2016

summer

FARMING MATTERS

Launching our new Morrisons Shorthorn Beef Range Westmoor Beef Shorthorns ©Penny Paisley

After six years of working alongside the Beef Shorthorn Society, Morrisons is excited to share the news of a new Shorthorn branded beef product that will be launched in selected Morrisons stores by September. The news comes as we re-launch our Beef Shorthorn scheme with new premiums of up to 25p/kg as of August 2016.

The Beef Shorthorn is renowned for its eating quality characterised by its marbling which influences its rich, tender and succulent flavour. Our new carcase specification targets uniform cattle that will create a consistent product, which our customers purchase time and time again. If you are interested in supplying cattle into the Morrisons Beef Shorthorn supply chain, please contact your local buyer.

Dates for your diary – Shorthorn Sales

Saturday 24 September – Worcester Market Monday 17 October – Stirling Bull Sales Wednesday 9 November – Craven Cattle Market, Skipton Saturday 12 November – Chelford Agricultural Centre

Welcome to Farming Matters Joe Mannion, Head of Livestock Procurement, introduces Farming Matters.

W

elcome to our summer edition of Farming Matters

Livestock prices have remained volatile since our last newsletter, however recently we have seen prices across all species moving upwards. Demand for good quality beef, pork and lamb has improved and we are pleased to say that volumes have increased in Quarter 1 with our cattle production up 10% year on year which is very pleasing. Heavy cattle continue to be an issue across the industry and due to the increased demand for fixed priced steaks, the need for lighter more consistent cattle is more important than ever. I’m pleased to announce that Morrisons will be launching a range of Dry Aged Shorthorn beef under our ‘Best’ range from September. If you would like to join our Shorthorn producer group please get in touch with your local buyer to find out about the scheme. Also in 2016 we have seen local pork and beef ranges established in Lincolnshire stores and the range is selling exceptionally well, with other regions to follow. We will once again be welcoming our suppliers to our hospitality area at the Great Yorkshire show on the 12 – 14 July and hope to see you there. I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Farming Matters. Joe Mannion

Cover image shows (L-R): Westmoor Joyful Honeybee, Westmoor Yasmin Helena, Westmoor Joyful Honeydew, heifers sold at the Beef Shorthorn Society sale at Skipton in November 2015. Stock regularly sold via CCM. Visitors always welcome at West Moor, contact Rob and Penny Paisley via FB@westmoorhousefarm or on 07940 579 833

Meet the team:

Tim Farrar

Head of Operations for Meat Manufacturing Tim studied Agri Food Marketing and Business Studies at Harper Adams University, before beginning his career in the meat industry at Dean Foods and Kepak. In 2006, he joined Morrisons’ manufacturing as Production Manager at Farmers Boy in Bradford, our manufacturing site for cooked meats, cheese, pies, sausage rolls, quiche and bacon. In 2008, Tim was promoted to General Manager at our meat manufacturing site at Colne, then holding the same role at Spalding. In 2012, Tim moved to Winsford, our manufacturing site for burgers, meat balls, mince and pre-pack steaks and chops, as General Manager, where he was heavily involved in the integration of the site from Vion to Morrisons. The following year, Tim was promoted to site General Manager for our Farmers Boy site. Early 2016 saw Tim’s most recent move, promoted to Head of Operations for Meat Manufacturing, heading three abattoirs and one retail meat packaging site with an annual turnover of £851m. Tim lives in Skipton, North Yorkshire with his wife Alice, and one year old son Charlie.

