26/07/07
Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF) and Agrosoft have launched
a booklet to help pig producers reduce the impact of increasing
feed costs.
The collaborative publication will help producers understand
the relationship between management strategy and financial
response.
The impact of increasing feed costs upon the cost of production
is a constant challenge for pig producers unless there
is some 'slack' in the business to absorb the current pressures.
For example, an estimated increase in productivity required
to mitigate £5 per tonne incremental rises is nearly
0.5 pig sold per sow per year. Or if looked at from Feed
Conversion Ratio (FCR) angle the same incremental rise
requires 0.08 improvement in FCR.
The booklet will help producers identify where they can
improve key performance areas of production and will mean
increasing feed costs take on a different challenge. British
Pig Executive (BPEX) Strategy Co-ordinator Andrew Knowles
said: "Feed represents over 50% of production costs
and increases in feed prices in the last 12 months have,
on average, pushed up pig meat costs by 11%.
"Providing production tools that will help pig businesses
to minimise the impact of volatile feed prices is essential
in maintaining the competitiveness and sustainability of
the British pig industry. However, all elements of the
pig meat supply chain, including retailers, need to
recognise the impact increased feed prices are having on
all European pig production."
A major report is published on Friday (Jul 27), on the
BPEX website, examining the factors driving changes in
feed prices, what the implications are for the costs of
producing pig meat and what the industry can do to mitigate
some of those effects.
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