World Hog news:

[mikey]

Monday, August 11, 2008Print This Page
Chinese Pork Prices Hold Steady
BEIJING - Retail pork prices across China remained flat week ending August 7 with beef and egg prices rising slightly. Chicken and mutton prices fell.


In their regular report the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the retail price of pork averaged 14.33¥ per 500 grams for the period.

Food costs, which make up a third of the consumer price index and have fuelled inflation, climbed 17.3 per cent from a year earlier in June, compared with 19.9 per cent in the year to May.

The National Bureau of Statistics is due to publish the July consumer price index tomorrow with economists expecting the year to June index to drop from 7.1 percent to 6.5 percent.

The NDRC, China's economic planning agency, surveys retail prices in 36 major cities across China.

[mikey]

Tuesday, August 12, 2008Print This Page
UK Livestock and Products Approved for Export to China
GLOBAL - The UK agriculture department has announced that Chinese restrictions on the import of UK livestock and livestock products to China have been lifted.

 

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced today that Chinese restrictions on the import of UK livestock and livestock products to China have been lifted. The foot-and-mouth disease-related restrictions have been in place since the August 2007 outbreak in Surrey.

After a combined effort between Defra, UK industry and the British Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese authorities have announced completion of their risk assessment and lifted their restrictions allowing UK exports to recommence.

The Chinese announcement provides an exclusion window of 7 July 2007 to 7 August 2008. UK products manufactured outside of these dates can be exported to China where agreed export certification exists.

Health Certificates are being made available for export to China of breeding pigs, sheep skins, cattle hides, greasy wool and dairy products.

[mikey]

Tuesday, August 12, 2008Print This Page
EU Pig Prices: Markets Stable
EU - This week, the European pigs-mature-for-slaughter market is stabilising across the EU. Quotations are reported to remain largely unchanged with the meat business being steady.



Compared with the other European countries’ prices, the pigs-mature-for-slaughter prices are gaining importance in Great Britain as a result of the British pound presenting itself weaker, reports Schweine.net.

On the German market, the price level of a corrected €1.75 per kg slaughter weight could be pushed successfully despite the slaughter companies’ pressure exerted at the beginning of last week. Pigs mature for slaughter are being sold without problems. Exports towards Eastern Europe do not allow for price increases at this point in time.

In Belgium alone, the pigs-for-slaughter prices cannot be maintained. There, slight markdowns need to be accepted.

Corrected prices this week (week 33) ranged from €1.495 per kilo in Denmark to €1.797 in Italy, continuing the trend from last week. No prices were reported from Poland or the Czech Republic.

Many discussions have been held within the EU regarding the abolition of export allowances for fresh as well as frozen pork. But there is no need to worry because the allowances are still paid for contracts which have already been agreed.

Supply is expected to be reduced as a result of declining pig stocks, down to a level which the market can accept.

Trend
In some countries, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated this week. However, no one expects supply to accumulate - the more so as daily growth is decreasing in southern Europe as a consequence of high temperatures.

In general, the prices are expected to continue to be steady.

[mikey]

Thursday, August 14, 2008Print This Page
Industry Expands While Pork Consumption Slows
CHINA - Joel Haggard, Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Region of the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) reports that pig numbers have shown a double-digit increase compared to a year ago and there are 22 per cent more sows. So while production is up, consumption has slumped as the Chinese are watching the Olympics rather than eating out.



With hundreds of millions glued to home television sets and factory canteens running on low speed, the normal summer lows of pork consumption are being exacerbated by China’s hosting of the Olympic games. This lull comes as China’s hog herd has expanded close to double-digit levels year on year, with producers responding to strong industry profitability over the past nine months.

Reports from USMEF offices in China point to a negative 'Olympic impact' on pork consumption. The effect is more pronounced in Beijing, where tourists have not offset the sharply reduced local customer traffic in many restaurants. Some have even chosen to close for the three-week run of the Olympic games. USMEF-China also notes that urban clean-up campaigns linked to Olympic events have curtailed street-hawker activity. As a result, huge volumes of imported pork and poultry products have stacked up in Chinese cold stores, with some facilities reporting 100 percent capacity. National distribution of imports has also been affected by the Olympics, as increased security on roadways has slowed product movement. Finally, falling domestic prices have narrowed the spread between the wholesale prices for imported pork and local products.

