Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

What I really want is for everybody to have access to that information, not just because they've got my phone number.

I really feel, you know, NFU, AHDB, everybody just say it using the same language, communicating in lots of different ways because different people take different information.

So everybody's got that science and evidence, the support and the tools that they need to be able to hopefully reduce the risk of that next TB breakdown, if not, you know, not have one.

Welcome to the MacVet Podcast, the show that talks about communication, cows and coffee.

I'm your host, Fiona McGilvery, and today I'm catching up with a guest from season one, all the way back in May 2023, which feels like so far long ago, Sarah Tomlinson.

Hello.

Sarah's lead veterinary science expert with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, AHDB, with expertise in ruminant health, welfare and disease, and of course, bovine TB.

Sarah, welcome back to the show.

So the conference has been well placed in a country with such a strong connection to the pork sector.

And I got up with AHDB International Trade Director Jonathan Eckley to hear his thoughts on China's position in the global pork market and what that means for the UK.

We've heard all about the Chinese pork sector, global trade.

Can you just give me a brief overview of the Chinese pork sector at the minute? Because, I mean, they've grown substantially over the last few years.

And as we saw yesterday, look at the Brazilian pork that's coming into that market.

It's made that really challenging.

So it is challenging, but we must maintain our standards and everything to produce that and make sure we've got an access to such a broad portfolio of markets, which is why AHDB gets involved in the market access work, because it is a dynamic space and when one market goes down, there's probably an opportunity somewhere else.

So really important we have that access to all of those markets.

Some of the tips given to folk are to remain vigilant for incursions in the first place, including unauthorised access to your farm.

The AHDB, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, they say that key areas to focus on include reinforcing correct pig handling practices.

So doing what you're supposed to be doing, keeping facilities clean and well maintained.

Well done.

Farmers across much of the UK are counting the cost of a relatively poor harvest.

The latest figures from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board show winter wheat was down 12% on the national five-year average and spring barley is down 19%.

But it's not all gloom and doom.

In the Uists of the Outer Hebrides, they're celebrating perfect growing conditions for grass and cereals alike, bringing excellent feed for some champion livestock.

Hey there, thanks for tuning in to this AHDB podcast.

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Food programmes is something that the public seem to absolutely love.

And I think that people cooking their own food at home with raw, fresh ingredients is something that can support an understanding of food and where it comes from and British produce.

That's Mike Wilkins, a sheep farmer and former Bake Off contestant who's on board with AHDB to promote some recipe ideas for cooking lamb.

We'll be finding out about

Mike's passion for farming and how he believes shows like Bake Off can be used to promote the work of farmers.

Yes.

The infamous AHDB.

Yeah.

AHDB massive.

And I was thinking, were

we

I mean, quite literally frying pan.

I've seen some of the provisional statistics from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

The average wheat, spring barley, oats, all the yields are looking, like, very, very down on the five-year averages, you know, double percentage points across a- all the crops.

Uh, [sighs] I suppose it won't be fair to pin it all on Morgan, but Morgan will certainly have a lot to be doing right now for those farmers looking to the government.

... and he's, he's stayed at Defra following Andy Burnham's reshuffle.

Um, but he's now as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with a quite a wide-ranging brief.

So we now know that he's got responsibility for farming and food, marine and fisheries, science and innovation, animal welfare of farmed animals and, and, Net Zero as well, and he's s- ho- sort of holding the sponsorship of the Rural Payment Agency, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Marine Management Organization, um, Cefas, which is the Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science, and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.

So, um, lots to, uh, lots to do there.

That's Claire Wise of the NFU.

Now, Mandy Neville is the head of animal health at AHDB and said it's not too late to vaccinate even in badly affected areas.

If you haven't vaccinated, it's not too late to vaccinate.

And we are hearing that farms that are vaccinating, even when disease has started to appear on their farms, it's having an impact.

It's flying off the shelves as, as soon as it's coming in from the continent.

So actually trying to manage that is one of the areas that we've been working on with the vaccine manufacturers and with the VMD to make sure that there is as much vaccine available as possible.

possible.That's Mandy Neville from the AHDB talking to Huw, and before her, Claire Wise from the NFU.

Huw, this disease, this virus is spreading.