2 Morrisons FARMING MATTERS Summer 2016

VIA Grading on cattle

Visual Imaging Analysis (VIA) grading of cattle has been live in the UK Beef industry since 2014 and other processors for over 5 years. On the whole the VIA replicates what a human does, but with a more consistent method. The VIA machine will replicate the same results no matter what time of day, month of the year or where the VIA machine is. The system was introduced at our Turriff abattoir in 2015 and since the installation we have been busy evaluating the kit and making sure that we are happy with the quality of grades the automatic grader is processing. As we continue to test the carcase grading quality we are excited to be making progress and hope to have the system live in 2017. When the system does go live, all cattle will be paid to a 15 point grid which will enable more definitive premiums and discounts on specific grades. David Evans, Agricultural Manager for Morrisons, states: “Our suppliers have asked us to look at VIA as it potentially provides more consistent grading. The installation at Turriff is allowing us to fully evaluate the technology and we are confident that we can move onto VIA grading within the next 12 months.”

Our new regional product ranges Following feedback from our customers, one of Morrisons’ business targets is to ‘deliver more local solutions’. Customers and the general public are becoming more and more aware of, and interested in the origin of their food. Information is now more freely available, including both positive and negative press and dubious ‘facts.’ Younger generations are increasingly conscious of what they are eating, as well as knowing where their food has come from and how it has been reared. ‘Food miles’ are now important to customers, as are livestock journey times

and other aspects of animal welfare. As a part of this solution, 2016 has seen the launch of regional ranges – starting with Lincolnshire beef and pork. Up to 200 cattle and over 2,000 pigs per week are killed on their doorstep in our Spalding plant and sold over the butchery counter in Morrisons stores in Lincolnshire. All cuts are available in the Lincolnshire beef and pork range, and some bespoke regional products have been developed, such as Lincolnshire Pig’s Fry, with Lincolnshire Chipolatas and Lincolnshire Sausage Meat to be launched shortly.

Feedback from customers has been positive. They like being able to buy local meat and it fits with the Market Street ethos. There are plans in the pipeline to develop more local beef and pork ranges for our Morrisons stores. Look out for the new local ranges in a store near you!

Head to our family butcher counter To pick up Lincolnshire beef

and pork MM452955_1188347

MM452955_1188347 Butchery

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At Morrisons we believe that consumer eating quality is a major influence on repeat purchase of a product. It is of great importance to us to therefore ensure that we review eating quality as a business and benchmark our meat against competitiors, including EU meat.

Eating Quality Progression in Pork In 2015, the number of cattle holdings affected by new TB breakdowns in England was almost 4,000, with each breakdown costing an estimated £20,000 to the taxpayer and over £10,000 to farmers. An estimated 50% of breakdowns in low risk areas are caused by purchased animals. [Defra, 2015] November 2015 brought the launch of a joint Government and Industry TB Biosecurity Campaign to increase the understanding and uptake of biosecurity measures. The campaign includes new tools and advice to help farmers

Within our meat quality programme we have recently been focusing on pork. After several assessesments through our meat quality centre and quality taste panels we are happy to announce our work with JSR Genetics on improving eating quality of our Morrsions pork. To do so, we are working with our current supply chain who use JSR genetics, to use a specific JSR sire line that enhances the eating quality of our pork. With this scheme, Morrisons is able to reduce the variation in our pork quality and generate a great eating experience that customers enjoy time and time again.

protect their herds from TB, and to try to help eradicate bovine TB.

the location of bovine TB outbreaks in England and Wales over the past 5 years.

The campaign includes an online TB Hub http://www.tbhub.co.uk/ with the aim of promoting action and helping farmers and vets protect herds from bovine TB. It contains tools and practical advice, with all bovine TB information, including trading rules and biosecurity measures on one website. In addition to the TB hub, the campaign has also launched an interactive mapping tool: www.ibTB.co.uk which shows

Neil Blake, President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association, said: “Biosecurity and risk based trading are important in the management of all infectious diseases whether that is BVD, Johne’s disease or bovine TB. These new initiatives are an important part of the 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine TB. Combining wildlife controls with biosecurity and risk based trading will allow us to make significant inroads in the fight against bovine TB. The bovine TB biosecurity drive gets underway as over half of England is on track to become officially TB free within five years.”

