Is this the last straw for pigs?

maen

Member
Location
S West
Driving across Spain via Rioja you see many new pig units in the middle of nowhere. No domestic House or Farmstead nearby. All new builds. Equally also no mixed cropping all one crop in one area. Don’t forget Spain is Bankrupt!! No shortage of EU cash for new trains etc. He Ho.
 
Its unreal, i do t know how you stick it out .
Nor do I!
With 10% of the UK sow herd on the way or already out, a nearly as big contraction in most of the world that is accelerating, sometime soon margins must get more sensible.
The big question is what is happening in the feed market, I must admit to being slightly encouraged by the current direction of travel in wheat prices.
 

thorpe

Member
not had pigs onthe place for 30 40 years , bought 4 nice gilts today £32 wish id had the next pen which had been running mine they were £22 , ithink when there ready porks going to be dear!
 
Location
Devon
I watched somehalf decent weaners soldtheither week for £25, a facebook photo of a lady selling some weaners in 1920 something or other for £31 . Unbelievable .
A few weeks ago you could buy very good weaners in markets around here for between £2 to £8 each, at one sale one week if you bought one pen of weaners for say £2 they gave you the next pen free!
 

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
My problem is that if I destock I couldn't afford to restock, keep my chaps and so forth. This is a one-time decision for me at age 61 and the rest of the farm won't provide enough for me and the wife to live on.

not being rude/unsympathetic but how ..'if the rest of the farm couldn't provide' how are 'loss making pigs' helping :scratchhead:
 

delilah

Member
Just been onto the NPA website for the first time. I didn't realise they operated under the wing of the NFU. You really are fecked aren't you. A quick five minute read - not that it was needed - confirms that the vision for the pig industry is a handful of producers providing gene edited pigs for the cartel.

A further quick search reveals that the NFU bailed out/ took over the NPA in 2001. That was the last straw for pigs. You were fecked from that time on.
 

Pan mixer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Near Colchester
Just been onto the NPA website for the first time. I didn't realise they operated under the wing of the NFU. You really are fecked aren't you. A quick five minute read - not that it was needed - confirms that the vision for the pig industry is a handful of producers providing gene edited pigs for the cartel.

A further quick search reveals that the NFU bailed out/ took over the NPA in 2001. That was the last straw for pigs. You were fecked from that time on.
I am pretty sure that the NPA was a breakaway part of the NFU which has been much more active on our behalf than the parent.
 

delilah

Member
I am pretty sure that the NPA was a breakaway part of the NFU which has been much more active on our behalf than the parent.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/nfu-bails-out-pig-association

Best £100k the cartel spent that year.
The NFU own the NPA.
The NFU actively and openly support consolidation in the food chain. That is to say; less retailers, less processors, less producers.
You are sleeping with the enemy. But tbf so is UK ag as a whole.
 
The NPA was formed after the last big pig crisis of about 1999 when it was very apparent that the NFU Pigs committee and the lobbying part of the British Pig Association weren't up to much (apart from the fact that the NFU wanted high grain prices, at odds with pig producers).
A group called the British Pig Industry Support Group (BPISG) was formed, which led the often quite militant protests (yes, I was very much there on a lot of them) with retailers and the Government.
Most of the characters from the BPISG became the leadership of the NPA, which was formed with financial backing from the NFU and support from the BPA but operated very separately, as it does to this day. I must say that in this current crisis the likes of Minette Batters and Tom Bradshaw have been excellent in their support.
The democracy in the NPA works a bit differently to the NFU- all members get a chance to vote for the committee, which works rather like an NFU commodity board.
The staff too are excellent. Sadly though the Chief Executive is leaving after many years to become NFU Regional Director for East Anglia. Their gain.
NPA is a very lean, mean, outfit that communicates very well with those producers (the vast majority) that choose to engage.
I'm not too sure what the NPA could do to stop consolidation in the supply chain. Please enlighten me @delilah.
(I am merely a member, not involved at any level although was on what was called the Producer Group at one time and to be honest wasn't much use in that role).
 
Location
Devon
Imagine if it was sheep ,, oh hang on ,,, iv been their with them ..
The supermarkets want the sheep job to be like the pig job!

Thing is sheep farmers have many other options then can do with their land then say an intensive pig farmer who has invested/ borrowed millions both to invest in their set ups and see them thru the bad time like now/ the last year/ 2 years etc!
 

delilah

Member
operated very separately, as it does to this day.

A cursory read of the NPA website shows that you can't fit a cigarette paper between their policies and those of the NFU. The NFU logo is on the NPA stationary. It isn't separate, it is part of.

I'm not too sure what the NPA could do to stop consolidation in the supply chain. Please enlighten me @delilah.

Why would it want to do anything ? It is part of the NFU, and the NFU support consolidation. That is your starting point.
 

Hilly

Member
The supermarkets want the sheep job to be like the pig job!

Thing is sheep farmers have many other options then can do with their land then say an intensive pig farmer who has invested/ borrowed millions both to invest in their set ups and see them thru the bad time like now/ the last year/ 2 years etc!
Yea , bloody awfull situation , the government should be working for uk farmers not against them
 

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
The supermarkets want the sheep job to be like the pig job!

Thing is sheep farmers have many other options then can do with their land then say an intensive pig farmer who has invested/ borrowed millions both to invest in their set ups and see them thru the bad time like now/ the last year/ 2 years etc!

i was thinking similar about poultry job...most gotta carry on as long as the mortage they took to start is covered
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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