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

No, nor anyone else. And yet there are growing demands on pig farms to become greener places. So there is an argument that the time has come to collect some real data about what the industry buys in to create its product (British pork), and what it produces by way of "waste".

A firm of independent consultants has been charged with the task, using money from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme and BPEX.

Collecting detailed information from farms, and abattoirs, is not going to be easy, but the end result will be some independent data which the pig industry may be able to use to repel the more extravagant demands of environmental policing.

Producers who are asked to provide information for this "ecological footprint analysis" are urged by BPEX and NPA to cooperate, even though it may be a moderately time consuming task.

For their part, the people conducting the survey - Agricultural Reading Consultants - say they are prepared to spend as long as it takes to talk participants through the questionnaire.

Those who take part will be asked about the number of pigs they produce, how much water, energy and feed they use, and how much dirty water, slurry and carcases they dispose of.

Producers who would like more information should email Peter Danks or Alan Bloor at Reading Agricultural Consultants, will be happy to oblige.