Pork and bacon committee update

Pigs on Norman Robson's farm, Doagh. Picture: Cliff Donaldson

Coronavirus (COVID-19) had a very real effect on Northern Ireland’s (NI) pig farms.

The UFU pork and bacon committee successfully lobbied the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), and secured support for farmers who were adversely affected by the closure of a local factory due to an outbreak of COVID-19 at the plant. This scheme has been rolled out with many farmers having now benefitted from this financial aid which exceeded £2million. Whilst the scheme covered some of the losses, many farmers remain out of pocket for deductions that were made because of overtime costs at the plant.

Further commitment for support has since been given by DAERA Minister Edwin Poots, directed at farmers who endured losses relating to the depressed cull sow market during 2020 and early 2021. Cull sows plummeted in value following outbreaks of COVID-19 at their end destination factory in Europe. This meant a huge dent in farm incomes for NI farmers.

Minister Poots has committed to supporting pig producers through these pandemic related reductions in their incomes where possible and the UFU pork and bacon committee welcomes this support. The UFU continue to engage with DAERA regarding the roll out of this support package.

The committee have continued to meet with CAFRE over the past number of months.

Recent meetings have been constructive, and it is anticipated that from the commencement of the next education year in September 2021, pig production will be a focused area of study at CAFRE. This will ensure that all agriculture based students have an opportunity to develop skills and an interest in what is a successful industry.

Representatives from the UFU pork and bacon committee have spent significant time and resources engaging with the Red Tractor Technical Advisory Committee during the spring of 2021. A standards review is currently underway.

Despite stringent proposals that were brought to the technical advisory committees, the UFU engaged with members and other stakeholders, providing firm feedback to Red Tractor on some of these proposals which had seismic implications for the industry.

Whilst the revised standards have not yet been finalised, our members can be confident that the UFU continue to work hard to ensure the best outcome for all parties.