Manx National Farmers Union issues statement in response to audit report

Manx farmers have “consistently raised concerns” about the Island’s Meat Plant over the past few years.

That’s according to the Manx National Farmers Union, which has released a statement regarding a recent audit done of the plant.

In it, the union says it welcomes “the DEFA Minister’s commitment to rectifying the problems” at the plant.

The environment, food and agriculture minister will face questions in Tynwald today regarding the future of the business.

MNFU president Ean Parsons says persistent issues place financial pressure on the industry, which in turn affects farmers’ mental health.

He added that the many issues outlined in the report need to be sorted, to help rectify a cash shortage within the industry.

The MNFU’s statement in full states: “As the Manx National Farmers Union, we welcome the DEFA Minister’s commitment to rectifying the problems of the Meat Plant and believe that it is crucial that this commitment is carried out in its entirety. The Meat Plant is essential on the Isle of Man both for our food security and for the farming industry to have a route to market for their produce. 

“Three years ago, the Manx National Farmers Union were told by the then Chairman that ‘operational issues of the Meat Plant were none of your concern’. Since then, we have solely concentrated on the producer’s ability to get stock into the Plant and receive an equivalent payment level to UK producers.

During the last three years, we have consistently raised concerns with both the Plant Management team, Directors, and DEFA about the long lead-in times for producers to sell stock, especially during the autumn-winter period. At present, if a producer offers cattle into the Plant this week, they will not receive payment for those animals until February 2023. This is totally unacceptable and has created a cashflow crisis within the industry.

The pricing structure based on the AHDB is essential for the industry, yet it is not recognised within the report that the farmer doesn’t receive this level of payment in real terms. We have around 6% (24p/kg) deducted from that price by the Plant to distribute the meat to its customers and to pay for marketing, though it clearly shows there’s been nowhere near enough of that done.

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Manx Radio

Farmers are being told to expect delays for this years peak lamb kill, with the season expected to be longer due to labour shortages.

Processors have been struggling with staff shortages for the past two years due to the border closure and staff being off sick with Covid-19.

AgriHQs latest market update said staff shortages had been a major problem for some processing plants and in some cases lambs were sent back to the farm as there were not enough staff to process them all.

 

Alliance Group, which operates five meatworks in the South Island and two in the lower North Island, had not had to send lambs back, but farmers were experiencing wait times of 10 to 14 days.

General manager livestock and shareholder services Danny Hailes said plants were still processing old season lambs.

Its Lorneville plant had been undergoing maintenance, but would be up to speed next week and the Smithfield plant will ramp up quickly after a one week maintenance shutdown from 28 November, he said.

“Any backlog that we have will be cleared pretty swiftly.”

 

Lorneville would start on two chains and would be operating six by Christmas. There was a goal of getting a seventh processing chain operating in the new year subject to labour.

Staffing had slightly improved with the border reopening but it was still not straightforward to bring in workers from overseas.

“We’re doing our best to get labour in from overseas in a way that suits our seasonal ramp up, but the reality is that we won’t have the numbers of people at the time that we want.”

Farmers should have their lambs processed as soon as they’re ready, he said. “Don’t hold off any longer than you need to.”

 

Silver Fern Farms chief supply chain officer Dan Boulton expected the labour situation to be marginally better than last season.

“However that’s coming off a relatively low base and so we still expect some disruption and delay in the season ahead.

“We’ve got to acknowledge that it’s been a long and challenging few seasons for many of our site staff, and our processing volumes will also be determined by how much sustainable overtime can be achieved without impacting our staff well-being.”

 

by Sally Murphy  / RNZ

 

 

 

BBC

Food Standards Agency (FSA) staff will not be striking over pay in the run up to Christmas, following a ballot of UNISON members, in what will come as a huge relief to the meat industry.

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, had warned that the dispute involving several hundred inspectors, vets, and office-based staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could result in strikes in the run up to and over Christmas leading to less meat on supermarket shelves.

Earlier in the year, FSA staff voted to reject a pay offer of between 2% and 5%. UNISON said this was significantly lower than inflation, currently 9.9%, and falls short of the 10% pay claim it put forward.

But the three-week ballot of FSA employees, which closed on Monday (October 31), fell short of the numbers required to bring about strike action.

A UNISON spokesperson said: “Staff showed strong support for taking action over their inadequate pay offer, but by the narrowest possible margin, turnout didn’t meet the legal threshold.”

 

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

Weekly pig prices, slaughter data for Great Britain

The EU-spec GB SPP continued moving in the right direction in the week ended October 8, inching up by 0.18p to reach 200.55p/kg.

This is the second successive weekly increase, following the reverse in the week ended September 24 and means the SPP has risen by less than 0.6p over the past four weeks as the upward trajectory slows, and means the index is 44p on a year ago.

The APP was back up by nearly a penny, 0.9p, for the week ended October 1. At 203.57p/kg, the gap between it and the SPP was just 3.2p.

The context is, of course, that average prices remain below average costs, estimated by AHDB at 221p/kg for August.

The EU price is critical to the UK market and the large gulf between the UK and EU prices over the summer has contributed to increased volumes of pork imports. As EU prices have risen that gap has closed in recent weeks.

For the week ending October 2, the EU Reference stood at just short of 187p/kg, compared with a UK reference price of 200.7p/kg, the gap of under 14p comparing with more than 30p at some points in August. However, the rise in EU prices has stalled, with some key producers recording falls in recent weeks.

 

Pig World / AHDB

Processors blamed lacklustre retail demand for British pork for poor uptake of pigs last week, according to Thames Valley Cambac. 

