January 6

Robin Wilson

For those who did not read the News, the Environment Agency sees us as the cause of United Kingdom agricultural pollution. “Pig and poultry farms affect the environment through the release of pollutants.” So there you have it. We just pollute away - let's ignore the effect that imported meat has on carbon footprints, the efforts that pig farmers go to to prevent pollution; we are all just a bunch of couldn't-care-less polluters. But then their overall view is that "Agriculture provides wildlife habitats, a well-loved landscape and a place for recreation but it also has some less desirable impacts on the environment" - so a real Dickension view of the environmetn there! Anyone in the Environment Agency ever left an office?

January 5

Bill jones

Did I read it right that labour costs £2 a pig finished? How - if you market 250 pigs a week that is £500 a week cost or £26,000 - are these numbers right? It sounds that £2 a pig is not enough unless it is family labour. Can you put me rite?

Robert Mills

There are many uncertainties about this year but I would rather be cheerfully hopeful as the alternative seems to mean I am miserably hopeless. Happy New Year!

Stephen Banks

Not wanting to pour cold water on Peter Crichton's price cheer but if the pound regains strength against the euro as predicted, the pig price will drop back to the level of last year. With the wheat price rising do not get to excited; it could be a very short boom. So my sheds will stay empty.

January 2

Nick Bird

I just wanted to add my own comments to those of Richard and Sam — they've spoken for all of us. I really don't know how you find the time to do it all, but you really do a great job on the website, the mag and all those other things you squeeze in. Thanks.

New Year's Day

Digby Scott

You are both far too generous but I appreciate your kind words.

Richard Longthorp

Re "To put it plainly..." The pig industry is indeed blessed with many top people but none more so than our very own webmaster. So take a bow Digby; you deserve it - as does Ann who puts up with all your gadgetry which no doubt you claim is vital for the "job". The NPA website is an absolute credit to you and the industry would undoubtedly be a lot poorer without it and its webmaster. The industry is indeed fortunate that we have someone who is not only a whizz with words but usually manages to get the tone/balance dead right and is a master of the technology to boot. So, many thanks from the United Kingdom pig industry and have a great 2009 yourself. Oh, and before you get carried away and think that you set the rules of the website, I want this posted, not on the forum page, but on the front page - where it deserves to be!

Sam Walton

I don't suppose for one minute that Digby will publish this but following on from his New Year message on the News page where he thanks everybody, I think the industry owes him a huge thanks too. Some of you, but not all by any means, will know how much time and effort it takes to keep the pages updated. Try ringing him and see how often the phones are engaged. I often send him an email late at night and many times I get a reply at 11pm! Again some of you, but not all of you by any means, will realise what the lovely long-suffering Ann has to put up with dealing with industry issues when his Lordship is away at different meetings. You all owe her a great deal of gratitude also. They make a great team and the industry would be a lot worse off without them.

Terry Cross

A very happy New Year to one and all.

December 29

Fred Henley

If my interpretation of BPEX figures is correct (News page) then every pig produced has lost on average about £11 per pig over the last two years. The question must be asked, Why is anyone still farming pigs?

December 25

Peter Crichton

Although according to the Chinese the next year of the pig is not until 2019 clear signs are emerging thet 2009 should also be a better year for British pig producers. So for those of you who may be thinking of quitting the industry please remember that we now have a strong euro, lower feed prices, rock bottom interest rates and the most welfare friendly production system in the world and despite a growing mound of paperwork on your desks hang on in there because we are at last starting to win the battle against cheap foreign imports. We have plenty of friends and allies out there and (hopefully) 2009 will also prove to be the year of the pig, ten years early!

December 24

Fred Henley

Happy Christmas everyone and I hope a profitable new year. Still work to do as last week Asda had Wiltshire and Yorkshire ham made with pork from EU. Also half price British ham joints from FR 039 - Trophy Foods whose website is being restructured but seems to be a Canadian company operating here in Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council area.

