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

Let’s hope for a better 2019 after a terrible year in pigs

PW ReportersBy PW ReportersJanuary 5, 20194 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Shane McAuliffe’s family produces 50,000 pigs per year for the Truly Irish brand. He is secretary of the Irish Pig Health Society, secretary of the Irish branch of the European Pig Producers and sits on the Irish Farmers Association National Pig and Pigmeat committee

I’m writing this from a beach lodge in Mozambique, part of a two week pre- Christmas break in Africa. African swine fever (ASF) is endemic here, first identified in 1960 and since 1994 all regions have reported outbreaks.

On arrival to the small regional airport of Vilankulo, I was met with bright colourful signs warning me not to bring meat into the country. Even last week, I was on a South African Airways flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg and the inflight magazine carried a two- page advert by the Department of Environmental Affairs on biological invasion. I have to question why the EU authorities are not being so proactive in educating travellers?

I wrote a paper for the Royal Veterinary College in the summer on biosecurity protocols to keep ASF out of Ireland and one area I felt set alarm bells ringing was the fact that ASF could easily enter at our border points. After the Belgian outbreak, a meeting of the National Pig Health Council agreed that being proactive with education and awareness is the best thing all stakeholders can do.

In September, a friend of mine saw that a well-known brand of Irish ham was using Belgian pigmeat. The company was faced with a large pig producer protest, which highlighted that not only was an Irish brand using imported pigmeat at a time of severely low pig prices, but it also presented an opportunity to bring ASF into the conversation.

Earlier in the summer, one of Ireland’s best-known retailers was found to be using Dutch bacon in one of its own brands – producers responded then by blocking aisles in the supermarket in question. Both companies immediately made the switch to Irish pigmeat.

The fact the protests were so well attended could be very much down to the fact that farmers have been struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel and felt they needed to vent their frustration. In my column in July I highlighted how pig prices saw no traditional rise in the second quarter.

No one could have predicted then that the average price of €1.40/kg would remain stagnant. Spiralling feed costs dealt producers a double blow. It has been the worst year for Irish pig producers in 15 years. It has taken its toll on many, and for the first time in many years, a number of pig farms are on the market for sale as a going concern. Teagasc held a number of ‘cost reduction workshops’ to help producers identify areas where money could be saved.

It’s difficult to find any positivity, but figures released in October showed that Irish pigmeat exports for January to July were up by 4% on 2017 figures. There has been major growth in Japan, Philippines, Australia and South Korea, while it has been announced that a two- year, €4 million campaign will be launched to promote Irish beef and pigmeat among the South East Asian markets. China’s ASF outbreak should, of course, bring good fortunes to our prices early in 2019.

Tail talking point
Last month I gave a presentation at the European Commission meeting of Rearing Pigs with Intact Tails. I detailed the pilot study led by the Department of Agriculture and it is hoped many more Irish farms will take part in it in 2019. Intact tails has been a big talking point and the Commission made it clear that EU member states that do not make an effort will be in trouble.

Closer to home, I have been busy travelling with my part-time role with Easyfix, promoting its range of environmental enrichment. I’m glad to say that in the UK the products are now stocked with Andrew Maskery, Holmefield Farm Services, The George Vet Group, James Buckingham (Scotland) and Ulster Livestock (Northern Ireland).

I’ve been giving guest lectures on pig production to students at a number of third-level institutions, have welcomed many different visitor groups to the farms and have been busy with on-farm research work. I hope my next update will have more positive news, despite whatever impact Brexit has.

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleHappy birthday
Next Article  A glass viewing gallery over the plant – lessons we can learn from Denmark?
PW Reporters

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.