AHDB Food & Farming

In this podcast we hear from Duncan Wyatt, one of our lead analysts in the market intelligence team. He speaks with colleagues Rebecca Wright who is also a market analyst, and Rebecca Gladman who is our retail insight manager here at AHDB. Together, they provide an update on the effects they are seeing in the data and the impact this is having on markets and prices. We also hear from AHDB's Senior Marketing Manager, Gareth Renowden, who tells us a bit about the new £1.2m investment given to the #MakeIt #SteakNight campaign aimed to aid carcass balance.

 

 For more information:

 

 https://ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

https://ahdb.org.uk/retail-and-consumer-insight

https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/

https://ahdb.org.uk/steak-night

Things have changed, for the short term at least and today’s podcast will share a peek into the multimillion-pound marketing campaigns the agriculture industry has spent to boost sales and demand for these products nationally and globally. 

John Bates asks Christine Watts, our Chief Communications and Market Development Officer, what is the state of play in pork and is it only that sector which is facing challenges? But most importantly, what are we doing right now to make sure our UK farmers continue to stay sustainable and productive. 

Karl Pendlebury, our Senior Manager for Marketing, shares his experience of working with butchers and high-profiled chefs to develop shoppers’ interest and boost sales of different joints and cuts of meats, across social media and by providing recipe cards at your local butchers! To order your butchers kit contact our team.

Click here to access our latest information and resources on Covid-19 

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In this edition Nerys Wright, knowledge exchange manager for the South East and Eastern regions, talks to farmer, Chris Elkington, our 2019 Strategic Farmer and Hefin Rowlands, a farm animal SQP from Techion about worm control with a particular emphasis on lambs.

For more information:

SCOPS website

Nematodirus forecast

Worm control in sheep for Better Returns

Parasite control guide

After several years of stability, dairy markets have seen rapid shifts over the last few weeks driven by the outbreak of Coronavirus. A changing consumer landscape has hit demand and the knock-on effect is being felt by processors and farmers alike. 

 

In this episode Alistair McLaren spoke with Chris Gooderham, AHDB’s Head of Market Specialists, to understand how the industry is being affected under the cloud of Coronavirus.

 

For information, guidance and support around Coronavirus, visit our dedicated web page: https://ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

 

Check the latest on dairy markets and sign up to the newsletter here: https://ahdb.org.uk/dairy-markets

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis 

In this episode AHDB’s Grass and Forage Scientist Siwan Howatson talks to silage expert and researcher Dr. Dave Davies about the results of a recent AHDB funded project investigating clamp silage slippage and how to avoid silage slippage this season.

 

You can learn more about the findings from the study by watching our webinar.

 

For the latest research and advice on grass, forage and soil management to help improve grassland productivity on livestock farms, visit our Grass webpage.

 

Get the latest grass growth measurements straight from farms to your inbox by signing up to our Forage For Knowledge weekly updates.

 

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis 

In this episode, we hear from two of our market analysts about the impact of coronavirus on pork markets, both in the UK and around the world.

Pork demand has fared better than some of the other proteins, with an uplift in supermarket sales compensating in some way for the loss in the foodservice market.

However, fresh pork sales have dropped in more recent weeks and we are beginning to see a build-up in stocks of shoulder and belly, much of which would usually go into foodservice.

There has been a fall in hog futures and farm gate prices in the US, and the loss of foodservice has had a much bigger impact on the US market than it has in the UK. A number of major US processing plants have also closed, which is putting pressure on their market. Despite these issues, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage in pork, so when the processors and foodservice markets re-open, there could be an oversupply. This will probably result in competition for the Chinese market.  

On the whole, processors have remained open and there have been very few reports of difficulties.

The outlook for the economy remains uncertain and no one knows what ‘normal’ will look like after the pandemic. However, based on China’s experience, there probably won’t be a sudden resurgence in eating out once restrictions are lifted.

For information, guidance and support during this pandemic, visit our dedicated web page: ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

We’re tracking GB retail sales of pork, beef, lamb, dairy and potatoes on a weekly basis to help the industry understand how shopping behaviour is changing. Find the latest data at: ahdb.org.uk/consumer-insight-coronavirus-weekly-retail-tracker

For the latest industry data, analysis and insights visit our pork market page: ahdb.org.uk/pork/pork-markets

On 22 April, we launched a new pulled pork campaign to support sales of pork shoulder. Find out how you can get involved: ahdb.org.uk/pulled-pork

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We caught up with Professor Rosemary Collier of the Warwick Crop Centre and discussed the work being done at Wellesbourne through live projects to advance current aphid control methods. 

Farmers and growers are used to managing changing situations, weather, pests and crop diseases. But how to manage the human health implications of the Coronavirus pandemic is a whole different matter. Or is it?

Protecting people’s health alongside the need to keep the tractor wheels turning and the pickers working has taken some dynamic management.

Suffolk-based, Velcourt Farm manager Ben Martin and Berkshire-based, Valley Produce grower Chris Daking talk to AHDB's John Bates about the practical decisions and changes made on their farms and in their businesses to ensure people’s health and wellbeing is taken care of.

For social distancing guidance and information visit www.ahdb.org.uk . 

Following this week’s news about the unprecedented drop in the price of oil, AHDB’s arable market specialists discuss what this means for the cereals and oilseeds sector.

The closure of restaurants and cafes during the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on dairy farmers supplying milk to the food service. 

In this episode Knowledge Exchange Manager Steve West talks to business consultant Neil Wilson (SAB Advisory Ltd.) about how to reduce input costs and manage cashflow during periods of low milk price.

You can hear more from Neil along with Veterinary expert Owen Atkinson (Dairy Veterinary Consultancy) and Nutritionist Hefin Richards (Rumenation Ltd) in our Managing Through Current Milk Challenges webinar.

For information, guidance and support around Coronavirus, visit our dedicated web page: https://ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.