Stephen Thompson

Can I just say via the web page a Happy Christmas and thank you for all your good ideas and hard work to the Good Relations team over the last year.

December 18

Jane E. Conder

On behalf of Lips may I extend our condolences to Jim Dewhurst's family. A lovely gentle-man who will be missed by all whose lives he touched. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.

December 17

Fred Henley

When I arrived in Hull slightly late they had just started on the pig and there was a line waiting expecting to pay! In less than two hours it was all gone, never less than ten waiting and at one time over 25 so very good exposure. They must have been good or Sue was hungry, as she accounted for two. If you can, please support John in Leeds tomorrow.

John Cobbald

Anyone who is in the Leeds area... we would be grateful for your assistance for a couple of hours on Thursday December 18 outside St Johns shopping centre. We are giving out pork samples from a hog roast... Leeds Council won't allow us to give sandwiches as it affects other traders! If you can make it please let me know. We have had no offers of assistance with handing out pork so far. Looks like I will be very busy on my own.johncobbald@btconnect.com

December 16

Digby Scott

Will the person who emailed me yesterday asking to be added to the Traffic Lights list please email again. Sorry, but being a clumsy idiot I have lost your message.

Ann Petersson

I was greatly saddened to hear about Jim's death. He was such a great contributor - very effective and in such a charming way. We will certainly miss him. Your tributes were spot on - well done. It's hard to capture a personality in a few words, but you did it.

Sally Ham

Congratulations to whoever it was who managed to convince the editor of BBC Good Food magazine that we have an unbeatable product! In a page of `What`s new for 2009` in the January edition is a list of 12 items including "we`ll also be encouraged to eat more British pork - it is reared to some of the highest welfare standards in the world and, compared to beef, it`s still great value. At Morrisons and Waitrose all the pork, bacon and beef will be British" Also in the list were pig`s trotters.

Adam Dewhirst

To all in the British pig industry. I just want to thank you all on behalf of myself and my family for your generous words below on my Dad, and thoughts at this difficult time.As one of the two non-pigmen in the litter, I have been to a large extent unfamiliar with his work and colleagues in the industry. I therefore feel very proud that the values and principles I was so familiar with in him as a family man transcended also into his world of business. Funeral is at 2pm on Friday, Dec 19. We look forward to welcoming you.

December 15

Richard Longthorp

Whilst Jim might well indeed have had many characteristics of the archetypal English gentleman and perhaps appeared very much "establishment", he was never afraid to roll his sleeves up in support of the United Kingdom pig industry - in whatever way that was required. When the BPISG was seen by some as the bête noire of the industry and took the government to Judicial Review in 2000, it was, I seem to remember, only Jim of the then NPA board, together with wife Kate, who came to support the cause. Equally at home in the boardroom or on the battlefield, Jim will be remembered with great affection. All our thoughts are with Kate and family at this very sad time.

December 14

Sarah Fox

I am currently carrying out research independently and wonder whether anyone out there is willing to offer me some advice. I am looking at osteochondrosis in pigs and want to see if there is any archaeological record of this. My understanding is that osteochondrosis is not observed in wild pigs and is very common in domestic pigs. In addition, I believe, the causes are not well understood, but could be as the result of diet, housing/husbandry and selective breeding. Am I right with this? What I am hoping, at this early stage, is to find evidence of osteochondrosis in the archaeological record and then look at the implications for pig husbandry in the past. I would really appreciate any information, suggestions for further reading, sugestions of people to contact, etc. sc.fox@virgin.net.

Fred Henley

Sainsbury Harrogate on Saturday had one end shelf half price Danish leg joints from Tulip - must have been nearly 100 - and just one QSM from Cranswick hidden in a corner. Has anyone been to Morrisons?

Smallprint

Please don't print my name to spare my blushes and my wife's. We ended up with a pack of Danish bacon from the Coop. They are all mixed together and without reading glasses a last minute change from green to smoked meant even she picked up the wrong one.

