Page 14 - APN Jan 2017

Page 14 – Australian Pork Newspaper, January 2018
UK pig stud secures biggest-ever export order to China
THE UK has received its largest-ever export order from China for frozen boar semen, in a deal that also involves train- ing Chinese staff in ar- tificial insemination and semen handling.
Deerpark Pedigree Pigs in Northern Ireland has secured the order, which will ship this month and be followed by further consignments over the months and years ahead.
The order has come off the back of extensive work on the part of brothers Nigel and Robert Overend who own the Deerpark Stud, with support from the Department for Inter- national Trade and UK
Tag, the export arm of the British Pig Association.
Over the years, the Overend family has per- fected the process of freezing pig semen, a product with which their top-performing customers are now achieving con- ception rates as high as 100 percent.
The Overend family was early to adopt the process and has spent decades fine-tuning best-practice techniques for freezing, thawing and inseminating the semen.
Although their freezing process remains a closely guarded secret within their Londonderry-based company, the brothers are now in keen demand around the world to pro- vide tuition in handling and insemination.
The most recent Chinese order for 2000 straws will follow smaller shipments, in a sequence of events typical for the company when new customers come on board.
“This customer started with a small order of 100 straws in order to test the water,” Nigel said.
“When they were con- fident they would achieve high conception rates, they moved on to much larger orders.”
Semen from these ship- ments will be largely des- tined for Chinese multi- plication units, which pro- duce high genetic merit breeding stock for com- mercial herds.
Further interest in Deer- park comes from the rare and minority breeds banked at the stud along- side the commercially im- portant Large White and British Landrace.
The British Pig Associa- tion and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust have desig- nated the Deerpark Stud as the centre for their breed conservation pro- grams.
This means orders can also be fulfilled for breeds such as Large Black,
shire Old Spots, British Lop, Middle White and Oxford Sandy and Black.
In total, the company has seen a 300 percent increase in its frozen se- men sales over the past two years.
A large proportion of this growth is attributed to export orders, a demand which has developed fol- lowing the company’s ongoing presence at inter- national trade events.
Events the brothers have attended include VIV Asia in Thailand, World Pork Expo in the US and Ag-
rilink in the Philippines. Their presence at these and other exhibitions has been supported by the BPA, the UK govern- ment’s DIT as well as em-
bassies around the world. With the uncertainty of Brexit, Mr Overend be- lieves the international stage will be important for the future successes of
many UK businesses.
As a result of the signifi- cant increase in demand, Deerpark Pedigree Pigs is now undergoing expan- sion of its current stud and
existing pig units.
Berkshire,
Gloucester-
THE National Farm- ers’ Federation wel- comed the final report of the 2017 Climate Policy Review, which coincided with the re- lease of a report card on Australia’s emis- sions.
NFF president Fiona Simson said a reduc- tion in emissions in the past quarter of 0.6 per- cent (the largest in four years) was particularly good news.
“Australia is now well on track to meet our Paris Accord target – to be 5 percent below 2000 levels by 2020,” she said.
Ms Simson said cli- mate change posed a significant challenge for all Australian farm- ers.
“Farmers are at the coalface of the impacts of climate change,” she said.
“Arguably, the for- tunes of no other in- dustry are so closely linked to climate.
“As such, the NFF recognises the sec- tor’s role in reducing Australia’s cumulative greenhouse gas emis- sions and is committed
to doing our bit.”
Ms Simson said as
a nation, steps needed to be taken to ensure the economy was well placed to cost-efficient- ly reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emis- sions profile.
“The importance of stable, scalable and co- hesive climate policy settings should not be understated,” she said.
“As a key pillar of Australia’s economy, there is a national eco- nomic imperative to ensure climate policies support a sustainable and growing agricul- ture sector.
“The commitment from Government to continue to consult regarding the develop- ment of a long-term emissions reduction strategy is pleasing to hear.”
The Liverpool Plains mixed farmer said such a strategy needed to consider Australian ag- riculture’s international interface.
“More than 75 percent of Australian agricultur- al produce is exported,” Ms Simson said.
☛ continued P15 www.porknews.com.au
Nigel Overend prepared part of the UK’s largest boar semen shipment to be exported to China.
Farm sector welcomes commitment to a long-term emissions reduction strategy