Christmas is a time for enjoying the company of friends and catching up with old acquaintances.  Members of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade (NIGTA) had a fantastic opportunity to do just that last week as the Association marked its 60^th anniversary with a special luncheon, hosted in the exquisite surroundings of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners’ Offices, which were festooned in glittering gold, red and green for the festive season.  

The lunch was attended by 20 Past Presidents, including Richard Scott of Scott’s Feeds, an honorary member who attended NIGTA’s very first annual dinner 60 years ago.  The event also attracted an excellent turnout of members, who were welcomed by NIGTA President David O’Connor.  

In his opening remarks, O’Connor reflected on sixty years of partnership, progress and resilience.  “Grain may be our trade — but people are our foundation,” he said, paying tribute to the dedication and stewardship shown by NIGTA’s Past Presidents. “Thank you for your service, your vision, and your steady hands on the tiller.”

As a small token of appreciation, each Past President was presented with a commemorative lapel pin symbolising their contribution to the Association’s development and success.

Looking to the decades ahead, O’Connor added: “Anniversaries often prompt reflection, but they also urge us to think about the future. The next 60 years will bring opportunities we can’t yet imagine and challenges we must be ready to meet. If the past six decades have taught us anything, it is that this industry—our industry—thrives when we stand together, support each other, and continue to raise the bar.”

Strong partnership with Belfast Harbour

Belfast Harbour Chief Executive, Joe O’Neill, reaffirmed the long-standing links between NIGTA and the Harbour, noting the “huge connections historically” between the organisations. He outlined the development of the Harbour and the wharfs that have served the feed and fertiliser trade for generations.

O’Neill also highlighted the draft Belfast Harbour Masterplan 2025–2050, which considers the physical blueprint of the port and future infrastructure requirements — including ongoing investment in facilities to support the grain, feed and fertiliser sectors.  Belfast Harbour boasts the largest grain facilities on the island of Ireland with 2.7million tonnes moving through the port last year.  O’Neill reiterated the Harbour’s commitment to working closely with NIGTA: “The trade is in good health, and we will continue to support NIGTA and its members for the next 60 years and beyond.”

Reflections on six decades of change

The keynote address was delivered by William Barnett, Chief Executive of W & R Barnett Ltd, one of Northern Ireland’s longest-established grain importers. Barnett reflected on NIGTA’s origins, and his own 25-year career in the animal feed industry, noting that members owe a debt of gratitude to the foresight of the Association’s founders. 

NIGTA was founded by four feed and flour millers during an unprecedented boom following the end of rationing.  Barnett outlined the many challenges the sector has faced since NIGTA’s formation — from milk quotas and salmonella scares, to BSE, major factory fires, and the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak. He emphasised how the Association played a critical role in helping the industry evolve with scale, efficiency and quality through difficult periods, enabling the quiet, determined growth over the past 25 years.

Barnett also acknowledged the leadership of individual Past Presidents during key moments in the Association’s history.  Owen Brennan, who helped NIGTA establish the pioneering Food Fortress programme after the dioxin crisis; and Declan Billington, who worked tirelessly throughout the Brexit negotiations to support the feed trade and wider agri-food sector.

Echoing O’Connor’s remarks, Barnett noted: “NIGTA’s strength has always been its people and its professional, evidence-based approach to supporting stakeholders.”

A fitting celebration

The luncheon concluded with strong camaraderie among members and Past Presidents, underscoring the shared commitment that has carried NIGTA through six decades of change.

NIGTA extends warm Christmas wishes to all of its members and to colleagues across the agri-food industry.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 24 March 2026

A recent dairy stakeholder workshop facilitated by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) highlighted the need to focus on cash flow management and forward planning.

By now we are all well attuned to the old adage, “if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”  Typically, this has been used in the context of productivity and farm performance, but it also rings true from a financial planning perspective.  Despite the many factors beyond our control, namely volatile markets and the unfavourable weather conditions experienced this year, forward planning, particularly for cash flow, is an essential component of a resilient business.   