Domestic boneless fresh pork prices in large urban areas have dropped between 15 percent and 20 percent from the high point reached in February 2008. In late July, China’s ministry of agriculture announced that its total mid-year live hog inventories have increased by more than 9 percent from year-ago levels. More importantly, sow numbers are up 22.5 percent.

With hog numbers surging and consumption weak, hog-raising profitability is dropping quickly. Analysts note that production costs of RMB 14/kg ($93/cwt) are fast approaching the recent live slaughter hog market price of approximately RMB 14.5/kg ($96/cwt). Moreover, large stocks of imported pork, plus continued anti-inflationary releases of U.S. pork from the government’s strategic reserves, are adding a bearish tone to the market. A drop in piglet prices over the past week is an indication of the loss of enthusiasm about the near-term outlook for the market. Reports of swine fever and other disease outbreaks are also adding to negative producer sentiment. However, if piglet prices keep falling - along with feed prices, which have also been drifting lower in recent weeks after large jumps earlier in the year - hog production breakevens will drop. This is likely to partially offset the decline in the live hog and pork market.

The Chinese government has announced significant subsidies for investors in development of large-scale hog farms. Over the past three months, USMEF is aware of at least six major company announcements of intentions to invest in these large-scale farms. Among these announcements are reports of major investments by Goldman Sachs - which already has a stake in China’s two largest meat processors - and Deutsche Bank.

China's interest in building new farms is also evidenced by a sharp increase in imports of breeding hogs. For the first six months of 2008, China imported almost 4,600 breeding hogs - four times its average pace over the last three years. China hopes large-scale farms can help smooth out the country’s roller-coaster hog market, which sees the quick entry and exit of tens of thousands of producers at different stages of the production cycle.

Although the bullishness of the hog market over the past year may be poised for a reversal, there is a silver lining. China announced yesterday that its consumer price index dropped to a 10- month low of 6.3 percent in July. Last month's increases in food prices, which account for one-third of China’s inflation index, moderated to 14.4 percent, with meat prices rising 16 percent. Slower inflation of food prices is welcome relief for China’s leaders, who face headwinds with rising raw material and labor costs, slowing exports, and a near collapse of stock prices. The appreciation of China's currency has stalled over the past month, and analysts are still betting that following the Olympics, China's leadership will eliminate some of the market intervention measures it imposed on non-food items.

U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports continued their surge in June, with 54,352 metric tons being shipped to China/Hong Kong – nearly four times the June 2007 total of 14,115 metric tons. As the largest volume destination for U.S. pork exports, China/Hong Kong led worldwide U.S. pork exports to a record-setting first half of 2008. Shipments to China/Hong Kong reached 254,445 metric tons - valued at $439.8 million – during this period. However, South China traders are now stating that because of full cold stores, falling domestic prices, and weak demand, there is margin pressure on new products arriving from the United States.

[mikey]

Thursday, August 14, 2008Print This Page
Annual Farm Input Costs Soar
UK - Farm input costs have soared by 30% in the past year, according to stark statistics due to be released next week.



The latest Agricultural Inflation Index will show dramatic price increases for major inputs including fuel, fertiliser and feed, as well as seed and machinery.

The figures are prepared every six months by the eastern counties farmer-owned buying group, Anglia Farmers, and reported by FWI.


Soaring costs
Director and Norfolk farmer, Jim Alston, said costs had soared since the group released its last six-monthly ag-inflation figure of 16.65% at the end of March.

"The full year's figures are just about complete and if you double the six-month figure, you come close to what the full year will look like," he added.

"Six months ago, it was felt that farm input prices were reaching a peak.

"Unfortunately, this has been far from the case and the rate of increase has been maintained in the second half of the year."


 

[mikey]

Friday, August 15, 2008Print This Page
Huge Chinese Deal for ACMC
GLOBAL - British pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd has clinched a major deal - worth over half a million pounds sterling - to deliver genetically advanced pigs to China, the world's largest pig-producing nation.

 

ACMC is supplying 525 breeding animals to a pig production, processing and retailing company, the ShiJiaZuang Shuang Ge Food Co Ltd from Shijiazhuang City in HeBei Province, which is using them to establish a brand new nucleus unit on a green-field site.



