By Jack Bosworth, Director, FJ Bosworth & Sons. Published 31 October 2022.
I hope everyone is well.
Finally, the end of September saw us have a load of pigs average £2.00/kg. With AHDB estimating average cost of production (COP) in September at around £2.24/kg, there is still a long way to go. There are also real fears about COP going further now that Putin has shaken up the grain markets again.
It is the end of the month, and so Happy Halloween at the time of writing. I have never been one to embrace the festivities. I must say, though, I was given a real fright today while catching up on some recent industry news.
What the Dover Port Health Authority found
I was shocked to hear the findings from a report by the Dover Port Health Authority, summarised by the MP for Dover and Deal, Natalie Elphicke, in the House of Commons during a debate on 18 October 2022.
Over a 24-hour period one weekend, more than 20 vehicles were searched. Among many terrifying findings was a taped-up wheelie bin, the bottom of which was filled with raw, unlabelled and loosely wrapped pork. The remainder of the space was made up of other products intended for free circulation within the UK.
That is not a hypothetical biosecurity risk. That is a sample, from one weekend, in one port.
What that sample implies
It is genuinely scary to think about the huge number of vehicles going through every single day that are not searched at all, and the kind of illegal imports that could be carried in them. The risk that poses to both human and animal health is significant.
I find it frustrating that this sort of news is not given anything like enough coverage. If consumers got to hear about what is actually being intercepted at the border, I am sure the importance of knowing where food comes from would rise sharply for many of them.
African Swine Fever: when, not if
African Swine Fever (ASF) entering the UK is starting to be widely viewed in the industry as a question of when, not if.
ASF in a producing country is a catastrophic event. It would have severe consequences for animal welfare, for the size of the national herd, and for every single producer doing the right thing today on biosecurity.
All that we, as an independent producer, can do is continue to follow our biosecurity protocols rigorously. I do not have a great deal of comfort or optimism, though, when an MP has stated in the House of Commons that the illegal pork trade in her own constituency is “rife”, and that the government has been advised that “biosecurity at the border is not secure”.
There is only one form of freight the government should be discussing this Halloween.
Editor’s note (May 2026)
Since this article was written, biosecurity at UK ports has remained a recurring topic of industry concern, and FJ Bosworth & Sons has continued to operate to Red Tractor Assurance standards with strict on-farm biosecurity protocols. In 2024 the business was recognised with the National Pig Awards Sustainable Farming Award.
About the author
Jack Bosworth is a fourth-generation farmer and Director of FJ Bosworth & Sons, an arable and pig farming business at Spains Hall, Willingale, Essex. The farm has been in the family since 1919, and Jack farms alongside his father Stuart Bosworth, who was named Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year in 2011. The business is Red Tractor assured and runs an integrated farm-to-fork model, with home-grown cereals milled on site using solar-generated electricity.
You can follow Jack’s articles on fjbosworth.com, or get in touch via the WhatsApp link on the site.
Fourth-generation farmer at Spains Hall, Willingale. Runs the contracting team and writes most of what appears here.