Establishing a cash flow position is the first thing a business needs to trade profitably.  It is not only important during challenging price years but should be a firmly instilled discipline all year round to allow for proper financial and business planning.  By tracking the cash flow in and out, it allows for better decision-making, enabling action to be taken early to avoid any cash shortages. 

It is also worth noting that banks are increasingly asking customers for cash flow forecasts so that they can understand the size of the funding gap and how long it is likely to last, to be in a better position to offer the right support.

Early communication with both your bank and accountant can make a real difference in understanding the options available for the likes of restructuring debt and tax bill planning.  Delaying the inevitable by not having a firm grasp of the cash flow situation, thereby allowing credit terms to slip beyond control, can cause the situation to deteriorate even further and induce stress.  Cash flow management, good credit discipline and being proactive can therefore make a big difference to your business and mental well-being.

CAFRE have resources available to help with preparing a cash flow forecast and are hosting two meetings to outline the options available to dairy farmers at 8pm on Monday 6^th November in Greenmount Campus and Tuesday 7^th November in Loughry Campus.

Help is also available from your local FAR adviser who will be able to provide targeted nutritional advice to assist with feeding plans so that the focus is on feeding to yield and not overfeeding.  However, it is also important to be cautious of the longer-term consequences of short-term decision-making.  Indiscriminately reducing feed rates might save cash in the short-term, but risk future fertility and the growth of young stock if the nutritional requirements are not met.

It is important to seek advice early, whether nutritional or financial.  Support is available.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 06 November 2023

Summer well and truly arrived in June with the sunshine and warm weather providing a welcome break after a relatively cold spring.  According to the Met Office, June 2023 is on track to be the hottest June on record in a series which goes back to 1884.

Meanwhile, climate change and carbon emissions continue to dominate the policy agenda.  The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) recently published plans for a new programme of Farm Support and Development including measures on Farming for Carbon.  But what does farming for carbon mean?

Confusingly, the term carbon is often used to describe all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including methane and nitrous oxide as well as carbon dioxide.  Reducing these GHG emissions is needed to alleviate the so-called greenhouse effect of the earth warming, which is contributing to climate change. 

Under the Climate Change Act (NI) 2022, ambitious targets have been set for reducing GHG emissions which all sectors of the economy in Northern Ireland are required to meet.  DAERA will be publishing its first Climate Action Plan later this year which will outline what actions are needed to meet the interim targets.

Agriculture must also play its part in reducing emissions, but the good news is that there is still a lot of low hanging fruit to be picked.  Generally speaking, a more efficient farm tends to be a more profitable farm with a lower carbon footprint.

To be able to identify areas for improvement it is important to first measure the carbon footprint of the farm and help is now available to do so. 

Working in partnership with DAERA, a Carbon Steering Group has been set up, comprised of the various agri-food industry trade bodies, to help create a programme which allows all farm businesses to understand where they are on the carbon journey. 

The Carbon Steering Group has been helping to test the concept of whole farm data collection, starting with 100 farms, whereby data has been collected following NI Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS) inspections.  The data collection for this testing phase is almost complete and is said to have been positively received by those participating.

It is important to note the results generated from providing this data will not cause a farm business to ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ so there is nothing to fear from doing so.  Instead, the purpose is to better inform the farm business of where there may be areas for improvement, which may in turn improve the overall efficiency of the business and boost profitability.  To do so, professional advice will be essential.  In the agri-supply sector in NI there are around 130 sales and advisory personnel who are members of the Feed Adviser Register (FAR).  FAR members undergo continuous professional development, ensuring that they are up to date with current issues related to whole farm feed planning, nutrition, health, welfare and fertility, and environmental policies. 

Going forward DAERA have indicated that participation in the Carbon Benchmarking Programme, which is due to commence in the Autumn, will be a condition of receiving future farm support. 

Last month, the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) had the pleasure of welcoming Martin Mulholland, Head of Carbon Reduction Branch in DAERA, as the guest speaker for the Association’s quarterly lunch.

Martin updated NIGTA members on the new Farming for Carbon measures.  Members were particularly interested to learn of the forthcoming Livestock Dietary Emission Challenge Fund, which will open in Autumn 2023 and will provide funding for industry, researchers, advisers and their farm business clients to work together to formulate and test livestock concentrate diets which reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ammonia emissions and phosphorus losses to the environment. 

