Finding Latest Feed Info
H1N1 Type A human flu epidemic hasn't impacted on the commodity markets... yet.  LIFFE Nearby wheat futures crept up £2/ton over the week to £111.  CBOT Soyameal nearby futures have also remained bullish rising from $358 to $377 per ton amid further concern of the poor Brazilian (79% complete) and Argentina harvests. Click here for more.

Marketing News

Bacon Connoisseurs Week Update
Results are now in for the third Bacon Connoisseurs Week.

The combination of extensive major retailer, Independent butchers and processors support, increased regional radio coverage (much thanks to the LIPs ladies), Wogan’s on air coverage, manufacturer participation (English Provender) and two significant TV wins (Market Kitchen and The Alan Titchmarsh Show) has resulted in media coverage amounting to £2.745 million!

This is an increase of over £1m from last year, which is a fantastic achievement. BCW 2009 really showed what can be achieved when an awareness campaign is taken up by the industry and used as a springboard for further initiatives.

Well done and many thanks to all who participated. Look out for the date for next year’s week, to be announced in the BPEX Weekly shortly.

More Home Cooking
New research commissioned by Loyd Grossman Sauces recently released reveals that 60 per cent of respondents would happily swap their nights out in favour of cooking dinner for family and friends - making staying-in more popular than ever.

This, and the current economic climate could indicate why nearly half of us (45 per cent) are eating out less than this time last year. 

However, despite the desire to entertain friends one in four Brits (25 per cent) seem to lack confidence in the kitchen with over a quarter (26 per cent) of us not entertaining for up to six months at a time for fear of culinary skills being judged. 

The high cost of food for large numbers (26 per cent) and not knowing what to cook for guests (17 per cent) are the biggest woes we face when deciding to entertain for our loved ones. And, with a huge three in ten admitting to not having any dishes in our cooking repertoire and nearly half of us having less than six ‘standby dishes’ it’s no wonder the thought of cooking for a group of friends strikes fear into the hearts for many.  For more information, click here.

Focus on Lunchboxes
In the last year 28 million of us prepared and consumed a total of 4.2 billion lunchboxes to take food and drink out of the home; this is a 5.7% rise on the period last year. Worth more than £4.7bn to the UK grocery market and growing at a rate of 8% YoY, faster than the total market.

This occasion represents significant opportunities for a wide range of food and drink manufacturers. 

The Recession is an obvious catalyst to more lunchboxes, and when faced with a decision to reduce costs consumers have a number of choices; firstly eat less often, secondly consume more staples and cheaper foods or finally planning more.

Currently there are no signs of eating less often, but there is evidence of consumers eating more staples and planning more in order to reduce costs.

Lunchboxes offer the most planned solution to reducing costs with an Average lunchbox costing just £1.30, significantly cheaper than a bought lunch.  For further information click here.

Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week: Improve Marketing Return
Improving returns from finished pigs is vital to the success of any pig unit. Understanding and meeting the contract specification, and increasing the uniformity of finished pigs (see Action for Productivity 11) will help improve financial returns.

The latest Action for Productivity factsheet (22) will help you review your contract, taking into account your location, pig production system and current grading. Click here to download a copy or contact BPEX to request a hard copy.

Free Slurry Analysis
BPEX can arrange, for a limited period only, for manures and slurries to be analysed for nutrient content free of charge as part of a BPEX funded research project. In order to get involved please ring Lindsey Tapp on 01908 844734 with the number of samples you would like to submit; bags and bottles will be provided.

If you have already submitted samples we understand data will be available shortly. For more information click here.

Water Supply Systems:
Information for anyone installing, modifying or maintaining plumbing installations can be found by downloading this booklet or click here to visit the WRAS website.

Insulation Calculator
An ‘insulation Calculator’ (protection from freezing) is also available; insufficient insulation fails to provide adequate protection against freezing, whilst over insulation is expensive.

Different pipe materials have different requirements. This simple and quick calculator allows you to check if you are adequately protected or determine requirements.

National News:

Meat Demand Trends
As well as reviewing the recent increases in UK finished pig, sow and weaner prices and recent trends in consumption and trade, the April edition of Pig Market Trends contains the latest BPEX forecasts of UK pig supplies for 2009 and 2010. 

Contact Jo Stanton on jo.stanton@ahdbms.org.uk for details on how to subscribe to this publication. 

Responsibility and Cost Sharing
In a similar program to last year, the Responsibility and Cost Sharing team will be running 13 regional half day events to talk about the proposals and listen to how they will affect farmers on the ground. 

The views gained will help troubleshoot and develop the proposals further.  The Minister Jane Kennedy has said she is keen to hear the outcome from all the events.    

Adverts will be appearing over the next few weeks in the regional press, together with the Farmers weekly, Farmers Guardian, and the Country Smallholding.  It is really important that we learn about the concerns of our customers – those that will be affected by the policy.  For more information, click here.

Open Farm Sunday
With less than 6 weeks until Open Farm Sunday on the 7th June 2009, and with already over 325 farms registered to open their gates and host a farm open day, the key priority for everyone is promotion .

National media activity is really gathering momentum with a great deal of interest from national newspapers, magazines and broadcasters. However, the best way of publicising individual farm events is down to you at a local level. For more information, click here. 

Still Nervous About Expanding
Despite good returns this spring, pig producers remain uncertain about the future. Fewer than a quarter will expand their sow herds this year, and most of these by only a modest amount.
This is the headline result from a Pigs Are Worth It poll on the NPA website last month. Those taking part represented 11.5 percent of the English pig herd. The results are being analysed and will be published in May Pig World.

Benn Visits Suffolk Pig Unit
Cost sharing and IPPC were on the agenda when environment secretary Hilary Benn visited the Houstons pig unit in Suffolk yesterday, en route to “Any Questions” at Great Yarmouth.

The minister expressed his appreciation of the thoroughness of the briefings he received from the pig industry and its willingness to work with Defra to find solutions to difficult issues, such as cost and responsibility sharing.

He acknowledged there was never a good time to introduce new charges and stressed Defra was keen to hear NPA’s views on how the proposals in the current consultation could be improved.

Carcase Call
BPEX  Foodservice Manager Tony Goodger says a cooked meat manufacturer is looking to buy 75 pig carcases per week.

The carcases must be delivered split and ex head and feet with a 10 to 11 probe depth. Anybody who can help should email tony.goodger@ahdbms.org.uk

International News

Organic Logo Competition
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development has today launched an EU-wide organic logo competition.

The new EU organic logo will be mandatory for all pre-packaged organic products that originate in the 27 Member States and meet the labelling standards. Additionally, all non pre-packaged organic products that originate from the EU or that are imported from third countries can use the EU logo on a voluntary basis.

The competition challenges students to design an eye-catching, original logo that captures the diverse aspects of organic farming and production.

Additionally, the jury will assess the designs according to their universal appeal, their comprehensibility without the use of words, their clarity of presentation and their timelessness. Full terms and conditions can be found on the website www.ec.europa.eu/organic-logo.

Export Bulletin
For the latest Export Bulletin, click here.

International Prices
For the latest international prices, click here.