With a theme dedicated to helping pig farmers grow their businesses, the British Pig & Poultry Fair 2014 is set to take place at Stoneleigh Park on May 13/14.
As a Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) event partnered by ABN, the fair is the pig industry’s leading technical get-together. Taking place biennially, it’s a must-visit event for pig producers, with 92% of 2012 visitors rating the fair as valuable to their business and 74% planning to make changes to their business following their visit.
These findings have helped to steer the theme for the 2014 fair, explains RASE’s head of technical events, Alice Bell.
“We’ll focus on helping pig producers develop their businesses and put the spotlight on four key issues,” she says.
The free technical forums at the 2014 fair will cover subjects that can enable business growth and development. These include planning, energy diversification, raw material security and the use of media to positively promote the industry.
The planning forum will prove especially useful to any producers considering expansion on their unit. There will be advice from experts on achieving a successful planning application, while also touching on aspects of public relations that could help ensure the planning process runs as smoothly as possible.
Energy diversification is another growth area where farmers can, with the right advice, reduce production costs and improve profitability. The focus in this forum will be on identifying the business case for different energy diversifications, such as on-farm anaerobic digestion, wind turbines or solar panels, and discussing the best option for different farm types.
The security of raw materials is also a hot topic, as pig producers are reliant on good quality raw materials for sustainable and responsible animal production. In conjunction with ABN, the raw materials forum will look at where the raw material world might be in five years’ time. It will also focus on what alternative proteins we could be using instead of soya, and where the journey towards sustainable and responsible sourcing has reached for soya and palm products.
ABN’s commercial director, Kevin Sketcher, says these forums have all been chosen due to their topical nature and relevance in growing businesses.
“We want to provide pig producers with useful and practical advice that they can implement in their businesses,” he adds. “As a must-attend event, we want to encourage producers and the wider industry to get the date of the British Pig & Poultry Fair 2014 in the diary.”
BPEX will also be holding a forum during the event covering the outlook of the industry and what will influence farm businesses during the next 12 months.
According to BPEX’s head of communications, Andrew Knowles, 2014 is going to be an exciting year for the UK pig industry.
“Producers are constantly looking at opportunities to invest and continue to drive improvements in physical performance,” he says. “There’s also renewed interest in herd performance recording, and feed efficiency remains a key priority for farmers who are faced with trying to combat raw material costs.
“The 2014 fair is a must for all involved in the pig industry with the latest ideas, solutions, demonstrations of new technologies and the opportunity to talk with experts to answer all those burning questions.”
More than 10,000 visitors attended the fair in 2012 to see more than 300 exhibitors showcasing all the latest products and services. It was seen as an excellent opportunity to explore new products and make purchases, with 93% of visitors rating the event as good or excellent.
Exhibitors are already queuing up to be at the 2014 British Pig & Poultry Fair, with more than 80% of stand space already sold out.
“If you’re considering exhibiting, and haven’t already contacted us, please don’t delay as we are rapidly running out of stand space,” Alice Bell says. “The fair really is an event that brings the whole industry together and has the highest attendance of pig producers of any UK event.”
The 2014 British Pig & Poultry Fair is set to continue as the pig industry’s leading event, with a commitment to covering the issues that matter and helping UK producers grow their businesses.