Precision nutrition is an integral part of the environmental emission reduction strategy and the Challenge Fund should provide a valuable platform for testing and validating new and existing concepts for reducing emissions while maintaining or enhancing performance.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 19 July 2023

Mr Patrick McLaughlin, Chief Operating Officer with Devenish, has been elected as the new President of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) for 2023 following the Association’s Annual General Meeting which was held last week.

Having joined Devenish in 2012 as Chief Executive for Devenish UK and Ireland, Patrick subsequently took up the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2017 and also oversees the joint venture, Yem-Vit, in Turkey.  He has a BSc in Psychology from University College Cardiff and is a qualified Industrial Engineer.  Prior to Devenish, Patrick held senior commercial and supply chain roles with Westland Horticulture, Asda, M&S and Desmond and Sons.

Patrick thanked outgoing President, Mr Niall O’Donnell for all of his efforts over the previous two years and said that it was a great privilege to be elected President of NIGTA.  Commenting after the meeting, Patrick said, “Despite the challenges of the past couple of years, NIGTA and the wider agri-food industry in Northern Ireland have demonstrated great resilience and drive.  Looking ahead, continued collaboration between agri-food stakeholders and government departments will be key, particularly as we navigate the sustainability challenges of carbon and ammonia emissions.   

“As a member of the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group, NIGTA has been deeply involved in discussions around EU Exit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.  We welcome the recently announced Windsor Framework as a step forward and are reassured that in striving to resolve the East-West trade issues, Northern Ireland’s access to the EU single market remains intact.”

Mr Gary McIntyre, Live Operations Manager with Moy Park, was installed as Vice President for 2023-2024 with Kieran Shields from Tullyherron Farm Feeds and Mary Preston of Moy Park both elected to serve on the Executive Committee.

Outgoing President, Mr Niall O’Donnell, reflected on the activities of the Association over the past year, which had been dominated by the volatility caused by the war in Ukraine, sustainability, and the ongoing discussions around the Northern Ireland Protocol.  NIGTA positively engaged with stakeholders to bring understanding and influence on these issues, and he commended the individual efforts of Declan Billington in representing NIGTA with Brexit related matters, Lorraine Colgan and Mary Preston for their work on the Scientific Committee, Amanda Orr for representing NIGTA on the UFAS Working Group and Jim Uprichard for convening the new NIGTA Sustainability Committee alongside his work on the industry driven Carbon Technical Working Group.

Following the AGM, NIGTA hosted its quarterly lunch for members and was delighted to have the pleasure of Dr Esther Skelly-Smith, newly elected as joint BVA Northern Ireland Branch and North of Ireland Veterinary Association President, as the guest speaker.  Dr Skelly-Smith highlighted the importance of the One Health agenda and the need to focus on animal welfare as well as health.  She reiterated the benefits of collaboration and the valuable links between the animal nutrition and veterinary sectors.

NIGTA AGM 2023

• patrick mclaughlin
  
• gill gallagher niall o donnell patrick mclaughlin gary mcintyre
  
• patrick mclaughlin and gary mcintyre
  
• niall o donnell and patrick mclaughlin
  
• patrick mclaughlin dr esther skelly smith gill gallagher
  
• stephanie thompson and mary preston
  
• marion scott adam bradshaw and lorraine colgan
  
• dr esther skelly smith and gill gallagher
  
• debbie stewart garth boyd bobby irwin
  
• clarence calderwood eva lewis and george starrett
  
• aidan fisher and mary stevenson
  
• matthew mcmonagle michael mcaree past president seth mathers nathan langtry and niall o donnell
  

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 06 March 2023

Clogher Valley Show rounded off another successful summer agricultural show season this week with fantastic crowds and atmosphere to match.  There was something for everyone, with a vast array of exhibitors, including many member businesses from the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) and the show provided a great opportunity to catch up with customers and colleagues from across the industry.