Philip Richardson

I was so sad to read of the untimely death of my friend Jim Dewhirst. Having served with him on pig industry committees for thirty years he was an amiable companion and a wise councillor. The industry will mourn his passing, and our thoughts must be with his family at this most difficult time.

Stephen Thompson

Re advert and complaining - I am sat at my compter (well kneeling as just had back op) and got to this web page to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority. If enough people put a complain in it might just get somewhere! http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/how_to_complain/complaints_form/

December 13

Jim Dewhirst. (Picture: Sam Walton.)

Sam Walton

Digby, both you (below) and Ian (News page) have got it spot on. In addition he was humble and modest.

Digby Scott

Every phone call I took yesterday started with the caller expressing the deepest regrets for the death of our friend Jim Dewhirst. He will be such a loss to this industry - he had the sharpest of brains but also a hugely attractive easy-going nature - not a common combination. I'm sure others will express this better than me. Funeral time and date here, when I have it.

Digby Scott

Jon, I've got a copy of the Asda advert now (thanks Andrew) and will have it on the website later today. I dare say others will be doing the same, but I for one will be reporting both adverts to the Advertising Standards Authority.

I apologise in advance for the website being not much cop next week. I've got my diary in a mess and need to get my head down and concentrate on the day job or there won't be a January issue of Pig World. So not many website updates, and definitely no News Digests for a while.

(News Page advertisers... you'll get an extra week to make up. Thank you for your continued support of the site).

December 12

Jon Easey

I see Asda have run the same advert as Tesco today. Another over reaction to the Irish problem.

Peter Crichton

See News page.... Green Paper-Profound "affect". Shurely shome mishtake here?

Terry Cross

What are "esoteric initial sets and acronyms"? - News page.

Len Scull

Just got back from our local Tesco and it is as Fred has reported. Full of Danish and Dutch all mixed up with British. Ellen is right. It's time to really show what ******* Tesco are. Bring back the stickers. The public are on our side. They were all looking for British because the trust has gone for imports. Now that is a case to put before Tesco as that was their main selling point when the Pork and Bacon Promotion Council was going years ago. Lets really shame them.

Fred Henley

My daughter has just been to Tesco, York. Half price pork, both Danish and ours, is on shelf. No Red Tractor on Danish but Packed in UK. QSM, Red Tractor and picture of farmer on ours BUT both from farms "OPERATING TO TESCO LIVESTOCK STANDARDS". There was alot more Danish all mixed up with ours and she said unless the label was uppermost then it would be easy to make a mistake. Legally all in order but not how it should be. Ellen says how soon and how many Tesco depots can be got at.

December 10

Clive Beddall

Having sounded off, long and hard, for years about the inadequacies of food and farming industry spokespersons, I have to write in praise of Barney Kay's efforts over the past few days. At last! A food and farming spokesperson without nerves, who addresses the issue in hand with great skill and clarity. Even the bloke on the Clapham omnibus could understand it all. Brilliant- pity there aren't many more like him.

Digby Scott

Re earlier messages... listen to Barney again at 12pm on You and Yours (Radio 4), explaining the importance of labelling and traceability.

Lewis Carroll

The time has come the piggy said,
To talk of many things.
Of pork and bacon and rising costs.
And whether pigs have wings.

A load of tosh the piggy said,
But what we really need,
Are supermarkets that realise
It’s them that’s at fault – pure greed.

I weep for you the piggy said,
It’s time you all got real,
There’s only one way out of this,
It’s a feeder and it’s called the Big Wheel.

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a profitable New Year.

Digby Scott

Young Barney hates being called Young Barney. He says (with some justification, I suppose) that in any other industry he would already be on the slippery slope into middle age. But hasn't it been interesting these past few days to watch Young Barney for NPA and Young Andrew for BPEX being lead spokesmen for the industry, whilst those two old warhorses Houston and Sloyan keep a watchful eye behind the scenes? Now if I can just find someone young, and solvent, to be the new proprietor of Pig World...

