RANGER FEBRUARY 2020 ST EWE - A FAMILY BUSINESS BUILT ON NUTRITION AND INNOVATION NO PROPOSALS TO LOWER POPHOLE HEIGHT, SAYS RSPCA ASSURED BRITISH FREE RANGE EGG PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION The prettiest hen in the house! Producers with Hy-Line flocks know how great they look— fully feathered until the end of lay. Well, now they are officially recognised as the best-looking hen on the market, with nine of the 12 months in BFREPA’s 2020 calendar featuring Hy-Line birds. Along with the best liveability and feed efficiency of any breed, it’s little wonder producers want Hy-Line every month of the year! www.hy-line.co.uk CHAIRMAN’S COMMENT 2020 will be a challenging year for members battling against an unsustainable egg price, especially when margins have been conceded to the discounters. We will shortly have sight of the new Lion we will be launching a new AI/Salmonella Code with anticipated changes to AI and Contingency Planning Workbook. Salmonella control and testing - we will share our thoughts on this in the next Ranger. For the past few years BFREPA have contributed to the European Project for Red Whilst we expect Insurance could be Mite. In association with ADAS we will be mandatory there is some rumours of producing a special supplement in the Ranger discounts being negotiated with to discuss the latest developments as well as underwriters. This issue needs to be resolved reflecting on other treatments for red mite. ASAP, no one should be in any doubt that insurance is essential given the growing It comes around so quickly, but once again we concerns and recent outbreaks in Northern will be hosting the annual BFREPA Awards Ireland of Low Path AI. Dinner and Conference at the Hilton Metropole on the 30th September and the 1st Whilst the outbreak in County Fermanagh, October 2020 where we hope to be able to Northern Ireland was Low Path, it was slightly increase the number of tables for significant as it occurred on a farm of those wishing to attend the Awards. Further intensive layers of substantial numbers, close information on this will be available in due to a previous outbreak and will have an course. impact on the egg market. A decision to cull was made at the owners’ discretion. By the time this magazine is printed we will have left the EU. We now have a transition We need to understand the costs and period to the 31st December 2020, but it processes associated with an outbreak, what seems apparent there will be no trade deal to impact this has on a producer and the protect eggs from cheap imports and whilst immediate and long-term financial promises have been made on welfare implications of a positive. We hope to be able standards there are still concerns. What to provide more information on this over the impact all this will have on our businesses is next few months. yet to be played out. BFREPA have taken a stand at the Pig and Poultry Fair in May and have also agreed to James Baxter hold a producer seminar on Salmonella where RANGER FEBRUARY 2020 3 21 12 villiers insists welfare 43 standards will be maintained no proposals to lower pophole prevention beats cure for post brexit height, says rspca assured mid wales producer CHAIRMANS’S COMMENT 03 CHIEF EXECUTIVE COMMENT 08 BEIC COMMENT 11 no proposals to lower pophole height, says rspca assured 12 villiers insists welfare standards will be maintained post brexit 21 defra warns producers to be vigilant over ai 31 red mite control on the agenda at joint sruc and moredun science day 37 prevention beats cure for mid wales producer 43 cage-free investment leads to oaklands loss 45 forfarmers appoints new uk sales director to its poultry division 49 listeria outbreak in america linked to hard boiled eggs 51 morspan joins bfrepa sustainability scheme 55 4 www.bfrepa.co.uk 77 93 enriched eggs: 51 new year, new you st ewe - a family business built on nutrition and listeria outbreak in america innovation linked to hard boiled eggs 57 uk scientists use genetic engineering to develop effective ai vaccine uk scientists use genetic engineering to develop effective ai vaccine 57 nuffield scholar lays challenge to industry 65 new ‘stay sunny’ tv campaign for happy egg 73 enriched eggs: new year, new you 77 video footage leads to rspca assured suspension 89 hy-line uk hosts first european technical school 93 st ewe - a family business built on nutrition and innovation 95 planning ahead for the pig and poultry fair 2020 105 Market data 108 Guide to UK packers 150 Guide to UK Pullet rearers 152 poultry directory 157 RANGER FEBRUARY 2020 5 THANK YOU TO GOLD SILVER BRONZE SUSTAINABILITY OUR SPONSORS BFREPA high quality welfare, high quality food SCHEME RANGER FEBRUARY 2020 7 Chief executive comment The