TB Biosecurity 4 Morrisons FARMING MATTERS Summer 2016

New wagon washes installed at Colne and Spalding In order to improve our facilities and meet industry standards, we have installed new wagon wash facilities at our Colne and Spalding sites. The installation helps to prevent cross contamination from livestock vehicles, in particular those transporting pigs. The wash bays are enclosed on the sides to prevent cross contamination from spray from a dirty wagon transferring onto cleaned vehicles. We hope this move will help to minimise spread of diseases and be a welcome investment. The facilities have been designed to incorporate all of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) requirements, so that we can sell our pork as British. In order for us to maintain our BQAP status, “all pig livestock vehicles shall be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected prior to leaving the site.” [BMPA Pork Scheme] The new washes are coin-operated, and are for both washing and disinfecting, on a timed system. The hose reels are contained so that they are protected from temperature extremes to ensure operations can continue throughout winter.

Stonehills Beef Shorthorns Geoff Riby has been farming at Stonehills Farm near Bridlington for over 25 years, after coming out of dairy 15 years ago. By chance, he bought a few Beef Shorthorn cows and soon realised what wonderful sucklers they make; easy to calve, milky and fertile, and before long grew to keeping 50 pedigree Shorthorn cows, extended by his retained heifers and fattening bullocks. Geoff farms with his son Christopher and a full time farm employee who carries out a lot of the arable work. All feed is grown on the farms’ arable land and little is bought in. To make best use of his land, Geoff farms his Shorthorn herd on 100 acres of a low input grazing stewardship scheme. The herds’ superb foraging ability makes the land ideal, and in the winter the herd is brought in and fed solely on silage. All calves are born in a tight 8 week period starting in February. The cows’ high fertility, milk yield and calving ease means they nearly always achieve a 99% rearing percentage. The calves are weaned

mid October, with steers weighing an average of 320kg and heifers 295kg. The overall role of the Stonehills herd is to produce bulls for breeding as well as heifer replacements. The bulls that are not retained for breeding are castrated and sold direct onto the Morrisons Shorthorn Beef Scheme at an average CCW of 320kg. Aside from the beef and arable, between Geoff and Chris they have a flock of 150 pedigree Texel and pedigree Suffolk sheep, which they sell both privately and in the sale ring. As if Geoff isn’t busy enough he was also elected President of the Beef Shorthorn Society in February of this year, a postion he holds for 2 years. Geoff explained: “There are exciting times ahead within the Beef Shorthorn Society in 2016, and especially the progression that has been made with Morrisons to get a Shorthorn Beef Range into their supermarkets - its been a long time coming.” All of this comes after the Beef Shorthorn Society has reported yet another record uptake for 2015. Registrations increased

by 8.92%, adding to the five year trend – up by over 39% since 2010. Furthermore, those trends are mirrored in the 2016 BCMS published data which shows that over the last seven years, UK Beef Shorthorn and Beef Shorthorn cross populations have increased by a massive 64%, on top of a membership increase of 11%. In addition to this, Geoff explains that: “In a pressured industry, the Shorthorn is a cheap and economic replacement option and we welcome new breeders and commercial farmers alike to our sales.” If you’re interested in finding out more information then call the Beef Shorthorn society on: 024 7669 6549 or visit: http://www.beefshorthorn.org/

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In the retail world, every product we sell has to be driven by consumer demand. Consumers today have an extraordinary choice when it comes to their meals. As choice grows, meat is becoming a smaller part of consumer purchases and often health, affordability and ethics drive meat choices. EBLEX (2012) data: “The Shopping Decision Process for Meat” article examines the factors that drive purchasing outcomes for red meat, with the top two being appearance and price. six factors driving beef purchase outcome (Eblex, 2012)

We must ensure that we have a consistent product to therefore hit specific price points that our consumers demand and ensure that the meat looks good to the consumer. To achieve this we must first ensure that we deliver a consistent product to our consumer that is of good quality every time. To do so we need to reduce the variation of our meat quality.

Recipe

Quality

Appearance

Pack size

Cut

Price

This means that as a retailer we need to prioritise; reputation (quality consistency and expectation), appearance and costs.

