Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. July 2025
    2. June 2025
    3. 2025 Innovation supplement
    4. May 2025
    5. April 2025
    6. March 2025
    7. 2025 Buildings supplement
    8. February 2025
    9. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    10. January 2025
    11. December 2024
    12. November 2024
    13. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    14. October 2024
    15. September 2024
    16. August 2024
    17. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    18. July 2024
    19. June 2024
    20. 2024 Innovation supplement
    21. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    22. May 2024
    23. April 2024
    24. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    25. March 2024
    26. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    27. February 2024
    28. January 2024
    29. December 2023
    30. November 2023
    31. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    32. October 2023
    33. September 2023
    34. Health Supplement
    Featured

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025
    Recent

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Comment

What I learned about farming on a seven-week whirlwind trip

Guest WritersBy Guest WritersAugust 1, 20173 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Having just returned from a seven-week whirlwind trip around the world as part of my Nuffield Scholarship, my brain is still trying to absorb and process all the knowledge I gained.

I travelled with eight other scholars, a Dutchman, an Irishman, a Welshman (there’s a joke in there somewhere!), two Aussies, a Kiwi, a South African and a Canadian. So not only did I learn about agriculture in the places we visited, I also learnt about it in the countries of my travel companions.

Dr Georgina Crayford is a Nuffield Scholar and the NPA's senior policy adviser, with responsibility for health and welfare policy and Young NPA
Dr Georgina Crayford is a Nuffield Scholar and the NPA’s senior policy adviser, with responsibility for health and welfare policy and Young NPA

Our journey started in Singapore and then took us to the Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Germany, the UK for the Nuffield Triennial conference and, finally, Washington DC and California. The only place I saw pigs was in Germany – but it was fantastic to learn about other sectors and there’ll be plenty of opportunity to visit
pig farms when I go on my own travels to research my Nuffield topic on antibiotics.

One of the pig farms I did visit gave me further insight into the German welfare scheme, Initiative Tierwohl, which was set up by retailers. I was stunned to hear that pig producers receive an extra €7/pig for including a selection of features in their pig pens: a scratching post, two enrichment toys made from organic material, plus 10% more space.

“My Nuffield experience so far has been eye-opening – I would strongly recommend anyone considering an application to go for it next year”

It’s great to hear of retailers offering financial incentives to support welfare improvements, but then I found out something very telling. While around 30-40% of German pig producers are thought to be in the scheme, there is now a waiting list for producers wishing to join, essentially because retailers have reached the limit of how much they want to spend on this. This just goes to show that the consumer demand is not there to support a full roll out of initiatives like this.

During our visit to Washington DC, we met with the National Chicken Council and I questioned them about the biggest trend in the US poultry sector: raised without antibiotics. Some 30% of the industry now produces chicken for marketing under this label. Because the poultry industry is highly vertically integrated, it’s the poultry companies that decide which of their suppliers will produce for the label – often they are chosen based on their proximity to the processing factory and local disease challenge.

Currently there is a 50 cent/lb premium for producers rearing without antibiotics and, at retail level, average prices for breast meat are $2.85/lb for conventional, $4.51/lb for ‘raised without antibiotics’ and $6.80/lb for organic.

I scanned the pork packages in Walmart, but couldn’t find any labelled as reared without antibiotics, only ‘hormone-free’.
But I fully expect this trend will soon spill over into the pig sector.

Next stop Scandanavia! My Nuffield experience so far has been eye-opening – I would strongly recommend anyone considering an application to go for it next year.

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleA great PR exercise at a time campaign groups are stepping up their offensives
Next Article Why we need to educate the public on the true value of pork
Guest Writers

Read Similar Stories

Comment: British pork reimagined: Data-led marketing for a changing consumer

July 9, 2025

Comment: Market recovery, export growth and on-farm innovation

July 7, 2025

Comment: Encouraging signs as big pig issues discussed in parliament

July 4, 2025
Latest News

GB pig prices for week ending July 5, 2025 – SPP bounces back to reach year high

July 9, 2025

Nutrient Action Programme could destroy NI pig sector, UFU warns

July 9, 2025

Comment: British pork reimagined: Data-led marketing for a changing consumer

July 9, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1759 North Yorkshire

    • North Yorkshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1758 Norfolk

    • Norfolk
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.