porkjournalMay/June 2015Volume 37 Issue 3

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Small scale producers still a feature of Spanish pig production

Spaced out sows work it out

The biggest free range pig farm in the UK

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Page 8: The biggest free range pig farm in the UKBy Rosemary Embery Page 14. Small scale producers still a feature of Spanish pig productionBy Peter Bedwell

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Alastair, Pauline and Jimmy Butler at their Blythburg Free Range Pork office.

May/June 2015Volume 37 Issue 3

NEWS

Page 4: Spaced out sows work it out

Page 4: Industry united on country-of-origin labelling Page 6: Alltech appoints staff to strengthen its support to Australian agricultural industry

Page 16: Danisco Animal Nutrition reveals how to boost swine production profitability

Page 16: Top Sydney chefs celebrate pork’s starring role

Page 17: Industry leaders sign agreement to create pig farm of the future in China

Page 22: Turning waste into fertilisers and feed

NEWS

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Australian researchers have demonstrated mixing sows at weaning, or after mating, has no long term effect on welfare, according to Roger Campbell, CEO, Co-operative Research Centre for High Integrity Australian Pork (Pork CRC).

“And excellent reproduction will be achieved, provided sows are appropriately fed and carefully managed,” Dr Campbell said.

“Our researchers, who lead the world in sow welfare, have provided industry with practical solutions and the science behind why they work.”

A large study (Pork CRC Project 1C-105) by Paul Hemsworth, Animal Welfare Science Centre (AWSC), University of Melbourne and scientists from Pork CRC Participant, Rivalea Australia, suggested minimal long term impacts on reproduction and welfare from higher cortisol levels and aggression exhibited by sows immediately after mixing and at reduced floor space.

After investigating how floor spaces between 1.45 and 2.9 square metres affected the welfare and performance of sows grouped within four days of mating, Professor Hemsworth, like his AWSC colleague Dr Jean-Loup Rault in an associated Pork CRC study(Project 1C-111), found aggressive interactions and cortisol levels at day two after mixing declined with increasing floor space, but there were no effects at day 26.

Dr Campbell explained that although floor space between 1.45 and 2.9 square metres had no long term effects on sow welfare or reproduction, aggression and cortisol levels were markedly affected by floor space immediately after mixing.

“However, sows change their behaviour rapidly and these effects disappeared by day 26 and a corollary study showed the effects had actually disappeared by day nine,” he said.

In this study the sows were floor fed 2.5 kg daily, spread over four feeds. They were housed in pens without partitions and the study ran for 72 weeks to cover all seasons.

The results differed from a similar APL study at the same facility three years ago when the same effects of space and time on aggression and cortisol were observed and reported.

“The difference was that farrowing rate improved in a linear fashion with

increasing space at mixing in the APL study and this was particularly evident in summer,” Dr Campbell said.

“In Pork CRC’s study, farrowing rate was some 10 percentage units higher (90+% vs 80%) than in the APL study and was unaffected by floor space.

“The other difference in the two studies was that in APL’s the sows had never experienced group housing and the staff involved had never managed sows in groups.

“In the Pork CRC study, the sows and staff had experienced group housing, which may have contributed to better performance,” he said.

According to Dr Campbell, the bottom line for Australia’s pork producers, the majority of whom (70% based on industry surveys) have moved to group housing, is there probably isn’t an optimum or minimal floor space for group housed sows as they adapt rapidly to mixing and to reduced floor space.

“Pork CRC results show aggresssion and cortisol levels immediately after mixing can be reduced by increased space. This supports the mixing pen concept where sows are given more space in the week

after grouping and then their space allowance can be reduced.

“Aggression at mixing and immediately after can’t be elimated and Pork CRC participant feedback is floor space of 1.8 to 2 square metres supports good performance” he said.

For more information you can visit www.porkcrc.com.au

Spaced out sows work it out

Industry united on country-of-origin labelling

Pork CRC CEO, Dr Roger Campbell points out that mixing sows at weaning, or after mating, has no long term effect on welfare.

The Australian Made Campaign is urging the Australian Government to stay on course with its proposals for mandatory country-of-origin labelling and not be distracted by issues related to the USA’s country-of-origin regime.

“The Australian Made Campaign strongly supports the call by AUSVEG for the Australian Government to continue on its path towards clearer and mandatory country-of-origin labelling,” Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive, Ian Harrison, said.

“Issues relating to the USA’s country-of-origin regime should have no bearing on the Australian Government’s stated intention to provide consumers with improved country-of-origin labelling here in Australia – it should not be distracted by a largely unrelated matter.”

“The WTO’s decision relating to

the system introduced in the USA was more to do with complex requirements regarding the traceability of beef products than straightforward country-of-origin legislation,” Mr Harrison said.

The not-for-profit Australian Made Campaign administers and promotes the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo, Australia’s registered country-of-origin certification trade mark for all classes of Australian goods.

The rules for using the logo on food products are more stringent than the rules for making country-of-origin claims under Australian Consumer Law. The Australian Made Campaign has been lobbying for that gap to be closed, and an education program to be rolled out to help increase understanding of country-of-origin claims and the value proposition of buying Australian made and Australian grown products.

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1. Alysia McRae, new Marketing Assistant.2. Caitlyn Hunter, Customer Service and Admin Officer.3. Gjorge Furkaliey, Group Accountant.4. Dr Susanne Roth, Ruminant Technical Manager.5. Jenny Tran, Accountant with the Finance Team.

NEWS

1 2 3

Alltech appoints staff to strengthen its support to Australian agricultural industryAlltech has announced the expansion of its Australian operations with the addition of new technical and office support personnel.

The company’s General Manager, Adam Naylor, explained, “The Alltech team in Australia is growing steadily. We value highly qualified employees to maintain and expand our leadership within the agriculture industry. We are pleased to welcome the newest representatives to our team.”