Whilst the mood was generally upbeat, on the back of favourable weather conditions and commodity markets, the hot topic was the deep concern surrounding the Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) 2026-2029 consultation which has just closed.

NIGTA has responded to the consultation and expressed disappointment at the lack of engagement prior to the consultation and absence of any co-design with stakeholders.  The numerous inconsistencies within the documentation provided and piecemeal fashion in which additional supporting documents were uploaded without warning, made it particularly difficult to provide a properly informed response.

Over the past number of months, NIGTA has been working closely with agri-food partners to highlight these deficiencies and to assess the impact of the proposals.  The interim economic impact assessment, commissioned by this industry grouping, has revealed that the farm Phosphorus (P) balance and 3 metre arable buffer strip proposals alone could cost Northern Ireland agriculture up to £1.6 billion.  This figure does not take into account the additional impacts across the supply chain and beyond.  It is therefore unbelievable that no thought was given by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to undertaking any economic impact assessment.

In terms of sectoral impacts, NIGTA held a joint meeting with the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) outlining the findings from Dr Violet Wylie on the impact of the proposals for the pig sector.  It was estimated that there could be a 70%-80% reduction in the pig herd resulting from the aforementioned farm P balance proposals, which would close one pig processing facility in NI and leave the other at 50%, inevitably closing it as well.  NI pigs make up 16% of total pig production in the United Kingdom, and as the UK is only 40% self-sufficient in pork, it calls into question the importance of food security.

NIGTA members have already demonstrated significant commitment and progress through the reduction in the P level of compound feed, as verified by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).  The average P content of concentrates across all species is now 0.43%, whilst there has been a 25% reduction in P levels in the dairy sector.  This has primarily been driven by a conscious effort by the feed industry to reduce dietary P levels and a trend towards rations with lower P values due to a shift in the availability of imported raw materials.  However, sourcing availability can be impacted by various factors such as geopolitical unrest, trade barriers, weather events and policies like the European Deforestation Regulations. 

In addition, NIGTA has developed training around reducing nutrient losses on farm through the Feed Adviser Register (FAR), which has been co-delivered by NIGTA and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).  A new national FAR module on “Improving Farm Nutrient Balance” has also been recently released.  NIGTA is committed to delivering further training and supporting the development needs of its members and the wider agri-food sector as required.

The Agriculture Minister has announced that a stakeholder group will be set up to review the consultation responses with a view to a further consultation.  Whilst the details of this stakeholder group and how it will operate remain unknown, it is hoped that valuable lessons will be learned from the current exercise to ensure that future proposals, and the impact thereof, are carefully considered and genuinely workable at farm level.

The crucial factor in all of this will be time.  Time must be given to properly reviewing the thousands of responses received.  Time is needed to discuss and agree a way forward.  It will take time to gather the appropriate science and ensure the relevant impact assessments are undertaken, particularly around the economics.  And most importantly, realistic timescales are needed to enable the agri-industry to develop, invest in, and implement the necessary solutions, alongside removal of other policy barriers such as the blockade on planning permission.  As such, it is absolutely vital that the next stage of the process is not rushed.

Poor water quality is not any of our interests.  NIGTA is committed to helping improve water quality in a way which delivers both environmental improvement and a viable agricultural industry in NI.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 02 August 2025

It is difficult to remember back to a time when we were truly offline and not at the beck and call of our smartphones - the incessant buzz signalling a call, message, email or some other kind of notification.  However, not all that long ago smartphones and the internet simply didn’t exist, as members of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) were reminded of at the Association’s recent quarterly lunch when they were treated to a different and very special guest speaker. 

Mr George Starrett, a true stalwart of the local animal feed industry, gave his reflections on his career as a nutritionist spanning almost half a century, detailing the changes, challenges and significant improvements that have been made since he started in the trade in 1975.  

Back then, there were no computers for formulating diets.  Everything had to be done manually without the clever software that exists today. 

George regaled members with many tales of his adventures over the years, including an expedition to England in the late 1970s to bring back the first Format formulations software package, complete with floppy disc, in the back of a Ford Cortina.  This would have been state of the art technology at the time.     

