and how much value he has added to the pig sector over the years.”

NPA reception

The well-attended NPA reception at the end of the first day at BPPF also saw the launch of John Mackinnon's report into adaptive farrowing systems in commercial settings and a celebration of 10 years of the Pig Industry Scholarship Programme. 

It was a busy couple of days for the NPA team, as Lizzie and NPA senior policy adviser Katie Jarvis took part in a sobering, but informative forum session on African swine fever(ASF) preparedness, while Lizzie chaired a session on farm assurance. 

NPA chairman Rob Mutimer took part in the popular Pig Outlook session, highlighting the tentative signs of industry recovery, which were very evident at the event, and his confidence that Government regulation on pig contracts will help deliver a fairer supply chain. 

But he also highlighted various issues of concern, including the ASF threat and funding cuts at Dover for checks on illegal meat imports, uncertainty over future farrowing legislation, the current labelling consultation, which he described as one of the worst he's ever seen, difficulties in securing labour on farms and problems with getting planning permission.