Variation is mainly caused by overweight carcases that create a multitude of issues from end to end. From a Morrisons perspective: in our Retail Packing Plant we use precision steak slicing machines that put primals of beef or pork into moulds and cut the steaks to an exact thickness. This means that beef primals from overweight carcases have to be trimmed, losing a percentage of the prime cut. In addition, bigger carcases create bigger steak cuts which are often priced above our retail price point, which puts many customers off purchasing the meat, leading to further waste and mark downs. It costs roughly twice as much for a beast to lay down fat than muscle, as cattle reach a maximum efficiency stage within their life, called mature end weight; they stop laying down muscle and only lay down fat. At this point, dry matter intake vs. body weight becomes stagnant and begins to drop. Daily live weight gains drop off and the amount of feed needed to produce this extra live weight increases

6 Morrisons FARMING MATTERS Summer 2016

significantly. As well as costing the farmer more in the long term, they will also be penalised for overweight cattle. PERformance efficiency depends on the animals growth stage

Rate of Muscle & Fat laid down

Native breed wins award Fat

Protein/Muscle Point of maturity

The NBA Beef Expo held in May was a successful day out for Arfon Jones, a Woodheads supplier from Anglesey, who won Native Breed Champion with Evita, a September 2014-born, Beef Shorthorn x heifer, bred and owned by R. Arfon Jones, Anglesey.

Live weight

This can be replicated across beef, lamb and pork, and overweight carcases are bad news for both farmer and processor: they don’t fit a retail pack price, they are often perceived as too fatty and too big for the retail trays and overweight/ out of specification carcases reduce the consistency. In addition, older, heavier carcases compromise on eating quality, which reduces the chance of repeat purchase of Morrisons meat.

If the industry is to keep up with other meat businesses, standardisation and consistency is needed. Without this, our customers will simply choose chicken or fish instead. This is why we have specific grids and weight restrictions to attempt to get a more consistent end product which is enjoyed every time by our customer. In line with this, Morrisons will soon be launching a heifer beef range, using specific weight and grade heifer carcases to create a more uniform product.

RED TRACTOR At Morrisons all of our fresh Beef, Pork and Lamb must comply with Red Tractor Standards, which alongside animal welfare is considered by our customers as a highly important factor of Buying British. As an industry it is in our own interest to ensure that we preserve the image of the British Farming Industry and reduce the risks to all of our businesses. We must stress the importance of general farm and Red Tractor practices, including animal welfare, deadstock stored and securely locked, locked medicine cabinets, animal housing and end of day practices. We appreciate your support on this and as always Morrisons are 100% committed to fresh British Beef, Pork and Lamb and the whole of the British farming industry.

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Doug Dear Stabiliser open day Doug’s business allows farmers to retain ownership of their cattle and enables them to maximise their margin by using his expertise and scale of operation to finish their cattle to the Woodheads specification. Doug finishes cattle for farmers all year round and if you would like to find out more about how you can put your cattle into Doug’s finishing unit or are interested in the Stabiliser Cattle Co. please see the contact details below:

In Spring 2016, Doug Dear of Osgodby Grange, North Yorkshire, winner of the Beef Innovator of the Year award 2015 opened his farm up to showcase his contract finishing programme. Doug finishes cattle on a B&B basis, taking in steers, heifers and bulls for finishing. This Spring he has been busy working closely with the Stabiliser Cattle Co to finish Stabiliser bulls for Woodhead Bros . The open day was a great success, promoting Doug’s facilities and enabling farmers to speak to representatives of Morrisons, the Stabiliser Cattle Co, AHDB, Keenan, Allflex and Anglia Farmers. The open day featured 700 finishing cattle

Doug Dear 07968 231 718

including many Stabiliser bulls, with daily live weight gain shown for every pen of cattle, some reaching 2kg per head per day.

