Vital new technology for pig industry

A VITAL component of the strategy to create a sustainable future for the British pig industry has taken a major stride forward. Autofom, a new generation of pig carcase grading equipment, has been authorised by the EU for use in Great Britain.

This is an integral part of the British Pig Executive (BPEX) Road to Recovery strategy which provides a tool with the potential for improving efficiency. BPEX Chief Executive Mick Sloyan said: "Autofom gives a more accurate description of carcase composition which gives pig farmers more detailed information about their animals. This enables production to match more closely the market requirements. "It also enables processors to allocate more accurately cuts of pork to specific markets." Mr Sloyan said innovators George Adams and Sons, of Spalding, Lincs, had the foresight to install and trial this new equipment.

"This has been a good example of co-operation. The company made the investment, aided by a Government Processing and Marketing Grant. BPEX and Defra jointly funded the technical work to ensure authorisation. "Though the EU has authorised it, it still needs to be adopted into British law and we are expecting that to be achieved before the end of the year. "This is a very important step forward as Autofom has the potential to improve the competitive position of British pig producers and processors which will be to the long-term benefit of the whole industry.