ACMC chairman, Stephen Curtis, shakes hands with Madam Gao Qiuju, head of the Shuang Ge Food Co Ltd, at a ceremony in China arranged to mark the pig-breeding deal.As well as providing pigs for its own use, the company will also be supplying improved breeding animals to other pig farmers within the Province, under a 15-year franchise arrangement. Once established, the stock will be able to produce over one million slaughter pigs annually - normally finished at around 110 kg liveweight - to help feed the Province's human population of 64 million.

Delivery of the animals - which includes Meidam and Volante damlines and Vantage FC sirelines - is scheduled to start this October. ACMC will be providing technical support for the nucleus herd's genetic and general management programme in addition to a regular supply of up-to-date genes in the form of semen.



Stephen Curtis, chairman of ACMCIronically, the ACMC Meidam is an improved version of the super-prolific, but fat, Meishan breed which was imported from China over 20 years ago to boost output from native European breeds. By selective breeding ACMC were able to combine this valuable trait with a high rate of lean tissue growth and efficient feed conversion and this was a big attraction to the Chinese buyers.

The ShiJiaZuang Shuang Ge Food Co Ltd, which was state owned until early 2006, is now privately owned by its 800 employees and ACMC will have an equity share. It is also opening a new slaughterhouse capable of processing 1,000 pigs a day.

"This very progressive company already farms 2,000 sows and it is looking to help meet China's demand for pork which is increasing rapidly as its GDP grows," commented ACMC's chairman Stephen Curtis, who personally negotiated the deal.

[mikey]

Monday, August 18, 2008Print This Page
Pig Prices Highest Since March 2007
AUSTRALIA - Over-the-hooks pork and bacon prices are currently the highest since March 2007 and sow prices have been better than ever since November 2007.



Prices have lifted on the back of reduced supplies, after the flat price period earlier, from February through to May.

More recently, the reduced value of the $A has improved demand from export customers as well, according to Farmonline.

The lower $A has also increased the buying price of imports entering the domestic market, improving the competitiveness of Australian growers.

Prices typically peak in the lead up to Christmas, with legs and middles currently easy to move at wholesale, while shoulders are harder to shift.

Carton product is also harder to move than is broken product. This has occurred as retail demand has been quieter over the past few weeks.

Currently, the national over-the-hooks bacon price stands at 269¢/kg cwt and pork at 298¢/kg cwt.

This is 25¢ and 35¢/kg cwt higher, respectively, than in mid-July last year, when prices reached their last major low point.

The national backfatter sow price has shown a more stable trend since last year, although a rise of 10¢/kg since the beginning of July has kicked the indicator up to 118¢/kg cwt.

[mikey]

Monday, August 18, 2008Print This Page
Chilean Pork Factories Quarantined
CHILE - The Chilean Health Ministry quarantined four additional pork factories last Thursday after Canadian health officials confirmed high levels of the carcinogenic chemical dioxin in their pork meat products.



A previous announcement ups the number of Chilean pork factory quarantines to ten, restricting local and exported meat sales.

Public Health Undersecretary Jeannette Vega confirmed that all infected meat will be destroyed, which includes sacrificing live pigs testing positive for higher than normal dioxin levels.

According to Mercopress, in early July, South Korea detected higher than permitted levels of dioxin in a package of imported Chilean pork and eliminated the rest of the packages received. Shortly there after, South Korean officials placed a ban on Chile's pork imports.

Dioxin is measured in the pig's fat by picograms, which is one trillionth of a gram. For pig meat to pass South Korean health standards, it must not contain more than 2 picograms.

In the Santa Anita Chilean pork factory, one of the factories that have already been quarantined – health officials found 36.7 picograms of dioxin in pig fat, a figure more than 1,800% above South Korean health standards.

In late July, Japan also declared a temporary suspension of Chilean pork imports due to the South Korean incident. This is a severe blow to Chile's pork export industry, as Japan represents one of Chile’s three most important export markets, consuming 33 percent of total Chilean pork in 2007.

Still, Chilean authorities have not completely controlled pork meat circulation within the country. The director of the Health Ministry's investigation, Doctor Helia Molina, said that there is no way the government can determine if infected meat has been sold to the public.

“We don't take samples of meat that is already on the market, only in the factories,” said Molina. “We are trying to take the precautions so that meat with dioxin does not reach the public. However, it is most likely that there has been some consumption the infected meat in small proportions.” The Santiago Times

[mikey]

Monday, August 18, 2008Print This Page
African Swine Fever Spreads in Georgia
GEORGIA - The spread of African swine fever [ASF] in Northern Ossetia, Georgia is a greater threat than avian flu says a report.