Ursula Taylor 07790 018 637 (Stabiliser Cattle Co.) James Holden 07831 555076 (Woodheads/Morrisons)

Condemnation glossary Rejections are recorded on the kill line by the Food Standards Agency and fed back to suppliers via our website www.morrisons-farming.com. Many are common in more than one species, but are listed under the species we see them most in.

Cattle Abscess – caused by injecting with dirty needles. Abcesses can occur on the gut wall, caused by abrasive barley in the diet. Actinomycosis or Lumpy Jaw – caused by bacterial infection. Cirrhosis – linked to liver fluke, can be the final stage of fluke. Fascioliasis (Fluke) – recorded as active or inactive, or mature and immature, a parasitic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica. Some flukicides do not treat the immature fluke, which can then mature and cause damage to the liver. Joint lesions – commonly arthritis. Peritonitis – inflammation of the liver caused by bacteria or virus.

Sheep Abscess – caused by injecting with dirty needles. Cysticercus ovis (C. ovis) – the cystic stage can affect the full carcase and lead to rejection of the whole carcase. Cysticercus tenuicollis – tape worm affecting the liver, caused by feed contaminated by dog/ fox faeces. Hydatidosis – affecting the liver, a parasitic disease caused by dog tapeworm in its larval stage, the hydatid cyst.

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Joint lesions – commonly arthritis. Trauma (bruising) – bruising from wool pool.

Pigs Abscess – caused by infected fight wounds. Erysipelas / diamonds – on the skin, caused by bacteria. The whole skin is rejected. Develops in stages: chronic, affecting the joints (arthritis), then septicaemia stage, leading to rejection of the whole carcase. Hydronephrosis – caused by a blockage in the kidneys preventing urine from flowing out. Joint lesions – commonly arthritis. Milk spot (Ascariasis) – caused by roundworms. Pericarditis – inflammation of the heart caused by bacteria or virus. Peritonitis – inflammation of the liver caused by bacteria or virus. Pneumonia and pleurisy – abscesses on the lungs / inflammation of the pleurae, requires stripping of the pleura or removal of the ribcage. Tail bite – infection spreads in the blood stream and leads to multiple abscesses throughout the carcase. Can lead to condemning the whole carcase if abscesses are found in two or more places on the carcase. Tuberculosis (TB) – from the avian strain of TB. All carcase data and condemnation information is available on our website www.morrisons-farming.com from 6.30pm on the day of kill. If you do not already have an account, please contact the livestock office at Colne on 01282 729117 or Turriff on 01888 563 751.

Farmplan and Morrisons Thorley Bark Case Study Alistair House Farm,Winsford average deadweight of 400kg. We can monitor this using Cattle Manager and produce reports to help us keep track of the animals that have reached the required weight.” Cattle Manager provides a link in the software to allow the import of kill data easily, this enables Alistair to import the data from the Morrisons Farming website www.morrisons-farming. co.uk, and quickly see the performance of each animal and save time managing data. Alistair adds, “Although the time saving element is beneficial, the main reason we like the kill data link is the instant knowledge of the performance of the cattle, which helps us to modify and improve purchasing.”

David Massey (pictured) manages Bark House Farm in Winsford with his father – in – law Alistair Thorley. The farm itself is mixed, spanning 400 hectares, the main enterprises on farm are cattle and arable. Cattle breeds managed are mainly continentals and a few native breeds with arable concerns including potatoes, wheat, oats, barley and maize.

Cattle Manager also produces a pre-populated FCI form which helps Alistair save time and prevent possible mistakes from writing by hand. For more information about Cattle Manager software call our Sales Team on 01594 545000 or email [email protected]. Watch a short software demo online at https://www.youtube. com/user/FarmplanUK

