Income from contract-finishing is 'very welcome'

National Pig Association THE VOICE OF THE UK PIG INDUSTRY NPA is active on members' behalf in Brussels & Whitehall, and with processors, supermarkets & caterers - fighting for the growth and pros-perity of the UK pig industry.

Graham Shadrack emphasised the importance of 1,750 pig finishing places on the 500-acres he farms with his brother-in-law near Attleburgh, Norfolk. “It is a regular income and from the farm’s point of view it is very welcome.”

Given the uncertainty surrounding arable incomes, contract-finishing is an attractive proposition and he is considering expanding the pig enterprise.

“The sugar beet crop is dying a death and practically nobody is making any money from cereals. At £70 a tonne and 2.5 to 3 tonnes an acre – although it’s always more in the pub – you are only breaking even; meanwhile the cost of growing the crop continues to go up.

“My gross profit from the farm has gone down nearly 50 percent in recent years so I need those pigs, and I think most other arable farmers have the same problem.”

Graham Shadrack was speaking at a meeting at Stoneleigh organised by BPEX and NPA to explain the industry’s British Pig Project which promotes contract-finishing and sets out a number of blueprints for off-the-shelf pig finisher housing.

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