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Showing 37–48 of 52 non-featured articles

Recovery, A Butchery Plan, and a Trip to Smithfield Before Baby Bosworth Arrives

15 February 2023 · 3 min read

A busy start to 2023, the case for changing how independent pig producers are paid, the next steps on bringing butchery onto the farm, and a Smithfield Market visit before two of us become three.

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Farm News

I'm Not Afraid to Say It: A Reflection on Farming, Mental Strength and Looking After Yourself

09 January 2023 · 3 min read

A more personal piece. End-of-year reflections on a tough twelve months, why farming can quietly drain you, and why I've started spending 45 minutes a week talking to someone I think of as my mental health PT.

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Industry Insights

From 69 to 96 Per Cent: What Happened When We Changed the Parity 2 Feed Plan

28 November 2022 · 4 min read

A direct follow-up to the September article on poor parity 2 conception rates. The old feed plan, the new one we wrote into Velos for second parity sows only, the cost of the dry sow ration through 2022, and the very encouraging early scanning data.

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Industry Insights

A Halloween Fright: What the Dover Findings Tell Us About the Real Risk to British Pork

31 October 2022 · 3 min read

A taped-up wheelie bin of raw, loosely wrapped pork stopped at Dover, the parliamentary debate that brought it to light, and what it tells us about how exposed the UK still is to African Swine Fever entering the country.

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Industry Insights

Settling Numbers, a Stubborn Parity 2, and What the Gilt Data is Telling Us

11 September 2022 · 4 min read

Breeding herd KPIs are starting to settle a year on from the new build. The one number we are not happy with, the gilt weight and age data behind a closer look at second parity sows, and a tribute to the late Queen.

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Contracting & Seasonal Features

Harvest 2022: Early, Dry and Pleasing, Yields by Crop and the Slurry That Comes Next

08 August 2022 · 4 min read

A short harvest update on a year nobody saw coming. Per-crop yields on our own ground and on cropping-licence land, the slurry analysis figures behind our next field operation, and how the team kept the pigs comfortable through the heat.

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Industry Insights

On Farrowing Crates: Show Me the Evidence, the Alternatives and the Funding

22 June 2022 · 4 min read

A response to the parliamentary debate on the use of cages in farming. Why a ban on conventional farrowing crates is the wrong demand at the wrong time, what would actually need to be true before it could work, and the AgroVision benchmark data from our own herd that should be part of the conversation.

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Industry Insights

Optimism Like the SPP: A View from the Pig & Poultry Fair, and the Case for Pricing Reform

15 May 2022 · 4 min read

A view from Stoneleigh on a sector finally seeing some daylight at the end of the backlog tunnel, but staring down unsustainable feed wheat prices. Why the indoor pig sector needs a pricing structure built on quarterly national average cost of production.

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Contracting & Seasonal Features

In-House at Last: A First Spring of Spreading Our Own Slurry, and Some for Customers Too

14 April 2022 · 4 min read

Our first spring season applying slurry with our own equipment, both on our own ground and for contracting customers. The honest reservations, what changed about how we use slurry once we owned the kit, and a frank look at what well-applied slurry is actually worth.

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Industry Insights

One Pot, Two Enterprises: How Home-Grown Grain Shields Us from a Volatile Market

11 March 2022 · 4 min read

With wheat trading near £280 a tonne following the invasion of Ukraine, Jack explains why feeding home-grown cereals to our own pigs is both a frustration and a financial shield, and why renting more land is the next step.

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Contracting & Seasonal Features

From £420 to £309 a Sow: How We Cut Labour Cost Per Animal, and the Start of Spring Spreading

09 February 2022 · 4 min read

A busy first six weeks of 2022 on the farm. Jack shares the labour cost per sow figures behind the herd expansion, explains the contingency accommodation keeping pigs comfortable during the ongoing backlog, and confirms the umbilical system is out for the spring spreading season.

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Farm News

Taking Back Control: Why I Want Us Selling Our Pork Direct

20 December 2021 · 4 min read

With the industry still in crisis going into 2022, Jack sets out a New Year ambition to start selling pork direct from the farm. The reasoning, the boxes it ticks, and the first steps including butchery training.

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