Here at Livetec, we’re always keeping an eye on the poultry and pig stories making the news headlines. Here’s what piqued our interest this week:
UK’s new farming minister appointed
Following the result of the UK General Election, there’s been a slew of new ministerial appointments this week. On Monday, Daniel Zeichner was appointed Minister of State for Farming, following the the appointment of Steve Reed as the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We congratulate them on their appointment and hope to see them tackle the many issues facing the sector.
Cheers to the winners at National Egg and Poultry Awards 2024!
London was the location for a night of glitz and glamour in aid of the the National Egg & Poultry Awards 2024. A celebration of the fantastic successes and innovations in the industry over the past year, it’s a great event. As a previous winner of Trade Supplier of the Year, it’s always inspiring to see the sector’s finest shed their wellies and get together. Congratulations to all the winners!
ECDC call for extra vigilance and testing for symptoms of AI
Responding to the news of avian influenza being found in US farm workers, this week the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) called for vigilance. They do recognise that the chances of infection are low and that there are currently no confirmed cases. However, they propose the testing of all hospitalised patients symptomatic with avian influenza. For the health of all workers as well as animals, high quality biosecurity is critical on poultry and egg farms. To read more about how you can improve the biosecurity on your farm, see our list of services here.
African swine fever confirmed in Hesse, Germany
Finally for our news round up this week, African swine fever was confirmed in 15 wild boar in Hesse, Germany. This is further evidence of the westward spread of the disease across Europe. Of course, it’s impossible to be sure exactly how the disease will progress. However, it’s clear the UK’s pig farmers need contingency plans in place for the eventuality it does enter the country. Livetec’s Group Technical Director, Julian Sparrey spoke on stage at this year’s British Pig and Poultry Conference alongside the AHDB on this very topic. He shared the lessons from the poultry industry’s experience of avian influenza outbreaks and how they can be applied to pigs and ASF. You can read more about this presentation here.