### REDUCED ###
Managing Pig Health and the Treatment of Disease
 An outbreak in the region has resulted in more than 1500 animals dying as a result of the disease according to a recent unconfirmed report on RSOE EIDS. In spite of the state of emergency declared in Northern Ossetia, the spread continues.

Experts predict that the disease will soon cover the whole country without effective means to control it.

The first cases of this exotic disease has also been recorded in the Orenburg region. The disease is carried by swine and can be spread [mechanically] by humans, animal feed and transport [vehicles].

Astrakhan veterinarians are already preparing for the possible advance of the deadly disease, and local officials there have increased security measures.

The authorities are applying a radical approach, appealing to the local population to slaughter their pigs and immediately consume their meat as a matter of urgency.

[mikey]

Tuesday, August 19, 2008Print This Page
Plentiful Feed Grains Help Boost Pork and Poultry Output
BRAZIL - Production of pork and poultry meat are expected to grow significantly for this year and continue upwards - but more slowly - in 2009.



An official source reports that this is due to easy availability of locally produced feed ingredients, maize and soybean meal, which are expensive and in short supply in other countries.

Despite not reaching record levels, consistently high harvests of these crops in recent years mean that the country has been able to accumulate increasing stocks of these vital raw materials.

As a result of this and strong demand for meat, producers have an incentive to raise their output.

They are not immune from rising prices in the medium term but a slowdown in price rises during 2009 is predicted. A fall in price is thought to be unlikely, even in Brazil, as long as the global supply and demand situation remains unbalanced.

Prices in 2008 are predicted to be 52 per cent higher for pork and 18 per cent higher for poultry meat than last year. Increases for next year are expected to be 8.8 per cent and 9.9 per cent for pork and poultry meat, respectively.

This year, it is predicted that output of pork will be 3.0 per cent higher than last year, and poultry meat 2.5 per cent higher. For 2009, further rises of 1 per cent and 2.54 per cent are expected for pork and poultry, respectively.

[mikey]

Wednesday, August 20, 2008Print This Page
Czech Republic Pig Breeding Loses Self-Sufficiency
CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech Republic is losing self-sufficiency in pig breeding which will lead to growth in pork imports in the coming years. This, it is felt, will have a negative impact on pork prices.



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"Farmer prices of pigs have to be raised to stop the decline [in pig stocks] because if this continues, consumers will pay the price." 
Agricultural Chamber president Jan Veleba
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According to Agricultural Chamber president Jan Veleba, pork producers now cover only 60 percent of domestic pork consumption and in a year or two, the share may drop to just 50 percent.

Pig stocks in the country decreased by 14 percent on the year which will have a large impact on grain producers as they will lack buyers. Processors will be affected as well, and employment will fall.

"It will have an impact on consumers. When we lose competitiveness, the price will be completely different," Veleba said.

The trend has lasted for over two years. The fall in pig stocks registered in the country in the second quarter of the year is the biggest of all EU countries, Veleba said.

"Farmer prices of pigs have to be raised to stop the decline [in pig stocks] because if this continues, consumers will pay the price," Veleba said.

According to the Chamber's data, since the start of the crisis, losses of pig breeders have got near Kc4.5bn.

However, retailers raised their margins by one third in the period, the Chamber said.

The deficit in Czech foreign trade in pork reached Kc4.98bn last year. As much as 130,000 tonnes of meat was imported last year, eight times more than in 2001.

Farmers claim that talks with the Agriculture Ministry have brought no results thus far.

[mikey]

Wednesday, August 20, 2008Print This Page
Dacheng Wins Initial Judgment over Lysine to US
GLOBAL - China's largest lysine producer Dacheng Group has won an initial judgment by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in a recent patent infringement case.



The ruling means Dacheng group can continue exporting lysine to the US, according to an official source in China.

Lysine is an essential amino acid that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be absorbed by nutrition. Commercially it is an important feed additive for swine and poultry. Without enough lysine, pigs and chickens suffer stunted growth, stress, and low meat yield.

Ajinomoto Heartland LLC and Ajinomoto Co Inc, two of six companies affiliated with Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition group, a Japan-based global leader of feed-grade amino acid manufacturer, filed a complaint with the USITC in 2006.

It alleged that the lysine and L-Lysine products of Dacheng group exported to the US infringed two of Ajinmoto's registered patents in the US.