“Alltech Australia is pleased to welcome Dr Susanne Roth as Ruminant Technical Manager.

Based in Queensland, she will be assisting the on-farm dairy team. Roth obtained her PhD at the Hohenheim University, German in 2003, in ruminant nutrition. She worked for Alltech Germany for almost nine years in sales and key account management, focusing on the dairy market.

Dr Roth moved to Australia in 2014 and worked as a consultant for Alltech while obtaining a diploma in business. She is passionate about cattle and horses and is a certified CowSignals trainer.

Alyshia McRae has joined Alltech as Marketing Assistant. She graduated from the University of Adelaide in 2012 with a degree in animal science. She has spent the last two years working in retail and volunteering for the fundraising and marketing department of a not-for-profit charity in Adelaide. Ms McRae will be working closely with Roland Matyasi, Alltech Australia Marketing Manager in Roseworthy.

Caitlyn Hunter has joined Alltech as a Customer Service and Administrative Officer.

She has been working in customer service in the Adelaide area for three years. Before moving to Adelaide three years ago, Ms Hunter worked on dairy farms in Mount Gambier, western Victoria and northern NSW. She and her partner own 100 acres of land in the Adelaide Hills where they run stock of their own.

Gjorge Furkaliey has been appointed Group Accountant for Alltech Australia and Lienert Australia. Before joining Alltech, he worked in the hospitality industry as an accountant for the Mantra Group, one of the largest hotel groups in Australia.

Jenny Tran joined Alltech in March this year as an accountant within the finance team, bringing six years of experience in accounting and banking roles for several international companies.

Ms Tran obtained an accounting degree from RMIT Melbourne in 2006, and will be responsible for pricing,

4

sale reports and customer services for Alltech Australia.

“With their strong experience and education, these new satff will allow Alltech to provide additional support to the Australian agriculture industry, working with customers to increase performance and profitability,” said Ty Yeast, Managing Director.

5

China seizes tons of meatAuthorities in China have seized more than 100,000 tons of smuggled chicken, pork and beef products, with some be-ing more than 40 years old.

It was reported that the meat was recovered by customs officials as part of a massive operation that spanned 14 of the country’s provinces. Twenty sus-pected gang members involved in the operation were reportedly arrested.

The value of the smuggled meat was estimated at (CNY3 billion) US$483 million, even though a lot of the meat

was past its expiration date, and in some cases, dating back to the 1970s. Much of the meat also appeared to have thawed and then refrozen, as it is believed to have been transported in vehicles that were not refrigerated.

It is still not clear where the meat originated or how it had been stored for.

The meat smuggling operation comes less than one year after Husi Food Co was accused of allegedly repackaging expired meat products and selling them with false expiration dates.

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8

The biggest free range pig farm in the UK

A t the end of May Pork Journal

had the opportunity to visit the biggest, independent free range pig farm in the UK and to meet the family which owns the huge enterprise.

The Butler family bought St Margarets Farm, located near Halesworth on the Suffolk coast, 38 years ago when it was a fairly modest operation.

The farm house itself was built in the

1200s and Jimmy and his wife Pauline believe that pig rearing may have been operating in their locality since before the Romans invaded.

The company, Blythburgh Free Range Pork, is run by Jimmy and his wife Pauline and their two sons Stuart and Alastair. Stuart came back to the farm after completing his agricultural studies and is now the Farm Manager and Alastair is now the Marketing Manager after completing a degree in London.

They also have 24 staff to help manage the day to day work of running such a large enterprise. They have 2000 sows and there are around 24,000 pigs on the property at any one time. They produce around 3000 tonnes of pork per year.

When Jimmy originally bought the pig farm he had 200 sows in conventional sheds and was selling stores (30kgs). After a couple of years the Marketing Manager of Waitrose, one of the leading supermarket chains in the UK, approached the family about the possibility of supplying free range products to them.

With the company’s help the

family leased some other suitable free draining fields from a nearby farmer and purchased 600 sows to begin the free range operation.

“We asked for a five year contract,” said Jimmy “because we didn’t want to take on a project of that size and get left high and dry. The idea of running free range pigs on a large scale was a pretty new concept and while we liked the idea we were a bit cautious.”

After eight years supplying Waitrose Jimmy was unhappy about being locked in to one supplier who could at any time decide they wanted out or dictate prices.

While the contract was still in place Jimmy set up his own brand name, gave one of his free range pigs to a friend who was a well known butcher in the area and asked him to give away cuts of his meat to all his best customers. Reports came back and his free range pork was universally agreed to be the best quality most people had ever tasted. The butcher wanted more and so the family’s own independent brand name was born.

In the early days he was supplying around 80% to Waitrose and 20% to

By ROSEMARY EMBERY

9

w

FEATURE

Top: One of breeding herds which consists of 1000 sows with piglets in various stages of growths. Centre: Each sow has her own hut with an area just for the piglets to keep them safe. Stuart and Jimmy Butler.

independent wholesalers and butchers and that gradually changed to 50/50 and finally the Blythburgh brand was being supplied 100% to 10 wholesalers who distribute the meat to around 100 of the UK’s top butchers. The brand is also supplied to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle as well as many top restaurants in the UK including the Savoy and Heston Blumenthall’s famous ‘Fat Duck’ restaurant.

And so the company and the number of pigs and the amount of land needed has increased exponentially to accommodate the growing business. These days the pigs are rotated through 1000 acres occupying around 350 acres in fields along the Suffolk coast at any one time. Many have a fine view of the Blyth estuary from where they live.

Around 2000 pigs are kept on each field for two years and then the farmer, who owns the field, takes the field back for four years. By now the ground is well fertilised with natural pig manure and straw and the farmer grows four very productive crops over that time.

