They also had the opportunity to learn about the main drivers for the consumer when buying pork, as Rick Sanderson from PIC gave an informative talk about the pork supply chain. Interestingly, the main reason for buying pork was the menu - ie what am I going to cook? Selection of pork was then determined by appearance, not price and 64% of consumers prefer British pork.

Rick also spoke about the interaction between the physical environment and genetics in influencing meat quality and highlighted the fact that producers can control about 75 - 80% of this.

With the current difficulties facing the pig industry as well as the credit crunch and increased fuel and food prices, it is a challenging time for pig producers. Up for debate was whether they should invest in practices to make their production more efficient or opt for specialisation such as organic. Generally all the attendees were optimistic about the future and keen to secure a career for themselves in the industry.

According to Alex Godfrey: "This was a very interesting evening and we learnt a lot about what drives the consumer. It was also good to network with other producers and people involved in the industry. We hope there will be more meetings like this in the future."

The dinner was organised by BPEX Knowledge Transfer Manager Lis Ravn, with the support of NPA's Regional Manager Zoe Davies. Zoe said: "Hopefully, the evening will have started the ball rolling for young people involved in the pig industry to get together and forge successful working relationships."