Members were reminded of just how far the feed trade and farming sector in Northern Ireland have come over the last number of decades.  In the broiler industry, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) has been reduced from 2.4 to 1.4 kg of feed per kg of bodyweight.  The number of eggs produced per hen has increased by approximately 90 eggs and FCR has reduced from 3.1 to 2.1 kg of feed per kg of egg mass, while the number of pigs produced per sow has increased from 20 to 30 during the same period.  As a result, Northern Ireland is now capable of feeding around 10 million people – providing protein for a further 8 million  consumers in addition to our local population.  All of these improvements have been achieved by advancements in genetics, nutrition and management.  Not only have they helped to increase efficiencies, but they can also help to reduce the carbon intensity per unit of output, a key focus of today’s sustainability agenda.  Research and innovation have been at the heart of much of this progress and will be key to developing future solutions.

George also recalled a number of events and crises that had happened during his career, beginning with the introduction of milk quotas on 2^nd April 1984.  The low protein, high fibre ‘quota nut’ was subsequently introduced with the aim of not increasing milk production.  Nowadays this would be an unthinkable proposition from a precision nutrition and environmental perspective given the resulting increase in carbon emissions per litre of milk.

Four years later in 1988 Edwina Curry crashed the egg market with claims about eggs containing salmonella, causing egg consumption to fall by 60%.  All layers are now routinely vaccinated for salmonella. 

Then the BSE crisis of the mid-90s hit when it was revealed that BSE could be transmitted to humans in a variant form of CJD.  As a consequence, meat and bone meal was banned from use in animal feed and restrictions on cattle over 30 months were imposed.  The fallout from the BSE crisis lasted a considerable length of time with British beef banned from export to numerous countries around the world, with some bans remaining in place until as late as 2019.

In the late 1990s the pig sector suffered significant hardship and loss when a pig factory in Ballymoney burned down, resulting in lack of processing capacity for pigs. 

Then foot and mouth struck in the early 2000s which had a huge impact on the local farming community and affected feed deliveries as well as anyone going onto farm.

Recent challenges which the industry has had to grapple with have been the fallout from EU-exit, the covid-19 pandemic, avian influenza outbreaks, supply chain disruption caused by the war in Ukraine and environmental issues related to climate change, ammonia and water quality. 

George’s history lesson teaches us that throughout the last 50 years, no sector has been without its challenges, and arguably there have been bigger crises in the first 25 years than the latter, but in spite of the many incidents that have occurred, the local agri-food industry has remained resilient and found a way through.  We have weathered many storms and we are capable of weathering what comes our way in the future as well.

NIGTA would like to take this opportunity to thank George for his enormous contribution to the Association and to the local animal feed trade over the past five decades and wish him a long and happy retirement. 

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 09 October 2023

Last week the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute held a Pig Technical Seminar outlining the current advances in pig research, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability.  This is not a new topic for the sector, as demonstrated by Dr Elizabeth Ball, who succeeded in packing fifteen years of research into a fifteen-minute presentation on reducing the nitrogen, ammonia and phosphorus emissions from pig production through precision nutrition. 

The pig sector has been proactive in horizon scanning for challenges and utilising research to advance solutions.  Consequently, the collaboration between feed companies, producers and academia has delivered a positive news story to tell.

The research undertaken at AFBI by the Pig Research Consortium, consisting of John Thompsons & Sons, Devenish Nutrition and PCM, revealed that the secret to reducing nitrogen excretion is optimum production, achieved by precisely meeting the protein requirements of the animal while maintaining or enhancing performance. 

Pigs require a precise combination of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, and are essential for growth and normal body function.  However, excess protein in the diet, which is not utilised by the animal, is excreted as nitrogen and can contribute to nitrate leaching, acidification, ammonia emissions and nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas), thereby damaging biodiversity, air and water quality.

One of the first trials conducted proved that dietary crude protein levels for growing pigs could be reduced from the standard level of 23% at that time to 19% without any adverse impact on performance or carcase quality.  If applied across all of Northern Ireland this would reduce the total amount of nitrogen excreted from growing pigs by 750 tonnes per year.

