Looking back at this year's British Pig & Poultry Fair - what an amazing 2 days we had!
Proud to be a part of your journey…
As fair partners since 2008, we were delighted to welcome you to Birmingham’s NEC for the 2024 British Pig & Poultry Fair.
At ABN, we are proud to combine our national expertise with local knowledge to help you to deliver your individual performance objectives.
Our commitment to delivering research based, welfare-focused and performance driven feeding programmes, can play a vital role in your future success, while supporting you with your sustainability requirements and targets.
A sustainable future
We believe in a net zero agricultural industry, with precision feeding and farm efficiencies the driving forces behind the future success of a responsible, productive and sustainable British pig and poultry sector.
As part of our approach to help build this responsible future, we have been profiling our raw materials to build a database of their carbon emissions.
Lifecycle feed analysis enables us to determine your feed carbon footprint, and by benchmarking where you are, we can then work together to explore alternatives to reduce the carbon footprint and improve your bottom line.
Reduce reliance on imported soya
For example, as soya is one of the biggest contributors to overall emissions in pig and poultry diets, reducing reliance on the imported protein in feeds is currently a key priority area for us.
We are placing greater emphasis on research into alternatives, and in particular the increased use of UK-grown pulses as an alternative protein source in our feed. We are also partnering in a Defra-funded, PGRO led pulse research project, alongside our own research work.
‘Nitrogen Efficient Plants for Climate Smart Arable Cropping Systems’ (NCS) is a four-year £5.9m research project involving 200 UK farms and 17 partners, including ABN. The twin aims of the NCS project are to increase pulse cropping in arable rotations, while developing and testing new feed rations.
This in turn will help with the second aim, to help livestock producers reduce reliance on imported soya meal used in feed by 50%, replacing it with home-grown pulses and legumes.
As part of the project, we have been working on a series of commercial scale trials with ABN customers, covering broiler and layer feeding in poultry using raw field beans, alongside sets of finishing and weaning pig trials utilising pre-processed pulse rape blends.
We are building a database on pulse analysis based on this research, and a dataset of feed production parameters. Our early animal performance results are promising in most areas, and the next stage is to further look into the need to apply pre-treatments to counter anti-nutritional factors, and to also consider the right variety of pulse to optimise performance.
Life without zinc?
While therapeutic zinc has been used for many years to prevent diarrhoea in post-weaned piglets, recent concerns have been raised regarding the long-term impact of zinc oxide on the environment, as well as the risk of developing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in animals.
These concerns have resulted in all medicines containing therapeutic zinc for piglets being withdrawn from market.
Following five years of research and development by our sister company Primary Diets, the PD-Progress range, available from ABN, has been designed to support the piglet through the post-weaning diarrhoea challenge, whilst maintaining good potential for feed intake and growth, in the absence of zinc oxide.
We know that nutrition is key to producing healthy, high performing piglets and that is why we will be working with you on this journey to ensure that the dietary requirements for your animals are met and that gut health, feed intake and performance are not compromised.
Get in touch to discuss how we can support you and your herd in a life without zinc.
Future of UK agriculture
Key to everything we do, is our commitment to supporting the future of UK agriculture, and that means understanding the specific challenges our industry faces.
Farms are businesses. With the challenges of labour, technology and volatile market conditions, the skill base needed to be successful in the modern day is broad, complex and constantly evolving.
It is for these reasons that we partnered with the NFU to set up the Poultry Industry Programme (PIP), providing support structures, a professional network and formal training for young people, working within the industry. NFU PIP enables this next generation to broaden their knowledge and develop their careers as future industry leaders.
Within ABN, we also have a range of initiatives to try and bring new people into the business. Whether it be an entry level position within our Customer Support Team, our Graduate and placement schemes, or apprenticeships within our mills - our focus remains on creating an exciting environment to work in, and a springboard for the development of a successful career.
We are always looking for proactive and forward-thinking people to join our pioneering team – speak to us on the stand for more details.
Ultimately, profitable and sustainable pig, poultry and egg production depends on solid relationships, networks and knowledge-sharing throughout the supply chain.
It is about taking a joined-up approach to achieve efficiency, performance and growth, and ensuring there is a viable future for the next generation.
Everything demonstrated at the British Pig & Poultry Fair, is working towards delivering that.
We look forward to seeing you all in 2026 for a coffee and a chat, to find out how we can be part of your journey.
