From new appointments to award celebration, it's been a busy week for the pig and poultry industries. Find out more in our weekly news round up. The post What’s happening in the news this week? appeared first on Livetec ..read more

African swine fever (ASF), a highly contagious and deadly disease for pigs, is casting a long shadow over Europe’s pork industry. While it poses no risk to humans, new cases have been discovered in northwestern Italy and in wild boar near Frankfurt, just a hundred miles from the French border. With the 2024 Olympics just around the corner, French authorities are understandably worried. A major outbreak could disrupt food supplies, impact tourism, and cast a pall over the event. The Department of Agriculture in Paris is taking decisive action. They’ve intensified warnings to visitors and foreig ..read more

Lidl GB has become the latest supermarket to commit to reduce the stocking density of the chickens they sell, which refers to the number of chickens per square metre. Starting this summer, with a planned completion date of early 2025, these new commitments bring the number down to 30 kg/sqm from the industry standard of 38 kg/m. Richard Bourns, the Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl GB said “Animal welfare is a priority for us, and we are dedicated to ensuring all animals within our supply chain lead good lives. This initiative is a testament to our strong supplier relationships and underscores ..read more

Smaller abattoirs are the backbone of many rural communities in the UK. They provide vital services for farmers, ensuring the humane slaughter of livestock and offering options for “casual slaughter” or processing animals for farm shops and local butchers.  However, a worrying trend for the farming industry has emerged in recent years, with the number of smaller abattoirs in the UK declining significantly. Between 2018 and 2022 alone, the red meat sector saw a 25% decrease in the number of smaller players, while the poultry industry experienced an even steeper decline of 40%. The Smaller ..read more

Egg producers in England looking to improve the welfare of their laying hens can take advantage of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant, which is available for applications until October 2024. This initiative, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and delivered by Rural Payments Agency (RPA), aims to financially support farmers transitioning to higher-welfare housing systems for their birds. The Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant is available to commercial egg producers and pullet rearers in England, and to qualify, farmers must ha ..read more

Living with the threat of disease outbreaks is just one of the many challenges facing poultry and egg farmers. However, with a focus being on the devastating impact of avian influenza outbreaks – especially in the past few years – it’s easy to overlook other threats to the health of the nation’s flocks. One example is Salmonella.  Salmonella is one of the most deadly livestock diseases, and in 2022 nearly 3,500 human cases were recorded in the UK, 22.9% more than in the previous year. If a farm is impacted by a Salmonella outbreak, depopulation is often a requirement, with potentially rui ..read more

Here at Livetec, we’re always keeping an eye on the poultry and pig stories making the news headlines. Here’s what piqued our interest this week: UK’s new farming minister appointed Following the result of the UK General Election, there’s been a slew of new ministerial appointments this week. On Monday, Daniel Zeichner was appointed Minister of State for Farming, following the the appointment of Steve Reed as the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We congratulate them on their appointment and hope to see them tackle the many issues facing the sector. Cheers to the ..read more

On the 21st May the government’s amended changes to the Town and Country Planning Act (General Permitted Development Order 2015) came into effect. The changes made amendments to Class Q, for the use of agricultural buildings to residential and to commercial Class R. There were also increases in the allowances for new agricultural buildings in Parts 6, Class A & B. Class Q has been a godsend for landowners seeking to breathe new life into old agricultural buildings. It allows the conversion of these structures into dwellings without the full planning permission process.  What do the ch ..read more

Last month Livetec were delighted to attend the British Pig and Poultry Fair 2024 at the NEC, Birmingham. It was a fantastic opportunity to speak to industry friends and customers old and new. However, for Livetec it was the perfect stage to showcase not one but two fantastic new innovations, LTEC Academy and the eBAS.  Read more about the launch of the LTEC academy here. What is the eBAS? The eBAS from Livetec is app-driven, global standard biosecurity from the palm of your hand. We know from our work with poultry and egg farmers of the challenges they face when it comes to improving bio ..read more

We know that through better biosecurity education, we can better protect livestock businesses, across the world.  As global leaders in biosecurity, we’re privileged to work with some of the very best people in the field. This means that we have a responsibility to make this knowledge available to others and lead on biosecurity education. To do this, we’ve launched LTEC Academy. Premiered at Pig and Poultry 2024 alongside our fantastic new eBAS biosecurity platform, LTEC Academy caused quite the stir amongst attendees. Visitors were excited to see how it will help deliver a new generation ..read more