Later research honed in on the finishing phase, the most critical period from an emissions perspective, applying the ideal protein concept to ensure that the amino acid requirements of the pig were appropriately balanced, enabling crude protein levels to be lowered to 15% without impacting performance.  Dr Ball was at pains to point out the absolute necessity of ensuring performance is not compromised by lowering the crude protein level too far, which would otherwise increase nitrogen excretion and ammonia emissions. 

This research has led to revisions to the nitrogen excretion figures for pigs in the Nutrients Action Programme and has provided a robust evidence base for updating the national inventory which models ammonia emissions for Northern Ireland.

From a carbon perspective, Professor Ilias Kyriazakis confirmed that over the past 20 years the pig sector has dramatically reduced its carbon footprint by 40%, which is a huge achievement, driven by performance improvements and efficiency gains. 

Emissions associated with feed, particularly from land use change, and manure management, are key hotspots for delivering future improvements.  As such, there has been a lot of focus on alternative protein sources, which gained attention in the recently published Rapid Evidence Assessment from the Food Standards Agency.  There is undoubtedly potential for many of these alternative protein sources, including insect meal, as was outlined in a talk by Dr Katerina Theoridou.  However, challenges with legislative barriers, societal acceptance, cost, availability, quality, consistency etc. must be overcome to induce widespread uptake. Furthermore, it was noted that not all of the alternative protein sources will have a lower environmental footprint, especially where there is a high energy requirement for production or processing.

Tough targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been set under the Climate Change Act (NI) 2022, while DAERA’s draft Ammonia Strategy consultation is proposing NI agricultural ammonia emissions should reduce by at least 30% by 2030 based on 2020 levels.  It is clear that significant change will be required going forward, but the proactive steps taken by the local pig industry through collaboration and research, show that there is great potential to find win-win solutions.  Precision nutrition and feeding strategies, coupled with professional nutritional advice, are all part of the toolkit that will be needed to help the local agri-food industry meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 09 May 2023

With the closed period for spreading organic manures having come to an end, attention is now turning to this year’s growing season and planning nutrient applications.  Optimising nutrient use efficiency is the key to success in this regard and was the focus of a webinar hosted this week by CAFRE and AFBI in conjunction with Agrisearch and supported by the Rising Cost Taskforce, which the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association is part of.

Growing more, and better quality, grass ultimately starts with paying closer attention to soil health.  A holistic approach focusing on the physical, biological, and chemical needs of the soil will ensure that the nutrients supplied are available for uptake and can be properly utilised.  This involves addressing any compaction or drainage issues as well as assessing the pH and nutrient status of the soil via soil testing. 

Soil pH is critical because it determines the availability of most nutrients.  It is therefore alarming that an estimated 64% of soils in Northern Ireland are below the optimum soil pH of 6.  This means that a significant proportion of the nutrients applied by organic manures or chemical fertilisers can be underutilised by the soil. As such, applying lime to correct soil pH is essential and one of the best investments a farm can make.  

Investing the time and effort in developing a farm nutrient management plan is a worthwhile exercise.  By matching the nutrient inputs from organic manures and fertilisers to crop demand, informed by soil analysis results, this helps to optimise the use of nutrients.   Not only should this benefit grass yield and quality, it should also help to reduce costs by avoiding wastage and lessening the risk of losses to the environment through nutrient leaching and run off as well as volatilisation into the atmosphere in the form of greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions.  It is therefore a win-win economically and environmentally.    

Getting to grips with nutrient use efficiency may seem like a daunting task, but help is available.  Professional advice can be invaluable and is something the NIGTA membership has in abundance though FAR qualified feed advisers, agronomists and fertiliser reps.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 08 February 2023

The world spotlight is currently on Dubai as the United Nations annual climate change summit, COP28, kicked off this week.  Bringing together over 70,000 people from around 200 countries, delegates will perform a global stocktake of the progress made by countries towards the 2015 Paris Agreement of keeping global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius, aimed at avoiding the most damaging impacts of climate change. 

Closer to home, climate change remains high on the agenda with various events taking place over the past week, notably the packed-out ruminant methane mitigation conference hosted by the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS). 

