Doubling of feed costs leads pig farmer to sell half of herd

Mr Cunningham has had to sell half of his herd of rare breed Large Black pigs to survive

A "phenomenal" rise in animal feed costs have left a pig farmer having to sell half of his herd to survive.

Craig Cunningham said the cost of a tonne of feed for the Large Black pigs he rears on a smallholding near Preston had jumped from £230 to £500.

He said he and wife Vickie cannot cut back on feed, so the only option was to reduce the size of their herd.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it had provided "a package of measures" to aid farmers.

Mr Cunningham said he had been rearing about 65 pigs, which are a "critically endangered" breed that have been identified as being at risk of extinction, for five years at his farm in Walton-le-Dale.

'Knock-on effect'

He said while the emphasis was on breeding, the couple had previously sold one or two a month for meat.

However, he said increased feed prices had forced a change in approach.

"The rising cost is phenomenal," he said.

"Twelve to 18 months ago, feed costs were about £230 a tonne, [but] that's now pushing on for £500 a tonne."

Mr Cunningham said the "only way we can cut back is to have a few less pigs on, so we've scaled back"

He said rising costs across his farm had "a massive knock-on effect".

"We haven't done as many shows this year as we would have like to, [because of] rising diesel costs and rising transport costs," he said.

"The only way we can cut back is to have a few less pigs on, so we've scaled back."

He said "cheap imports of Danish bacon" had also "hugely damaged the industry" and the couple knew several pig farmers who have had to leave farming altogether.

The British Pig Association has previously said the rising costs mean "these are very difficult times for pig keepers".

Ahead of a crisis meeting about the issue in June, a spokesman said the "larger scale commercial industry could lose up to a fifth of their herd due to escalating costs of production" and small-scale producers and pedigree breeders would not be "immune from these pressures".

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government was "acutely aware of the current challenges faced by the pig industry and appreciate that all farmers face rising costs due to international circumstances".

"We provided a package of measures to support our pig farmers to respond to the backlog of pigs on farms and continue to work closely with producers and retailers to support the sector," he said.

He added that the department had recently launched "a UK-wide review of supply chain fairness in the pig sector and we want to hear from the industry about improvements that could be made to ensure a profitable and productive future".

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