May 19, 2004

Efficient Buildings To Boost British Pig Sector

The Scottish pig herd has shrunk by about 25 per cent in recent years, with the December 2003 census revealing that there were only 48,800 sows and gilts, compared to a peak of 69,600 in 1997.

Increased costs, as a result of having to comply with higher welfare standards compared to the major producing countries in the European Union and a sustained period of low returns have forced many farmers to leave the sector.

However, Grampian Country Pork, part of the Grampian Country Food Group with a turnover of £1.8 billion, yesterday called on farmers to consider making a "serious commitment" to the pig industry and pointed out that there are a wide range of financial benefits, especially in the arable sector.

Grampian claims that UK agriculture could gain by as much as £100 million per year by investing in modern pig growing and finishing buildings, as well as taking advantage of slurry and farmyard manure to boost cereal yields. Jim Davidson, the firm's divisional production development manager, said: "We need more farmers to invest in efficient buildings to enable us to meet the growing demands of our supermarket customers for British pig meat."

Grampian has erected ten welfare-friendly pig finishing units on its Aberdeenshire farms. It is estimated that the use of slurry from a 2,000-pig growing and finishing unit could boost arable profits by more than £30,000 on a 700-acre cereal farm.

Grampian, which has arable enterprise on 17 sites extending to just short of 6,000 acres within a 12-mile radius of Turriff, says the use of farmyard manure and slurry will reduce artificial fertiliser costs by £15 per acre, and improve output by £28 per acre - based on an additional 0.33 tonnes of grain at £85 per tonne.

But Dave Green, the company's arable manager, adds: "In practice, we are doing considerably better on a number of farms. On one unit over a three-year period, yields of barley have increased by as much as 22 per cent."

All growing and finishing pigs are housed in straw bedded buildings. Farmers keen to lock into the company could use existing buildings, but the preference is for custom-built accommodation constructed to Grampian's specification, which, it is claimed, improves feed efficiency by 0.2 per cent against older buildings.

This is reckoned to be worth £2.40 per pig, or £13,920 in a full year on a 2,000 pig unit. In addition, a reduction of 0.22mm in back fat on each slaughter pig is valued at another £2 per head, or £11,600 per year. Fred Duncan, chairman of the Grampian Country Food Group, said: "The pigs are performing better than in so-called intensive units with the bonus of a welfare-friendly system."

A new building costs about £320,000. One with capacity for 2,000 pigs will generate an annual income of more than £40,000 after costs. It is estimated that the investment can be paid off in less than eight years, or ten using borrowed capital.