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'Dacheng's lysine products account for about 30 per cent of the world's lysine market and 70 per cent of the domestic market.' 
 
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The initial determination was made on July 31, in which Charles E. Bullock, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of USITC found that Ajinomoto could not enforce two patents covering the technology for efficiently producing the lysine feed grade because the patent specifications provided by Ajinomoto did not include sufficient details.

According to the US patents law, the patent specification must 'describe' the claimed invention in sufficient detail to 'teach others how to make and use the invention'. If a claim includes devices, compositions, processes that are not described or are not enabled by the specification, the claim is invalid.

Sources from the Ajinomoto web site says the group is 'disappointed' with the decision and has appealed the decision. A final ruling is expected by December 1.

Before 1998, lysine production was monopolized by large foreign enterprises, says Li Weigang, assistant general manager of Dacheng group.

Most lysine in China was imported from the US, Japan and South Korea. The price per ton sometimes averaged about 50,000 yuan (RMB).

"Through our persistent innovations through the years, we have developed our own technology to produce the lysine products, which are very popular in both home and abroad," Mr Li says.

At present, Dacheng's lysine products account for about 30 per cent of the world's lysine market and 70 per cent of the domestic market.

The price decreased to RMB12,000 per ton, which greatly lowers the cost of domestic livestock feed production and boosts the development of the feed industry, he says.

Unlike many Chinese companies in a similar situation, Dacheng group had an active response to Ajinmoto's accusation.

"We hired three lawyers from the US and one from China immediately after we decided to raise a defense. The team was vital to our winning the initial determination," Mr Li explained.

"The legal process took more than two years. This is rare in the history of the USITC, as most investigations are concluded within 12 to 15 months," he added.

Dacheng group has exported about $9 million worth of lysine products to the United States.

"Though the exports to the United States only accounts for small proportion of our annual profits, we see a profitable future in the American market," Wang Dehui, general engineer of the Dacheng Group, says.

Mr Wang also points out that Dacheng group is the first Chinese company to win a case regarding section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930.

The bulk of Section 337 cases involve infringements of US patents and trademarks as well as other intellectual property issues.

Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that since 1986, 53 investigations under section 337 have been conducted on Chinese products by the USITC, among which 88 percent are concerned with patents and brands.

USITC is the relevant agency that investigates Section 337 violations, and it can issue cease and desist or exclusion orders.

The accused party will lose the right to export the related products to the US if it does not respond to the suit or loses the judgment.

Section 337 investigations have relatively short time terms, but the high expense often keeps some small-scale Chinese companies away and forces them to give up the US market.

Experts say an increasing number of Chinese companies which export goods to the US, such as batteries, wood flooring, writing materials, ink cartridges and chemicals become the defendants of the section 337 inquiries.

"Investigation of section 337 is a long and difficult task," says Liu Limin, vice director of Changchun Intellectual Property Rights Bureau.

"Small Chinese companies should get a better understanding of the section 337 and wield the power of the business association to raise a defense as an active response to the accusation," Mr Liu says.

"Dacheng's victory is a great example for other Chinese companies. It finally shows that how international law can be successfully applied to protect their export business if you can handle it well.

"More people with expertise in IPR and international laws should be welcomed and cultivated in Chinese companies if they intend to export," he added.

And the ruling did teach people a lesson, says Wang Dehui, general engineer of the Dacheng Group, continues the article.

"Not until we were involved in the tough long case, did we realize the importance of patents," he said.

"During the past two years in response to the case, we applied for a large amount of patents to protect our own intellectual property rights.

"What's more, we established a set of strict IPR protection regulations inside our group, and also formed a panel of IPR specialists to strengthen management regarding commercial confidentiality and patents."

[mikey]

The Best Way to Predict Your Future is to Create It
Farmers at this year's Pig and Poultry Fair in the UK were tested over whether they believed the current market practices could deliver a sustainable future.

 

"We are now at a critical crossroads for the future of UK Pork Production, with unprecedented raw material prices and finally some retail price inflation, I believe the time has come for our industry to start making some positive decisions," says Rick Sanderson, PIC Pork Chain Business Development Manager.

Mr Sanderson questioned whether the focus should be solely on offering the customer a low-cost product that fits the supermarkets 'Every Day Lower Price' culture?

He also asked whether they should embrace the trend for Premiumisation and really focus on delivering a superior eating product?

