Gloucestershire farmer Sophie Hope will take over as chairman of UK branch of European Pig Producers (EPP) in May this year. She will take over from Ian Campbell, who has guided the organisation through rapid expansion in recent years.
“I take on the role of UK branch chairman at the next EPP congress in May, but I’ve already started carrying out some duties,” Ms Hope told Pig World. “I’m hoping to be able to offer even more for EPP membership going forward, such as a UK branch national meeting and producer exchanges.”
Founded in 1990, EPP is a network of pig farmers and allied trades that primarily serves as a technical, economic and social forum to share experience and knowledge of both practical pig production and political movements.
There are now almost 500 members from 24 countries, and as well as being part of an international network of forward-thinking pig producers, members receive regular mailings describing practical, economic and political situations in each country, and advance registration to the organisation’s annual congress. This typically spans three days and consists of presentations on practical and political pig issues, company visits to places such as feed manufacturers and processors, and farm visits in the host region.
This year’s congress is being held at Parma, Italy, from Thursday, May 22 to Saturday, May 25. The theme of the event is added-value production and branding, and presentations will include Italian production and speciality products, EU health strategies and breeding herd optimisation.
Company visits are to a Parma ham processing plant, a dairy farm and processor for parmesan cheese and a winery. The final day consists of farm visits and a special gala dinner. Another highlight will be a barbecue at the Maranello Ferrari museum.
As usual, the Young NPA will be subsidising a number of places at the EPP congress, and members should receive details shortly. EPP members can currently register online to attend this year’s event. Non-members can register from the beginning of March, but places are likely to be limited.
For more information on membership, which costs £100/year, contact Ian Campbell via email at: unitron@btinternet.com or Sophie Hope via: sophie.hope@aandafarms.co.uk
The itinerary for this year’s EPP Congress can be downloaded from the link below: