One of the most important ongoing discussions within the pig sector is how producers should be rewarded for delivering on the ever-increasing requirements around pig health and welfare, sustainability and more.
And how should these on-farm initiatives be marketed to the consumer in order to deliver rewards down the chain, ultimately to the producer?
Sofina Foods is attempting to address these questions with the launch of its bold Sofina Connect programme, with the stated aim of creating ‘a more connected and sustainable supply chain’. The finer details are being finalised, but the principle is clear.
“If you speak to anyone in the food industry, you’ll hear the words ‘collaboration’ and ‘risk sharing’. That is what we are doing here,” said Sofina Foods group agriculture director Graham Wilkinson.
“This is about creating a programme that connects a farmer right the way through to the consumer, so we’re giving farmers the confidence to invest in the best technology – for example, free farrowing – that secures their business for the future. And, ultimately, it encourages the consumer to continue to taste and consume fantastic British pork.”
Sofina has gone about its pig business quietly since the acquisition of Karro Food Group in 2021 and Finnebrogue in 2025, keeping a lower profile than its biggest competitors. Mr Wilkinson, who joined in October after 18 months as AHDB’s CEO, is keen to change that, arriving with a CV that also includes time as global vice-president of agriculture at dairy giant Arla Foods and senior positions at Tesco.
“One of the reasons I joined the business was its focus on farming and a desire for a more resilient supply chain, recognising the interest from consumers in their food and how it is produced.
“At Sofina we are continually looking for ways to improve and I am using my experience from the dairy sector, Arla, Tesco and AHDB to move things even further forward and bring everyone together.”
Sofina Connect
As well as processing pigs from its Brydock Farms, which operates 24,500 sows and 100 rearing sites in Scotland and England, Sofina also works with 750 independent farmers across the UK and Ireland to supply its abattoirs at Malton, in Yorkshire, and Cookstown, in Northern Ireland.
One of the main drivers behind the Sofina Connect programme is ‘around reinforcing our links with those independent farmers’, according to Mr Wilkinson.
“We really want to champion the independent farmer,” he said. “We work with some incredible farmers and the programme will enable them to work within a framework and be recognised from a customer perspective.
“The farmer can’t be shouldering all the burden. This is about how we work together for the benefit of all.”
Sofina Connect is built on six ‘pillars of activity’:
- Animal Health and Welfare
- Farm and welfare data
- Research and development
- Environment and natural resources
- People
- Economic resilience.
The programme will operate a points-based system, with farmers selecting activities most relevant to their units, and points weighted towards priority areas, such as animal welfare, where there is most interest from the supply chain. The points will equate to financial incentives to give producers confidence to invest in these key areas.
The intention is that, in most cases, the standards will go ‘above and beyond’ other schemes.
“It’s a points-based system, recognising that some farms are further down the line than others. It is designed to be a multi-customer programme, as well, recognising that some may want to prioritise certain areas more than others,” Mr Wilkinson said.
There will be a contract in place specifying compliance with the requirements and setting out the points system. Farmers will be audited to ensure compliance, and standards will be regularly reviewed to ensure they remain above the industry baseline.
A key consideration is financial incentives. “We need to get this right. It needs to be the right premium to incentivise the farmer, but not to disincentivise a customer,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“It’s not designed to be a fully cost-compensated model, but it is recognising some of the significant costs that are coming down the line in some of these areas, and giving farmers and customers the confidence to invest in what really matters.”
Sofina Foods
- Sofina Foods is a family-owned Canadian company, based in Ontario, with a broad portfolio of pork, beef, fish, turkey and chicken products.
- In May 2021, it expanded into Europe and the UK, with the acquisition of Karro Food Group and Young’s Seafood.
- Globally, the company operates 44 sites and has 5,000 employees in Canada and more than 8,000 in Europe.
- Sofina Europe runs 13 pork sites in the UK and Ireland, with two major abattoirs processing pigs at Malton, in North Yorkshire, and at Cookstown, in Northern Ireland.
- Brydock Farms has 24,500 sows across 28 breeding herds and 100 rearing sites across Scotland and northern England
- Sofina also works with 750 independent farmers across the UK and Ireland.
Retail involvement
The programme was launched in late March and it is still very early days, with the finer details at farm level still to be finalised and, just as importantly, retail buy-in to be secured.
“We’ve already sat down with a number of our farmers and there has been a very positive response. There is a lot of interest and we now have a waiting list of farmers who would like to be part of the programme,” Mr Wilkinson said.
The number of farmers involved in the initiative will, ultimately, depend on the extent to which retailers and food-service customers sign up to the initiative. Sofina supplies pork products to most of the major retailers and is currently in discussions with them about the programme. “The customer is key to this, which is why we’re having discussions with them,” Mr Wilkinson said.