 
Rick Sanderson, PIC Pork Chain Business Development Manager
"I believe the current path to market will not deliver us a sustainable future but what does the farmer think? At this year's Pig & Poultry Fair, we put this to the test," said Mr Sanderson.

"At PIC we have worked hard in the last two years focusing our products on specific markets having conducted our own consumer research.

"When asking consumers what the drivers of purchase were, we were pleased to find that the price of the product was only 4th in the list of priorities, with attributes such as colour, leanness and texture heading the list. This gives us great encouragement as a breeding company as we know that we can influence all of these traits through genetic improvement.

"The direction we take at these crossroads presents two key challenges; Will the consumer pay for a more premium product under the current economic climate and , more critically, can the British Farmer survive if he tries to compete on cost with the cheaper foreign imports?

At this year's Pig and Poultry Fair, PIC asked the farmers which direction they supported.

The genetics company devised a novel voting system, which was a popular central feature of the PIC stand.

 
PIC voting sphere at the Pig and Poultry Fair
"We asked farmers to place a red ball in the glass sphere for Meat Quality or a white ball for Cost of Production," said Mr Sanderson.

"Given today's economic pressures on our industry, it was surprising and extremely encouraging to see that just over 50 per cent of our farmers voted in favour of a Meat Quality focused UK Pork. They have faith in producing a quality product and if only the premium was available they would invest in this future.

"If we are going to produce this meat quality animal, how much of it will the UK consumer actually want to buy? There are some really exciting opportunities waiting to be explored to make pork more relevant to the UK consumer, as well as combating the biggest issue we have in terms of carcass utilisation."

PIC showcased a unique presentation using supermarket loyalty card data, which demonstrated these utilisation issues. For example, pork shoulder represents 33.5 per cent of the carcase in meat terms yet only 0.5 per cent of all supermarket consumers had purchased fresh pork shoulder in the past two years.

Likewise, just 2.5 per cent of these consumers had bought fresh pork belly, which along with the shoulder accounts for 50 per cent of all the meat on the carcase.

With the current weakness of the pound. Mr Sanderson said that this offer export opportunities for these cuts.

"However, as we have seen these past five years, this market is not always attractive or available. We must be innovative and in doing so, create products that fit the consumer need for ease of cook, short preparation times and provenance. We have highlighted products such as pork burgers, meat balls for pasta, pork ribs for BBQ and roasts and so the list goes on. These all come from 'unfashionable' cuts of the pig yet would add real value to the consumer," he said.

"So, the industry is full of ideas and ambition to take a new direction and help create a more sustainable future, based on real consumer demand and a product we can be proud of!"

[mikey]

Thursday, August 21, 2008Print This Page
Lawyer Fights Farms on Animal Welfare
AUSTRALIA - A lawyer hired by the federal government to examine Australia's animal welfare strategy says farmers are failing to make sound arguments in support of their practices.



Lawyer Geoff Bloom says animal industries around the world are preparing for tougher laws on welfare, cruelty, labelling and disclosure, reports ABC Rural.

He says that it is no longer good enough for farmers simply to attack animal rights groups who target how they treat animals.

[mikey]

Thursday, August 21, 2008Print This Page
Soya Alternative for Pigs Being Sought
UK - A research project has just started looking at creating a win-win situation for the British pig industry - a situation wherein costs are cut and environmental impact is lessened.



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"The benefits should be lower costs for producers and a better environment as this feed would not have to be transported anything like as far as soya." 
BPEX pig technical manager Dr Pinder Gill
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According to Farming UK, the £1.5 million Green Pig project is investigating the potential of using home grown legumes in the diets of growing and finishing pigs.

The Defra project brings together plant breeders and growers, pig feed manufacturers, producers and industry organisations such as BPEX

BPEX pig technical manager Dr Pinder Gill said: "The aim is to find an home-grown feed as an alternative to soya which will closely match the needs of a pig.

"The benefits should be lower costs for producers and a better environment as this feed would not have to be transported anything like as far as soya."

The three-and-a-half year project has three academic partners Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), University of Nottingham and National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB)).

There is also support from ten partners: Union Nationale Interprofessionelle des plantes riches en Proteins (UNIP), BOCM Pauls, Evonik/Degussa, Genesis QA, Harbro, Premier Nutrition, Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO), BPEX, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and the Soil Association. The overall project co-ordination rests with SAC and the project manager is Dr Jos Houdijk.