He starts with sugar beet which provides the most nutritional value to the soil and then winter barley or spring barley, depending on the time of year, followed by canola (rapeseed) and sometimes corn or potatoes.

When Jimmy took Pork Journal to visit the fields we started with the sows and met his son Stuart who runs the whole operation.

We were shown over one breeding herd of 1000 sows surrounded by their piglets in various stages of growth. They each have their own plot with a pig farrowing hut and a wallow and each area is labelled with the sow’s number and the number of piglets she has and when they were born. This is a guide to how much each sow should be fed and what kind of feed.

Stuart spoke to us about the management issues. Because they are part of the Red Tractor program they have to have a visit from the veterinarian every three months.

“We actually prefer to have the vet out every month,” Stuart told us, “to make sure all the pigs are healthy and we can iron out any problems early.

“We also have a statistician out every quarter to check our figures,” Stuart said. “I do a management sheet every week and he is able to do an in-depth analysis on all our management issues, either for the sows or the gilts.

“For instance he has recommended that we cull the sows after five litters as that will be more productive. We are still a little bit old school though and we

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FEATURE

1. The finisher fields where the fields are divided into one acre pens with 100 pigs per acre. 2. The Butlers are experimenting with feeders for the sows. 3. The old juice container has been converted into a drinker for the piglets. 4. Straw based shelters are provided so the pigs can escape the hot sun or the cold winter weather. They are also used for vaccinations.

still cull after about six litters,” Stuart explained. “But we are considering the advice.

“He also analyses other issues which includes our mortality rates. Our sows produce around 22 piglets per sow per year with an average of 11 per sow live at birth.

“We’ve been looking closely at seasonal infertility problems as well. We are coming into the season now where the infertility rates usually increase. It lasts from two and half months to three months. No one seems to really know why that happens. In the past we have had a sudden drop from around 90% to 92% conception rate to 50% for one or two weeks then back up to 85%. Last year the worst week was 65% to 70%.

Stuart believes that the better results may be to do with the significant changes they have made to nutrition. At least he is hoping that might be the case as that would mean they are on the right track to improving that problem.

We visited the finisher fields next where the male pigs are separated from the females. The fields are divided into one acre pens with 100 pigs per acre. There are five different feeds supplied from weaning to finishing. The first creep feed is for seven days and then the second creep feed is for 14 days. That’s followed by the first grower feed for three weeks, the second grower feed for five weeks and finally the finisher feed.

The piglets are weaned at 28 days and then they go into straw based tents, 100 piglets in each. It takes about 10 days to train them not to touch the electric fences and then they are free to roam and play in their own paddock of 1 acre. They go to the processor at 24 to 25 weeks.

Jimmy showed us the huge old juice containers that they have converted to drinkers for the piglets. By inserting teats all around the bottom of the container it makes an excellent drinking system. They hold up to 300 gallons of water. The weaners are divided by electric fences and there are two water drinkers and one feeder unit per pen.

They are pulse wormed every five weeks and are not given antibiotics as a matter of course, only when prescribed by the vet if they are unwell.

The sows are fed two main diets, a dry sow diet and a lactator, all sows and gilts are fed an ad-lib flush diet for five days weaning to service.

The Butlers buy their gilts from two different companies to maintain the herds – JSR and Rattlerow with 45 gilts from each company each month.

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FEATUREAt present they have a 50%

replacement rate but are looking to increasing that to 60% in the future. They use their own AI stud that is about 25 miles away and the gilts are serviced three times when they have reached 240 days.

The gilts are on-farm for nine weeks before service. The dam line is Landrace/ Duroc and the sire line is Large White/Pietrain. They are thinking about introducing the Hampshire line as their genetics are thought to improve growth and taste.

Stuart says they thought about some of the older types of pigs but the British consumer doesn’t like their bacon or pork to have a dark coloured or black rind. It doesn’t sell well.

“We don’t really have a problem with boar taint,” said Stuart. “We don’t castrate and we don’t use Improvac. We think growing the pigs outdoors seems to help alleviate that problem. We don’t really know. Perhaps it is because they are less aggressive as we sex the pigs at weaning and put them into different fields.

“We keep several boars on the farm,” Jimmy explained, “But they are not used for mating purposes. Their presence just helps to maintain the pregnancies, induce and detect heats.”

After service the gilts go into gilt only pens, and then they are scanned to make sure they are pregnant. They are not mixed with sows until after farrowing once.

No mixing is ever done from day five to 35 days after service. They provide the gilts with open ended tents where they can get out of the sun and the cold in winter. Jimmy told us they go through about four to five thousand tonnes of straw a year. The tents can also be used for vaccination purposes.

“Once the pigs have been moved off the paddock, the farmer uses a mulch spreader to even out the straw and pig manure before ploughing it all in to fertilise the soil,” he explained. It’s a system that works well for all concerned.

Back at the main office we spoke to Alastair about the marketing plans. The family company doesn’t spend its money on advertising in newspapers or magazines. They use the internet and social media and also invite chefs and butchers from all over the country to come to visit the farm, have a tour of the pigs in the paddocks and then enjoy a lunch of slow roasted shoulder of pork.

The Monday following our visit, they were expecting 40 chefs from the UK’s

top restaurants for a farm visit. They have their own website which is www.freerangepork.co.uk

“What we want to do is get the best chefs to develop pork into a dish that is sexy and modern,” said Alastair. They had quite a lot of publicity after a visit from the ‘Hairy Bikers’ who are two chefs that travel the country on Harley Davidsons seeking out all types of home grown quality products to air on their television show.

“Let’s face it, restaurants don’t make much money out of selling steak. They would make more out selling pork, so it’s in their interests to promote it. We also want to educate the butchers about what a great product it is and that is really going well. A butcher located in Norwich which we supply recently won a national award for his ‘Pork Wellington’,” said Alastair.

