‘Planning rules need easing for pig sector’

• Constraints are continual challenge

• Sector hampered by too many rules

• Planners need to be more consistent

A planning overhaul is needed to secure a better future for pig production, industry leaders have told the government.

The National Pig Association made the plea in response to Defra’s review of farming profitability. Other recommendations include a clampdown on disease risk, better trade agreements and easier access to labour.

The farm profitability review is being led by former NFU president Baroness Batters. She has promised to provide meaningful recommendations to government, food retailers, processors and manufacturers.”

Pig industry leaders say constraints within the planning system present a perennial challenge for the sectors. Their response to the review argues that planning is a key blocker to unlocking agricultural business potential.

“There needs to be an inherent understanding of the need for and importance of agricultural infrastructure in a viable and environmentally sensitive agricultural business, and a mechanism to facilitate this.”

Planning

NPA recommendations include a revision of ammonia thresholds by which planning applications are screened according to, which are ‘extremely low and make proportionate agricultural expansion virtually impossible’.

The response also criticises the lack of consistency among local authorities when it comes planning approvals for indoor pig units. Applications are often delayed and/or rejected due to various concerns including environmental impact, it says.

International trade

The NPA welcomes government assurances that UK food standards are a red line in trade negotiations. But it says differences in environmental and animal welfare standards during production must also be recognised.

It also echoes NFU calls for a set of core production standards that would apply to both domestically produced and imported food sold in the UK. “Failure to do so would represent a betrayal to British farmers,” it says.

The NPA warns that the UK remains poorly protected from biosecurity and disease threats, especially given the prevalence of African Swine Fever in parts of the EU; and the risk of foot and mouth disease, which has been active in Europe this year.

High volumes of illegally imported meat that continue to enter the country, says the NPA. It calls for better border controls for all meat imports and ensure there is sufficient resource available at major entry points including ports, such as Dover – especially from countries where ASF is rife, such as Romania.

Workforce

Labour shortages across the pig industry have been an ongoing post Brexit challenge at a farm and abattoir level. While the use of overseas labour through the Skilled Visa route has been a feasible, albeit expensive, workaround, this looks set to stop.

Recently announced immigration rule changes suggest this route will be unworkable, says the NFU. Reforms remove a number of jobs from the scheme, including farmers, farm managers, butchers, and veterinary nurses, says the NPA.

Baroness Batters is expected to present her findings to the government in the coming months. The government will then respond to her review at a later date.

Julia Lee wins Young Farm Vet of Year Award

A Norfolk poultry specialist has been named Young Farm Vet of the Year.

Hui Pin Julia Lee is an associate veterinarian at Crowshall Veterinary Services, Attleborough. She received the award at the National Egg  & Poultry Awards ceremony in London attended by hundreds of guests.

After learning English at an international school in China, Ms Lee came to the UK in 2016 when she opted to study at the Royal Veterinary College and graduated in 2021. She joined Crowshall in 2024.

Ms Lee works across the entire poultry sector from broilers and layers to ducks and game birds where her hands-on approach providing clinical advice supports welfare initiatives and manages complex export schedules for global poultry trade.

Her influence extends to education and knowledge sharing where she leads ‘lunch and learn’ sessions for fellow vets and students and recently presented on cage-free systems at a major international welfare conference at Shanghai.

Crowshall director Henry Lamb, himself a former winner of the Young Farm Vet Award, praised Ms Lee’s gold standard service and ambassadorial role within the sector.