Richard Longthorp

What a nice young man that Barney Kay on Sky TV is.

December 9

Robert Treen

I watched Sky News over the weekend and a young man reported as being from the NPA did what I thought to be a really excellent job of answering questions concerning concerns over pigmeat... well done!

Robert Mills

Contamination of feed has happened here before. It almost inevitably will happen here again sometime. We all know who will be hung out to dry if or when it happens. I would suggest the risk to consumers is theoretical hence "dont worry if you have eaten Irish pork". The risk to farmers and their staff is real. It is not only food that can damage your health. All those farmers in Ireland have my sympathy.

Nick Bird

Yes I agree that the level of media coverage has been disproportionate to the actual risk to human health, but that's just the media nowadays - stories either make the cut or they don't. Headline news or no news. Fortunately, there is no particular danger to the public, but as a "dry run" - for the possibility that there would be - how does the event stack up? Here's some dodgy feed component that was successfully infiltrated into the food chain and into an only slightly known number of animals on a number of farms. From there it is immediately labelled "safe" and almost anonymous "Produce of the EU". It's soon on an unknown number of supermarket shelves in both branded and unbranded goods.The nature of it is so uncertain that people talk in terrms of destroying any meat that is or might be of Irish origin back to September. And residing for months or even years in domestic freezers up and down the land. But, as they say, in every Threat there is an Opportunity - sounds like an ideal stamping ground for terrorists.

Digby Scott

The breeding herd is circa 37,000 sows. Total pigs circa 412,000. But is a single one implicated in the dioxins alert? We don't know that yet.

Terry Cross

How many pigs are there in Northern Ireland? Thanks.

December 8

Richard Longthorp

The parallel universe that Digby has been occupying over the past three days might just be called "passive government spin". Has it escaped people's attention that there is a little story circulating about a Scottish bloke who refuses to wear silk tights to work in the House of Commons and that a debate was taking place in parliament today about an issue that reflects on his and the government's ability? Whilst I would never suggest that even the government would actually create a scare like the dioxin one, I would not be at all surprised if it played a dumb hand to allow the story to grab perhaps more headlines that it might otherwise have received - just to help try and cover up their own (hopefully) acute embarrassment over the ineptitude of the Speaker.

Digby Scott

I feel as if I have been living in a parallel universe for the past three days, where commonsense and a sense of proportion is comprehensively disregarded. This dioxin alert should be likened to a car recall for a steering mod. Worth a paragraph on page six perhaps. But headlines on page one? Irish product has been withdrawn as a precaution. Experts have been at pains to explain any risk to consumers is very low. It now transpires it is so low as to be almost off the scale. And in Britain there is no risk because affected product has been withdrawn. There has been a lack of proportion in this whole exercise. The authorities, the media — everyone — really must learn to be more porportional in food matters. Or else who is going to listen if there is a real food scare one day?

Fred Henley

Now clear country of origin labels must be on all products. I just hope the scare is not down to someone so desperate that a cheaper feed has been used in an attempt to survive. A proper price must be paid for food and it must be made absolutely obvious where it comes from.

December 5

Digby Scott

Pigs Are Worth It is having a problem finding a producer-run hog-roast for Leeds, as part of the industry's Christmas Hog Roast campaign. The Evisons are kindly doing Hull, but they can't manage Leeds as well. Do you know someone who could help? If so please contact Ekta Sopal at esopal@goodrelations.co.uk or call her at 0207 861 3154. I've told her Yorkshire will always come up trumps but it is looking as if I might have to eat my words this time.

Jim Hunt

Went in for a pig from my local butcher today for some christmas presents. He tells me that our local abattoir has put price up by 20p this week and he is too busy to do anything until January. Don't take less than a 10p increase this week!

December 4

Ellen Furby

Sounds like we need a visit to "Discounter House" - big time! And give them some ****ng yo ho ****ng ho!