“The other aim is to get people out of the habit of buying their pork at the local supermarket and get them back to the butcher shops. So the butcher has to provide something they can’t get from the supermarkets and that is true free range pork which is what we grow exclusively.

“The point is we are not interested in producing pork for the masses but

for people who want a quality product,” he said.

Three years ago Alastair won an award at the National Pig and Poultry Fair. The idea was to come up with an innovative dish and he came up with pulled pork from a slow cooked shoulder. It has become a very popular dish around the world.

Alastair is also on the board of the British pork association called AHDB – Pigs (Agricultural Horticultural Development Board) and is head of the marketing sub group.

His board membership helps with the marketing of pork in the United Kingdom, keeps him up to date with latest developments and helps to raise the profile of both himself and the Blythburgh brand.

It is a remarkable success story for a family company that has grown from a small family farm to become not only the biggest independent, completely free range farm in the UK, but also one that provides its products to the rich and famous. Not to mention royalty!

Jimmy believes that his family had the imagination and ingenuity to move away from traditional methods of farming and he seems to be right about that and is reaping the rewards.

A couple of years ago Pork Journal met Stewart Houston and Mick Sloyan who were representing BPEX, the UK meat exporting authority, who were in Australia to discuss the possibility of exporting free range pork into Australia for processing into ham and bacon.

The interest was sparked by the fact that Danish supplies of free range meat had reduced and BPEX felt that their established ‘Red Tractor’ brands defining free range protocols could have appeal in the Australian market.

At that time Mick, now a Director of the UK Pork AHDB levy raising body, invited Pork Journal to visit a UK free range pig farming operation.

In June this year we took up Mick’s offer and he arranged a visit to the Butler family’s Blythburgh free range pig farming operation. We spent an afternoon with Jimmy and his sons Alastair and Stuart learning

a lot about running and promoting a major farming operation.

Not only does this significant enterprise supply significant amounts of free range pork to the whole spectrum of retailing from supermarkets to corner stores, it is well known by the big names in gourmet cooking and the great and good in the British establishment.

Should the UK pig industry succeed in obtaining permission to import their pork it is highly likely that Blythburgh pigs could become an item in Australian diets.

We realise that any imports into the Australian market may be viewed with dismay by growers here but at least the Butler’s pigs are grown by a business competing on a more level playing field. That is they do not receive the levels of subsidy or indeed political support, that benefit other importers into our processed market.

Large scale free range pig farming in the UK

13

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14

Small scale producers still a feature of Spanish pig productionBy PETER BEDWELL

R ecently Pork Journal travelled to

Spain, a country that displays an almost religious fervor for pork in many forms. Pig production ranges from major intensive farms to very small scale operations in the vast farming lands of this highly traditional European nation.

In fact Spain ranks number five globally in pig production with more than 26 million pigs feeding a population of just over 40 million people.

Though Spain’s agricultural production is dominated by olives, vines and cereal crops, many of the small farms that still exist in the southern region of Andalusia keep pigs, not just for profit but because it’s a vital tradition and one that has helped feed many families over centuries.

In June Pork Journal found itself enjoying the splendid hospitality of

Mark and Jenny Russell, who some years ago left the chilly shores of England to ‘live the dream’ in the Sierra Nevada region near Granada. Here, they acquired a centuries old derelict farmhouse and over a five year period transformed the ruin into a sensational home on a grand scale.

Their near neighbours just up the dirt track from their house are Spanish farmers Pedro Ramirez Garcia and Marie Cruz Modeno Zamorra.

The couple has raised four children on the small farm, without running water or electricity for many years when the children were young. The farm has been in the family for three generations.

The farms in the region have been divided continually over the years to pass on to the sons and now most are quite small in terms of acerage. One of the problems now is that the children no longer want to inherit the family farm but have moved to the cities and with better education want a more sophisticated lifestyle.

Olives have always been the main

crop in this dry limestone region but to supplement income and diet the family has always kept pigs.

Today Pedro’s three pigs are housed in a small purpose built shed with an adjoining ‘run’ protected from the cold winters and extremely hot summers.

In times gone by, Pedro explained, pigs in the area would have been free to roam the hills feeding typically on acorns and native wheat.

Today, however, his three prized pigs are fed a modern balanced ‘bagged diet’ that reflects the advances in animal nutrition that results in healthy and efficient animals.

The two sows and a barrow, cross breeds of Duroc and traditional native genetics, will be kept until they reach maturity at around 26 weeks.

In November each year there is an event in Spain called La Matanza where, these days, government trained specialists slaughter the animals in a humane way and prepare the carcase for processing into one of the many pork based products favoured not

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only by Spaniards but much of the developed world. In the past the families and nieghbours would gather and slaughter their pigs themselves.

Pedro and Marie-Cruz use their pigs to make their own salami using just salt, garlic and the lean meat of their animals.

Pork Journal, with Mark and Jenny to help with communications, spent some time with Pedro, Marie Cruz and family members talking about their pigs and farming traditions. As we left Marie-Cruz gave us one of their salamis from last year’s production.

Walking back to Mark and Jenny’s land we passed a threshing circle.

These structures date back to the dawn of agriculture and in southern Spain with is relative proximity to the North African coast, this could mean 5000BC when North African tribes, later known as Iberians, settled the region and built formal structures.

The threshing circle near Pedro’s farm is typical of thousands in the area, fabricated from limestone rocks and used for millennia. Around the circle native wheat still sprouts.

Back at Mark and Jenny’s house we sampled Maria-Cruz’s gift complimented by 21st Century well chilled San Miguel Beer and later a glass of the light sparking white wine

known simply as Cava.The salami is of course delicious

and very low in fat but delicately flavoured. The Spanish do not in general go for the more highly spiced cured

meat products that is typical of much modern processed pork production. This leaves just the fine meat of the traditional pigs to carry the flavor – magnifico!

