Young pig farmers from Scotland and Northern Ireland explored the requirements of retail customers, farm efficiency and succession planning when the Next Generation group of Scottish Pig Producers visited Aberdeenshire last week.
Heather Wildman from Saviour Associates kicked off with a session on succession planning before the group went to the Aldi store in Inverurie, where Alan Leslie, buying director, explained who how modern meat retailing works and what the customer of tomorrow will be looking for.
A highlight for the Irish was the visit to Baluss Farm run by Sandy, Marion and Michael Howie, where major investment in state-of-the-art buildings and management systems have led to exceptional pig performance.
Norvite Animal Nutrition then showed the group round their Wardhouse site and their mobile on-farm mixer before heading off on an afternoon of team building activities. The tour finished with a fantastic Mossies Pork hog roast in Oldmeldrum where Scottish members of all ages joined to celebrate 40 years since the inception of Grampian Pig Producers, the forerunner of SPP.
Peter Duthie, operations manager (NI) for Scottish Pig Producers, said “This was a fantastic opportunity for members both sides of the Irish sea to collaborate, network and build upon their industry mentors. Anyone directly involved with Scottish Pig Producers, both in Scotland and Northern Ireland who wishes to find out more about the next generation forums should contact the SPP office.”