UK has left the EU and we are now in transition to paradise In preparation for the grass always being The Government has made clear that it does greener outside the CAP, the Government has not want to stay in the EU Customs Union or put together its policy proposals for the Single Market and will seek Free Trade future of farming in an Agriculture Bill which Agreements (FTAs) with the EU and other will be considered by Parliament. countries, such as the USA, Japan, China, This Bill provides the legal framework for the Australia and New Zealand. There is a agricultural and rural policy interventions misconception that FTAs literally mean free required to create the sort of agricultural trade between both parties. Unfortunately it practices that society wishes. This is the start does not – it just means (very simplistically) of the battle between the electorate’s that both parties agree to tariffs which are perception of what farming should be, as below the WTO ‘default’ rates. compared to the reality that we face as producers. The politicians have the job of The Government has already published balancing the two. negotiating mandates in which said it would 8 www.bfrepa.co.uk “secure comprehensive market access for US Despite the commitment from a range of agricultural goods in the UK by reducing or Ministers’ to “not compromise on our high eliminating tariffs”. Indeed the Government environmental protection, animal welfare and announced its intention – via its no-deal food standards”, there is nothing in the Bill to Brexit tariff schedule - to slash the tariff on protect our standards in international trade eggs and egg product imports to 0%. This negotiations. Without it, we will be exporting could apply to eggs from anywhere in the egg production to countries which have world (assuming no other FTAs are in place). lower hen welfare standards than our own. By contrast the EU placed tariffs of 19% on We would then have the ludicrous situation egg and egg products coming into the EU where we have the highest welfare standards (and UK when we were members). in the world for fewer hens but eat imported eggs from hens with lower welfare standards. Under a nil tariff scenario, cheap battery cage This is what happened in Germany when it egg could be imported into the UK, overreached with its welfare standards (ie a undercutting our prices and our standards, beak tipping ban), domestic producers went and dramatically reduce our self-sufficiency as out of business, and imports from the producers go out of business. It is therefore Netherlands and Poland flooded into the heartening that the Bill includes some market. Germany now has a self-sufficiency provisions on food security. The government rate of 69% but Poland is at 160% and the will be required to report on the state of the Netherlands at 300% (UK is at 87%). And that nation’s food security every 5 years, although is within the EU customs union which slaps a it could report that imported food supply tax of approx. 19% on egg products from chains are resilient and working well! third countries, such as the Ukraine, Russia or Turkey. The Bill also requires government to develop new forms of financial assistance having So if tariffs are slashed to 0%, what else can “regard to the need to encourage the we ask politicians to do to stop low welfare production of food by producers in England rubbish coming in from abroad? Under WTO and its production by them in an rules, we cannot use hen welfare standards as environmentally sustainable way.” This points a justification for restricting trade unless both to the creation of schemes such as the parties agree to it within a FTA. Environmental Land Management Scheme But we could use health standards. Under the which will replace the Basic Payments Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures of Scheme in England over a 7 year transition the WTO there are basic rules for plant and period. animal health, and we could push UK politicians to block imports from countries In addition the Bill makes provisions to with high levels of salmonella, for example. support productivity improvements, organic This would certainly be the case for a country farming, higher animal welfare, fairness in the such as Ukraine, which has a massive egg supply chain, assistance during times of industry with very low health (and welfare) exceptional market disturbance, standards. encouragement of collaboration through Producer Organisations (eggs are included), What else can we ask for? If the Government the collection and sharing of data, and the won’t maintain tariffs or use the SPS establishment of a new body to provide a mechanism to restrict low welfare/low health Livestock Information Programme.