Opposite page: Marie-Cruz Modeno Zamorra, Jenny Russell, Pedro Ramirez Garcia, his daughter Vanessa with her daughter and Mark Rusell outside the farm house. Above: The three pigs the family is raising for next year’s pork supplies.

16

NEWS

Danisco Animal Nutrition reveals how to boost swine production profitabilityDr Gary Partridge, Global Application Leader at DuPont Industrial Biosciences’ animal nutrition business subsidiary, discussed how feed enzyme technologies can maximise profitability for local swine producers at the recent International Poultry & Pig Show (IPPS) in Japan.

In his talk Dr Partridge demonstrated how feed enzymes have been shown to help producers achieve profitability by tackling pig production challenges including:• Adressing growth performance issues and disease challenges at weaning and beyond without the use of in-feed antibiotics, or with reduced usage.• Achieving good post-weaning growth which will reduce time to slaughter by 4-5 days for each extra kilogram of bodyweight achieved in the post-weaning phase.• Dealing with non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) such as beta-glucans and arabinoxylans that are anti-nutrients that interfere with the digestive process.• Providing good nutrition for the sow during lactation to ensure healthy, high weaning weights in the piglets that will grow more quickly after weaning,

particularly in warmer climates where the sow eats less.• Helping producers manage manure issues and avoid costly legislative penalties.

Christina Pang, Regional Industry Leader, Danisco Animal Nutrition South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, commented , “As one of the top ten pork producers in the world, Japan has a great opportunity to benefit from getting healthier pigs to market more quickly.

“With many years of experience and numerous publications including the co-authorship of the textbook ‘Enzymes in Farm Animal Nutrition’, Dr Partridge can really help guide Japanese producers to use feed enzymes to their best possible advantage. He was also available to answer any questions on our IPPS stand, D-34.”

“Dr Partridge’s presentation was available to download from our website after the show closed. Alternatively email us at info.animalnutrition@dupont.com to receive a PDF copy.”

“Danisco Animal Nutrition (animalnutrition.dupont.com), a business subsidiary of DuPont Industrial Biosciences, helps animal producers

around the world maximize the return on their feed investment, improve liveability and tackle environmental and sustainability challenges through the delivery of optimized enzyme, betaine and probiotic feed solutions.

“The company’s uniqueness centres on its ability to combine these technologies, many of which are industry ‘firsts’. It is also part of DuPont,(www.dupont.com) which has become one of the most innovative and admired biotechnology organisations in the world.

“DuPont has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.

“The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.”

For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation visit www.dupont.com.

Top Sydney chefs celebrate pork’s starring roleTop Sydney chefs converged on the Strand Arcade recently as they celebrated PorkStar’s 10th anniversary.

One hundred chefs joined Australia Pork Limited for the pork feast created by chefs Brent Savage, Colin Fassnidge, Nino Zoccali and Christine Manfield.

The PorkStar program was created to encourage more chefs to include pork on their menus and PorkStar’s Mitch Edwards said the passion for pork had increased markedly since the program began.

“There have always been chefs who loved pork and serving it for their customers, but in the past decade we have seen that love spread and their

creativity grow,” Mr Edwards said.“The PorkStar program has become

so much bigger than we anticipated and each year we have new chefs joining us to celebrate the pig.

“This year’s Sydney PorkStar has seen us indulged by the porky creations from our good friends and world-class chefs, Brent, Colin, Nino and Christine. They’ve showcased delicious Australian pork and lifted the bar on creativity.”

The PorkStar program has helped take pork from a rarity on restaurant menus to a must-have and Mr Edwards said PorkStar chefs had played a key role in that transformation.

“In the past decade we’ve had more than 60 chefs featured through

our PorkStar campaigns and have celebrated the magical beast with thousands more,” Mr Edwards said.

“We have had more than 50 events in our PorkStar national tours, as well as countless PorkStar pop-up events featuring porcine delights.

“We are enormously grateful to all the PorkStar chefs, who through their innovative pork dishes became ambassadors for the industry.

These are chefs who are passionate about what they do and who are influencers in their industry.

“I’ve been thrilled to witness chefs jumping on board with our program and also add innovative pork dishes to their menus, including many who are utilising the whole beast from nose to tail and going the whole hog for their love of pork.”

Brent Savage prepared the canapés, entrée was cooked by Colin Fassnidge, Nino Zoccali prepared the main and Christine Manfield created the dessert.

17

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Naturally ahead

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Industry leaders sign agreement to create pig farm of the future in ChinaAlltech has signed a memorandum of understanding with Jiangsu Guo Ming Agricultural Development Company at the China Animal Husbandry Expo in Chongqing, confirming the companies’ commitment to work together to open a new pig farm in Shuyang, Jiangsu Province, China.

Five companies have come together to support Jiangsu Guo Ming in the development of the farm in their respective areas of expertise. Alltech will provide animal nutrition solutions, Big Dutchman and Betco will work together on the equipment, facility and house design, PIC will provide genetics and Pipestone will offer management support.

The farm, which will take approximately two years to complete, will rely on the expertise of industry leaders to develop a farm that will model to farmers and processors how using the latest technologies, including nutrigenomics, can maximise productivity.

The farm will house 5,000 sows and in a second phase expand to include grower-finisher barns.

The end goal is to produce antibiotic free, natural pork products in a highly efficient manner with far less environmental impact than today’s farming practices.

“The pig industry in China is transforming from scattered small farms to large-scale farming, and there are lots of opportunities for growth. This new farm will need comprehensive technology, thus we are partnering with industry leaders to maximise productivity,” said Guoming Pan, President of Jiangsu Guo Ming.

Jiangsu Guo Ming aims to create a farm that is environmentally sustainable with high standards for animal welfare.