“The type of crops grown and how we manage the business changes in line with the market, we stay flexible to meet current demand,” says Alistair. “We’ve been using Cattle Manager from Farmplan for around 5 years now. We made the decision to begin using cattle management software as we found that we were under increasing pressure to provide accurate records on demand, particularly regarding cattle movements and details of the animals in the herd. It made sense to choose software to help with this as it’s easy to use and all this information is in one place.” Cattle Manager can help users manage and monitor animal performance as well as profit and losses, keeping track of the animals on farm and identifying those that are Farm Assured now and highlighting those that become Farm Assured whilst on farm. He adds, “All our cattle records are kept in Cattle Manager. Records are updated every time cattle are moved with the help of a barcode reader. The main advantage is full traceability and constant knowledge of Farm Assurance as cattle are only on the farm for a short duration.” “We currently supply our beef to Morrisons via the Woodhead Bros plant in Colne. We’ve been doing this for 6 years, sending around 1850 animals to Woodheads annually. We buy animals at anything from 12 to 30 months and rear until they reach an

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News from AF

Grants – could LEADER funding support your business? After two years in development, the LEADER Programme has now been launched. AF members can access AF GrantResource, a grant finding agency. The LEADER scheme provides grants across rural areas of the country under a range of priority areas, including: • support for micro and small businesses and farm diversification • boost rural tourism • increase farm productivity • increase forestry productivity • provide rural services • provide cultural and heritage activities Rural areas of England are divided into Local Action Groups (LAGs) each with their own specific priority areas that are based on the priorities above. Dan Cox, AF GrantResource Programmes Manager, said: “There are lots of opportunities under the LEADER programme. However if you have a potential project in mind, it’s well worth speaking to us sooner rather than later as the application process can take 6-9 months and can be highly competitive.” Speak to the team today to discuss your development plans. Call Dan on 01603 881 833 or email [email protected]

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Morrisons Farming Programme – working in conjunction with AF

AF Products

Our benchmarking has shown possible savings

The Morrisons Farming Programme offers suppliers an exclusive AF membership which has been established to help build a sustainable British farming industry. AF is the UK’s largest agricultural purchasing group and sources a wide range of key inputs and business essentials, including: • Fertiliser and agro-chemicals • Animal health products • Building supplies • Mobile phones • Fuel cards and bulk fuel

Agrochemicals............................. 2.5% Fertiliser........................................ 1.5% Seed............................................. 2.5% Building materials........................ 8.5% General supplies.......................... 23% Livestock products...................... 16% Feed............................................. 2% Fuel cards.................................... 9% Machinery.................................... 4.5% Figures: Jan 2015 – Mid Jan 2016, circa 1015 lines

David Evans, Head of Agriculture, WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC, states: “We are very positive about working with AF because it is a farmer owned co-operative that is transparently delivering savings directly to its producer members. It is also a great platform for Morrisons to provide benefits to our famers on products and services that AF can source competitively.” There are membership packages for all sizes of business – no matter how big or small your farm, you can benefit from AF’s buying power. AF’s team of on farm Key Account Managers can visit you to talk through membership and how joining can benefit you.

The product wheel shows the huge range of products available, all at the end of a call to one of AF’s specialist buyers. To find out more, call Lorraine Nuccoll on 01603 881981.

New free AF Fuel Card is helping farmers save on road fuel The new AF Fuel Card is helping members across the UK make savings Launched earlier this summer, the new AF Fuel Card can be used at over 1,800 multi-branded sites across the UK Key Fuels network at no cost to you. There are no transaction fees or monthly card costs associated with the AF Fuel Card.

What’s the benefit of the AF Fuel Card? There is a fixed weekly discounted diesel price and the card carries no monthly fee – unlike most branded cards. If you already have Key Fuels cards, you can easily take advantage by transitioning to the AF Fuel Card.

Other cards including Allstar, Shell and Esso have a charge of at least 50p a month, but the AF card does not carry a fee so you could start saving money straight away by switching and enjoy the benefits of a lower wholesale diesel price. The AF fuel team will manage the process for you and there is no fee to switch. The AF Fuel Card card can be used across the Key Fuels network of over 1,800 sites. You can see the locations of sites which will take these cards at www.keyfuels.co.uk /ournetwork.

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An Economical Package for getting Cows in Calf! For sire information visit: www.tag-uk.com

Call us 01606 869 253