TVC described the 19% year-on-year increase in pork import volumes, as highlighted in the last issue of Pig World, as ‘disappointing’, but noted that this level of imports matches pre Covid levels, while the same reporting period shows exports have increased.

“Supplies continue to tighten as producers leave the industry, but slaughter weights are creeping back up, as processors keep number allocations tight,” TVC said in its latest market update.

Price contributions stood on, and the SPP improved 0.36p to 200.37p, but pig returns are still way below cost of production and, unfortunately, industry exits continue.

Prices in Europe eased again with the Netherlands down 7 eurocents – a realignment following Germany’s fall last week. The Euro ended the week down 0.92p at 87.38p.

There was little weaner demand outside regular contract commitments, as raw materials remain volatile and uncertainty in the finished market leaves fatteners with little confidence. There was insufficient data for the AHDB to formulate any prices.

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World

British lamb has now been exported to the United States for the first time in over 20 years, in a deal estimated to be worth £37m in the first five years of trade.

The first consignment since the deal was struck last year was flown to the US this week, containing lamb produced by processors Dunbia from its site in Carmarthenshire.

A ban on British lamb exports to the US had been in place since 1989 due to concerns around BSE, commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’.

The small ruminant rule that banned the product was rescinded by the US government in January of this year.

The industry estimates that the US market will be worth £37m in the first five years of trade, opening up access for farmers to a market of over 300m consumers.

Andrew Smyth, commercial director at Dunbia said: “As the largest processor of lamb in the UK, it is imperative we continue to have access to new and emerging international markets, and we welcome the small ruminant rule amendment.

“We continue to work closely with AHDB to identify and develop new market opportunities for our quality British produce.”

 

Farming UK

Farming Minister Mark Spencer has said he will push for small abattoirs to be able to benefit from earned recognition in order to reduce veterinary presence.

His comments came shortly after John Mettrick, owner of the multi-award winning Glossop-based butchers J W Mettrick, closed his abattoir because the staff walked out on account of the ‘constant scrutiny’ they faced.

The workers left after trading figures meant the business moved from requiring part-time to full on-site official veterinarians (OVs).

Mr Spencer told attendees of the NFU fringe event at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham: “I have already met with the Food Standards Agency. I think what we need is a risk-based approach.

“In my retail business, the environmental health officer inspects every two years. As long as when they do inspect, they find a premises which is clean, tidy, well-documented and abiding by all the rules, they come back on a less regular basis.

“If I have made a mistake, they will come back more often. I think we need to apply a risk-based system to our abattoirs so it does not require a veterinary surgeon to be there 24-7.”

 

by Abi Kay / Farmers Guardian

Exports of livestock by sea will cease from April next year, following a 2019 review of the trade in response to concerns around the ongoing risk to New Zealand’s reputation.

The Bill, which passed in Parliament today, does not cover the export of live animals by air, for which the travel times are much shorter.

Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor said the move will protect the country’s reputation for world-leading animal welfare standards.

“The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill future-proofs our economic security amid increasing consumer scrutiny across the board on production practices.”

O’Connor said the objective of that review was to provide New Zealanders with an opportunity “to reflect on how we can improve the welfare of livestock being exported”.

“Our primary sector exports hit a record $53 billion last year, delivering us economic security.

“That result is built on our hard-earned reputation and this is something we want to protect.”

“The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee supported the ban. There are different opinions on its long-term value among farmers, how it affects New Zealand’s commitment to animal welfare, and our image in the eyes of international consumers.

He said the impacts on export flow would be small in the context of total primary sector exports.

“Live exports by sea represented approximately 0.6 per cent of primary sector exports last year.”

 

NZ Herald

 

 

Abu Dhabi: Provacuno, a Spanish beef interprofessional association, organised a delegation of top UAE beef importers to visit several Spanish plants and farms as part of its Wonderful Beef 2.0 campaign as a trade mission.

Participants learned about the safety and quality of EU/Spanish beef, which follows a strict and safe European production model.

Five UAE Beef importers – namely Excellence Meats LLC, Hope Gourmet, Parker Migliorini International Food Trading LLC, Sunlife General Trading LLC and Unique Seven Star General Trading LLC – participated in a 4-day trade mission which was conducted in Spain.

On the first day, the group of UAE importers travelled to a renowned cattle farm, which stands out at the national level for being one of the largest producers of calves born and raised on its own farms through the development of homogeneous lines in breeds, sexes, conformations, and fat.

The participants learned about Spanish Beef, which emphasized productive capacity and extensive control from the source to create a recognized quality meat. This farm also selects specimens with exceptional characteristics from the “Aquitaine Blonda cattle breed” and are given special care in the breeding process.

On the second day, the UAE participants travelled to Buñol, Valencia and toured a massive 55,000 square meter Slaughterhouse facility in Buñol (Valencia). This facility has a slaughter line for up to 100 animals per hour, a cutting plant and veal with a capacity of 130 tons per day, a chamber of meat products to produce snacks, minced meat, and burgers. They also have a massive cool storage center of fresh and frozen beef products, at a capacity of forty thousand cubic meters.

The third day of the mission involved a trip to Barcelona, where the participants were treated to a tour of one of Spain’s most long-standing beef production organizations in Barcelona, with a history dating back over 100 years. The UAE vendors witnessed the superlative practice of extensive product traceability. The last day of the trip concluded at Mercamadrid, where the UAE team visited a state-of-the-art beef processing plant and headquarters in Mercamadrid.

 

Zawya.com