While the programme is designed to be ‘all-encompassing’, it also enables retailers to prioritise certain areas that fit in with their particular priorities. Retailers will be assigned to a group of farmers that fit the criteria.
“This is about enabling our customers to be able to build a relationship with some of the best pig farmers, and support them in the success of their business,” he added.
“I’m confident that it is a very compelling concept and the conversations we’ve had with the customers so far have been extremely positive,” he said.
Recent AHDB Porkwatch data has confirmed that retail support for and long-term commitment to British pork remains strong, but Mr Wilkinson believes there is a huge opportunity to do more to push pork forward in the marketplace.
“Is pork really getting its fair share? Poultry is absolutely flying, and I’d like to challenge us as a business and the industry to do more.
“It’s a fantastic, versatile product, but we could do even more to innovate, as we see in other sectors like dairy, to create new products, so pork is not purely seen as available at a price point, but drives long-term investment and consumer loyalty.”
Sofina brand
Mr Wilkinson is leading the programme within a business that is shaped by its wider Canadian ownership, working closely with Sofina Foods chairman Michael Latifi and Sofina Foods Europe chief executive Ash Amirahmadi, who also held senior positions at Arla Foods.
Mr Latifi remains closely involved in the UK operation. “This is a fast-growing, family-owned business with a strong appreciation of food and farming,” Mr Wilkinson added. “The Sofina business and brand is still relatively new to the UK and doesn’t yet have the same resonance as others in the sector.
“We want to build a programme that supports the business and positions Sofina as an industry leader.”
Longer-term stability
Since the crisis of 2021-22, there has been a shift towards more longer-term, cost-of-production-based contracts, but many pig farmers are still very much exposed to the short-term ups and downs of the market, as recent months have highlighted.
Sofina believes its new programme can be another step towards delivering longer-term stability down the chain.
“In some of the conversations I’ve had with independent farmers, there is still a nervousness about their future,” Mr Wilkinson said. “Our ambition with this programme is that by connecting all parts of the chain, it naturally generates that longer-term partnership.
“It isn’t just about price, it’s about giving a farmer confidence to invest and, when they sit across the table with their bank manager, the assurance that they’re going to get support to invest.
“It’s an industry that often keeps its head down, but we have a fantastic story to tell and we should champion it more.
“When I visit pig farming businesses I see so much pride and passion in the herd’s performance and pig health and welfare, but I think we need to do more to talk about it, particularly if we’re going to attract people into our Industry.
“We want to play a part in that, but it is critical that we get the buy-in we need. It’s about collaboration and sharing risk. We’re having very positive conversations with retailers – and we need their support to make it work.”
Sofina Connect – the six pillars
Sofina Connect’s six pillars are designed to ‘share risk and offer financial incentives for farmers to give them confidence to make longer-term investments’.
Farmers will select elements that suit their businesses and will earn points for delivering on the measures, which will be audited. These points will translate into a premium.
Animal health and welfare
Indoor producers transitioning to flexible farrowing will be a big part of this pillar. Sofina Foods group agriculture director Graham Wilkinson said support will be offered for producers who have already transitioned, as they will still be paying off the investment, and, potentially, to those who commit to doing so over a specified period in future. Points might also be linked to the length of time sows are confined under these systems.
Other elements likely to feature in the standards include enhanced space requirements, the provision of enrichment, tail-docking and pain relief.
Farm and welfare data
Farm and welfare data will be captured through a central welfare hub to provide greater transparency across the supply chain.
Mr Wilkinson said this includes the implementation of CCTV on farms, which would enable pig handling and husbandry to be ‘actively monitored’ and help ensure compliance.
Environment and natural resources
This will cover elements like carbon footprint and using tools to measure it, emissions, water quality and implementing pollution-risk management plans, slurry and manure management and biodiversity and soil health on outdoor units.
People
“We’re nothing without our people,” Mr Wilkinson said. This element would focus on ‘how we are looking after our people on our farms, how we create a community around it and how we create a leadership programme’, he explained.
Sofina intends to create a pig club concept, bring people together to encourage peer-to-peer learning through sharing best practice, benchmarking and learning from each other. The aim is to develop farm teams to continuously improve technically and as managers.
There is an ambition to introduce an international scholarship, ‘giving people the opportunity to travel, absorb what they learn and bring learnings from around the world back to the benefit of the whole group’, Mr Wilkinson said.
Research and development
To accelerate innovation, a network of farmers will be supported to undertake research and development into key areas, including in relation to animal health and welfare and sustainability.
Economic resilience
Support will be given to improve economic resilience and help the company develop a supplier base that is ‘adaptable and sustainable for the long term’. It could cover elements like attitude to risk and succession.
“The pig industry is very much focused on this already, but it’s about ensuring there is a full economic, resilient plan,” Mr Wilkinson said.