In addition to ensuring traceability from seed to feed, a key objective is to produce a model for manure management that can be replicated on farms in China.

“Alltech is guided by our ACE principle, which stands for benefit and safety to the Animal, Consumer and Environment, and the base of our products has always been natural.

“We are proud to work with Jiangsu Guo Ming and other industry leaders to

develop a farm that follows this principle and uses the latest technologies to maximise productivity,” said Dr Mark Lyons, Alltech Vice President and Director of China business operations.

“I am confident that Alltech’s contribution, backed by 35 years of experience, will be significant in helping pigs achieve their genetic potential through nutrition.”

BEC Feed Solutions, Australia has announced management changes in order to support Asian business development.

The company announced the appointment of Ton Hovers as General Manager Indonesia, to direct and support the development of BEC’s growing premix and feed additives business based in Indonesia. Mr Hovers has been COO of BEC’s Australian operations for the last four years.

Mark Fitzgerald has been appointed to the newly created position of General Manager (Australia & NZ) and will assume full responsibility for all aspects of BEC’s premix and feed additives business across Australia and NZ. Mr Fitzgerald comes to BEC with 30

BEC management changes

Above: Ton Hovers (left) and Mark Fitzgerald

years experience in senior executive positions in the intensive livestock, food production, animal nutrition and stockfeed sectors in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

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NEWSAustralian farmers buoyed by prices and season – but prepare for threatened dry times aheadAustralian farmers remain upbeat about their prospects, with the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey showing farmer sentiment remaining at high levels, although moderating from last quarter’s peak.

Underpinned by elevated commodity prices – particularly for beef, lamb and wool – as well as favourable seasonal conditions across much of southern Australia, 94 per cent of farmers viewed their business as having viability.

However, with an El Nino weather pattern now officially emerging – and ongoing severe drought in parts of Queensland and north-western New South Wales – the survey found two-thirds of farmers are actively preparing for potential future dry weather, implementing a range of measures to mitigate the impact on their business.

The survey – completed approximately two months ago – reported overall positive sentiment across all commodity sectors, except sugar where the overhang of global stocks has been weighing on prices.

Overall, 38 per cent of the nation’s farmers expect conditions in the agricultural economy to improve in the coming 12 months, while 44 per cent expect them to remain similar to last year. This compares with 45 per cent and 40 per cent who held that view, respectively, last quarter. Those expecting conditions to worsen this quarter stood at 14 per cent (compared with 13 per cent previously).

Rabobank Group Executive for Country Banking Australia Peter Knoblanche said a number of positive factors had aligned for farmers, with strong demand for agricultural commodities, historically low interest rates and the depreciation of the dollar all occurring against the backdrop of reasonable seasonal conditions across much of the country.

Mr Knoblanche said going forward, however, the season would be the key determinant of confidence.

“Most of southern Australia has received good autumn rains, which has supported farmers’ cropping programs and given pastures a boost going into

winter, although follow-on rains will be needed,” he said.

“Large parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, however, remain drought declared, with it being particularly severe and prolonged in central-west Queensland around Longreach and in north-western New South Wales.’’

Mr Knoblanche said that while no amount of drought-preparedness would mitigate the impact of the severe and prolonged drought in certain parts of eastern Australia, the survey found that farmers across the nation had been taking a proactive approach to drought-preparedness.

“Overall, 69 per cent of farmers indicated that they actively adopt measures to help mitigate dry conditions, with drought-preparedness highest in New South Wales,” he said.

“Measures that farmers adopt include storing feed and growing fodder, managing livestock numbers, investing in water and irrigation infrastructure and careful cash flow management including the utilisation of Farm Management Deposits.”

Any concerns about an El Nino weather event weren’t pronounced in this survey’s findings however, with seasonal conditions and commodity prices underpinning much of the positive sentiment this quarter.

Of those expecting conditions to improve over the coming year, 53 per cent cited the season and 63 per cent, commodity prices – which were similar readings to last quarter. Other factors underpinning confidence were the lower dollar (28 per cent) and the state of overseas markets (20 per cent).

A comprehensive monitor of outlook and sentiment in Australian rural industries, the Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey questions, on average, 1000 primary producers across a wide range of commodities and geographical areas throughout Australia on a quarterly basis.

Farm business performance, income and investment intentions

This quarter, all farm performance indicators pointed to overall both short-term and longer-term confidence. The

viability index (which measures farmers’ perceptions of their business viability) remained at its four-year high, with 94 per cent of farmers viewing their business as having viability.

In line with overall confidence levels, producer expectations of their farm business performance over the next 12 months remained strong, although moderated from last quarter.

This correlated with income expectations with four out of every five farmers expecting higher or similar gross incomes to last year.

The appetite for investment in their farm businesses also remained strong with a quarter of farmers looking to increase investment and a further 66 per cent set to maintain it.

StatesAfter posting a rally in every state

last quarter, rural confidence moderated in all states this survey, except Western Australia and South Australia where it posted a lift to hit four-year highs.

SectorsBeef – and to a lesser extent the

sheep industry – continued to underpin much of the positive sentiment this quarter with producers buoyed by beef, sheep and wool markets.

That said, confidence among graziers eased this quarter, but remained well supported at positive levels.

Confidence remained positive amongst the nation’s grain and cotton growers with autumn rains giving grain growers the ‘green light’ to get their crops in.

In contrast to most of the other key commodity sectors, confidence amongst dairy farmers improved this quarter – albeit to trail behind other sectors (except sugar) with recent pricing signals indicating good milk prices for the coming season, despite weaker global sentiment.

Mr Knoblanche said confidence in the sugar industry had fallen further, and remained weak.

“The current spot price is below what many would consider nearing the cost of production, and there is little upside in the near term with the overhang of global stocks and the depreciation of the Brazilian real,” he said.

The next results are scheduled for release in September 2015.

19

NEWSNo COOL on pork sold in USThe US House of Representatives voted to remove country-of-origin labels (COOL) on beef, pork and chicken sold in the US, hoping to prevent a protracted battle over the labels with Canada and Mexico, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The recent 300-131 vote repealing the country-of-origin labels for meat follows a series of rulings by the World Trade Organisation finding the labeling discriminates against animals imported from Canada and Mexico.

Canada and Mexico won a final WTO ruling in May, and are now seeking retaliatory actions valued at a combined $3.7 billion a year.

Canada has threatened trade restrictions on a range of US products, including meat, wine, chocolate, jewelry and furniture.

‘COOL a marketing failure’Supporters of the House bill said

a repeal of the labeling law is the only way to prevent retaliatory measures that could affect several US industries. “If COOL worked, perhaps there would be a response other than repeal,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R., Texas), the sponsor of the bill. “But the fact is COOL has been a marketing failure.”

Country-of-origin labels were mandated by Congress in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills, and require meatpackers to identify where animals are born, raised and slaughtered.

The information is then printed on meat packages sold in grocery stores. The labels aren’t required on meat sold in restaurants.

In 2014, the US imported more than two million head of cattle from Canada and Mexico and brought in nearly five million hogs from Canada.

The House’s vote in favor of repeal moves the fight about origin labels to the Senate, where key members remain divided on the issue.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R., Kan.) has showed a strong interest in a repeal, but the top Democrat, Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, said Wednesday that she will oppose efforts to get rid of them altogether.

“I plan on working with my Senate colleagues to develop legislation that ensures consumers have information about where their food comes from

while also meeting our international trade obligations,” Ms Stabenow said.

Lower prices for hogs and cattle from Canada and Mexico

Canada and Mexico contend that labeling requirements put their cows and pigs at a disadvantage – not because consumers snub their products but because US meatpackers don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of tracking imported animals. As a result, meatpackers offer lower prices for hogs and cattle from Canada and Mexico.

Consumer advocates, among the biggest supporters of the labels, say international trade deals should not trump consumers’ access to information about their food.

“If Congress repeals the labels, then the next time consumers go shopping for a steak or chicken for their families, they won’t be able to tell where that product came from,” said Chris

Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America.

“That’s completely unacceptable. Consumers want more information about their food, not less.”

Costs of COOL outweigh the benefits

In a report to Congress in April, the Agriculture Department said the costs of putting country-of-origin labels on meat outweighed the benefits.

It found little evidence to suggest consumers would buy more products with a US label.

Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Trade Representative office, said the US plans to object to Canada and Mexico’s request for retaliatory action in the WTO.

The trade organisation was scheduled to consider the countries’ request on June 17.

“Canada and Mexico did not provide any justification for their requests, but we would note that the annual values appear to be substantially inflated,” Mr Bates said.

20

NEWS

On May 1 2015, RSPCA Australia held its Animal Welfare Seminar at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra with the theme ‘Why animal welfare matters’.

“Animal welfare is and always has been core business for the RSPCA,” said Heather Neil, CEO of RSPCA Australia, in a statement to explain the reasons for hosting the seminar.

“How much does ensuring the welfare of animals actually matter in today’s society and in our ‘human-centered’ day to day lives?

“You don’t need to be an activist or a radical to regard animal welfare as a priority issue, and nor does this mean that animal use should be abandoned altogether,” she said.

“The latest figures released by RSPCA Australia show that more than 220 million farm animals lived a better quality of life thanks to the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme in 2014.

“Tough but fair, is how RSPCA approved producers describe the scheme which has seen more than 842,000 layer hens, 773,000 pigs, 990,000 turkeys and 313 million meat chickens benefit from the RSPCA’s standards since the scheme started.

“We’re incredibly proud of the positive impact that the scheme and its many dedicated producers have made to the welfare of some of Australia’s most intensively farmed animals,” said Ms Neil.

“The scheme is part of the RSPCA’s efforts to improve the lives of animals and is underpinned by robust, science based animal welfare standards and rigorous on-farm assessments.

“RSPCA approved products are the trustworthy choice to supply this

RSPCA Animal Welfare Seminar: Why welfare matters

consumer driven demand.“At the same time, our standards

provide a starting point for industry, retail and government to develop animal welfare policies that will result in truly meaningful improvements to the lives of the millions of farm animals across Australia,” Ms Neil stated.

Bidda Jones, Chief Scientist RSPCA Australia, welcomed delegates and the first speaker, Professor Paul McGreevy, animal behavior and animal welfare science expert from the University of Sydney who explained ‘Why animal welfare matters in veterinary education’.

Andrew Wilkie, the independent member for Denison in Tasmania, explained ‘Why animal welfare matters to me’.

1. Prof. Paul McGreevy, Sydney University. 2. Terry Nolan, Nolan Meats. 3. Andrew Wilkie, Member for Denison, Tasmania.

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AgriBusiness Innovation of the Year AwardNext instruments has announced that the company was presented with the 2015 AgriBusiness of the Year Award at the Wimmera Field Days, held in Horsham, Victoria in March.

The award was for the CropScan 3000S On Silo Analyser that was launched at the event.

The CropScan 3000S is a unique system designed for measuring protein, moisture and oil in grans and oil seeds as they pass through an auger, along a conveyor belt or through a pnaumatic pipe.

The system consists of the CropScan 3000 Near Infrared Transmission spectrometer, a remote sampling head and a touch screen PC controller mounted onto a trolley for transporting around the yard or shed.

The analyser is part of an ongoing product development that started 15 years ago when NIR Technology Systems developed the portable NIR analyser for farmers. Since 2000, NIR Technology Systems and now Next Instruments have introduced a complete range of on-farm analyser technology that includes the CropScan 3000H On Combine Analyser, the 1000H On Farm Analyser, the 1000B Whole Grain Analyser and the CropNet Farm Data Management Software.

The CropScan 3000S allows farmers, grain traders and grain processors to measure the quality parameters of their grain in real-time. This enables the user to monitor the protein, moisture and oil content as the grain is being loaded into a container, a truck or ship.

It allows farmers to blend grain from two silos to ensure that they meet contract specifications. It allows grain processore like flour millers and stockfeed manufacturers to check the incoming loads of grain to ensure greater uniformity in feed stock.

The CropScan 3000S is linked to the CropNet software which can then post data in real-time to the web. Farmers, buyers and traders can access the web using their smart phones, tablets of office PC to capture grain quality data along with tonnage, storage location, variety and other information relating to grain.

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Campaign to spot genuine Aussie productsA national campaign will launch this week to remind consumers how to identify genuine Aussie products and produce.

The Government is currently working to introduce a mandatory country-of-origin symbol for food products, but until that symbol is introduced, the Australian Made, Australian Grown kangaroo logo will remain Australia’s only registered country-of-origin certification trade mark for the full range of locally made and grown goods.

Research shows consumers care about where their products are made and grown, but can struggle to spot them. The ‘genuine Aussie’ initiative by the not-for-profit Australian Made Campaign aims to help change that.

The initiative will see the Australian Made, Australian Grown kangaroo logo with the ‘genuine Aussie’ tagline featured prominently on billboards, shopping centre displays, print, radio and online advertisements all over Australia this season, to encourage consumers to turn to the logo to verify locally made and grown goods when shopping.

The symbol is Australia’s registered country-of-origin certification trade mark for Australian products and produce, and its use is strictly regulated by the Australian Made Campaign.

“The logo is a solution for shoppers who want to quickly and easily identify Aussie products and produce, and be assured that those goods meet certain standards,” Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive, Ian Harrison, said.

“We hope this campaign will help prompt consumers to look for the logo at point-of-sale.”

“It is evident that consumers are keen to back local industry and local jobs, but importantly, they are recognising the value in locally made and grown products and produce,” Mr Harrison said.

The Australian Made, Australian Grown logo is used by more than 2200 businesses on over 15,000 genuine Aussie products sold in Australia and around the world.

A new significant diseases charter has been launched by BPEX in the face of threats from challenges such as Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PEDv).

It has been produced as part of the contingency plan drawn up by the Pig Health and Welfare Council.

The aim is for producers to sign up voluntarily to share information quickly in the event of an outbreak which will, in turn, make the control of disease faster and more effective.

It is an extension of the original Swine Dysentery Producer Charter which was launched in 2009, when producers, vets and the wider industry recognised the serious financial implications that would result from an uncontrolled outbreak of swine dysentery SD).

The industry committed to a Charter agreeing to share information with other Charter members should their farm become infected and to take precautions to minimise the spread of infection.

It has been an immensely successful initiative, especially in East Anglia where the number of cases of SD have dropped dramatically.

Initially only PED will be added to the reporting but, with the reporting framework in place, it could be used to include other emerging and exotic diseases.

BPEX Veterinary Team Manager Martin Smith said: “As with SD, the success of the Charter relies totally on the voluntary commitment from producers and their vets to raise the alarm should they experience a disease breakdown.

“The early detection and reporting of these potentially costly diseases would enable rapid response measures to be put in place to restrict their spread for the benefit of the whole of the British pig industry.”

Notifiable diseases such as ASF, CSF and FMD are not included in this Charter as all producers and vets are legally required to report any suspicion to APHA in the first instance.

To make it work, producers will be encouraged to sign up online. Previous members of the SD Charter will need to sign up again, as the Significant Diseases Charter will now replace the original version and can be accessed via the Pig Hub.

The Charter will be co-ordinated by the Control Centre set up within BPEX using existing staff resources.

UK: Pig disease charter

22

NEWS

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Turning waste into fertilisers and feedThe Australian pork industry is excited with the recent announcement by the Minister of Agriculture, The Hon Barnaby Joyce, about the12 new projects set to drive innovation and increased profits for rural industries under the government’s Rural R&D for Profit Program.

In particular, one such novel project is the prospect of creating new sources of fertilisers and feed by using algae, bacteria and chemotrophs to recapture nutrients from waste products.

What the project is fundamentally setting out to achieve is the development of safe animal feed and high nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser for agricultural use.

This is a concept and approach that is completely new to agriculture.

Alternative soil improvers including composts, teas and pellets generated from low cost cleaner composting technologies will also be investigated.

Australian Pork Limited General Manager Research & Innovation Program Dr Darryl D’Souza said, “Livestock produce large volumes of underutilised waste which contain significant amounts of macronutrients but these are typically in a diluted form and nutritionally unbalanced for agricultural crops, as well as being hard to transport off farm.”

‘The Waste to Revenue: novel fertilisers and feed project’ will develop new technologies to recapture the nutrients in waste, evaluate nutritive, agronomic and economic benefits of the new products, as well as investigate

potential barriers to adoption in order to generate the most benefit for producers and end users.

“Generating these new products will improve the sustainability, productivity and profitability of primary industries through the generation of new revenue streams and reduced input costs.

“The production of digestible feed will supplement existing feeds while fertilisers will improve crop productivity, carbon availability and soil resilience to erosion, frost, drought and heat stress,” Dr D’Souza said.

This research will be carried out collaboratively by the University of Queensland and University of Western Australia and is supported by a range of Rural Research and Development Corporations that both produce and utilise waste products.

These are: Australian Pork Limited, Dairy Australia, Sugar Research Australia Limited, Meat and Livestock Australia and Rural Industries Development Corporation (Meat Chickens).

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