Methane is a short-lived but potent greenhouse gas, belched by ruminants as a result of enteric fermentation.  The complexity of the biological processes involved were clearly outlined by Professor Sharon Huws of Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), who indicated the opportunities for further research and development of potential solutions.  

However, it was reassuring to note that a wealth of research is currently underway and that various proven technologies already exist and are available on the market, such as feed additives.  Whilst there are currently difficulties with implementing some of these feed additives in grazing systems, the science is constantly evolving in this space and solutions are on the horizon. 

The policy challenge that remains is how all of this research and development will be accounted for within our national inventory to incentivise and credit those using the different technologies at farm level.  

The Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) is the first link in the food chain and as such is cognisant of the environmental impact farm inputs can have along the supply chain.  NIGTA is fully committed to supporting the industry in developing and deploying a range of solutions to reduce environmental emissions.  Many NIGTA members are engaged in research and development, as well as providing professional and targeted advice at farm level on precision nutrition and better nutrient management, which are integral components of the toolkit needed for reducing environmental emissions as well as improving productivity and efficiency on farm.  Generally speaking, a more efficient farm tends to be more profitable with a lower environmental footprint, which is the ultimate goal.

The need to recognise the interconnectedness of agriculture and the importance of food security was highlighted by Lord Deben during his keynote speech at QUB, which followed the BSAS conference.  He remarked that food should be seen as a public good and to achieve food security will require agriculture to become more efficient as well as adapting to changing weather patterns.  To produce food properly, Lord Deben made clear that livestock are needed, but at the same time emissions must be reduced. 

Luckily many of the solutions exist, and more are on their way, providing the local agricultural industry with opportunities to make a positive contribution to food security and the wider environment.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 04 December 2023

July collected the accolade of being the wettest on record for Northern Ireland, leading to a difficult start for the local harvest.   Eager for a sustained break in the weather, farmers will be hoping that the remainder of the St Swithin’s day prophecy does not come true, allowing for some much-needed field work to get underway.

Elsewhere, weather patterns have been creating challenging crop conditions.  Parts of western, central and northern Europe witnessed persistently higher temperatures and drier than usual conditions, while a rainfall surplus in parts of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary delayed harvesting with a potential knock-on effect on grain quality.  There are some concerns regarding the quality of milling wheat in particular.  Despite the extreme weather conditions across various regions, the European Union’s Monitoring Agricultural Resources unit suggests that the yield forecast for most crops remains at or slightly above the 5-year average.  Fresh news of rain and cooler weather conditions in the United States is also lending confidence to grain stocks.

Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to cause fluctuations in the market.  On 17^th July Russia announced that it would no longer participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea ports.  Since then, Russia has stepped up an offensive on Ukrainian ports and key infrastructure, turning its attention most recently to the Danube ports of Reni and Izmail, thus interfering with Ukrainian efforts to find alternative transport routes for grain via the Danube to the Romanian port of Constanta.  Some of the Baltic countries, Croatia, Greece, and Bulgaria have offered their ports to export Ukrainian grains and oilseeds.  However, these alternative routes remain challenging due to the costs and logistics of transport via road, rail or the Danube, as well as the ability to cope with the additional capacity needed to enable the flow of Ukrainian grain to the global market.  Whilst there are currently no concerns regarding supply for the NI animal feed market, volatility remains with the market trading news headlines on a daily basis.

The conflict is also continuing to affect the fertiliser market with the curtailment of UK and European ammonia production, a key component of fertiliser manufacture, due to gas prices and lack of Russian ammonia.  Alternative sources of ammonia are being sought to allow fertiliser manufacture to continue but are still dependent on the gas market.  As such, temperatures this winter could be part of the driving force behind next year’s fertiliser market.    

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 07 August 2023

The new post-Brexit deal, known as the Windsor Framework, has now been formally adopted by the United Kingdom and European Union following ratification by both parties in London just over a week ago.  The Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association (NIGTA) has been heavily involved in discussions with various officials and stakeholders on EU-Exit trade issues, including the UK Prime Minister, and welcomes the recently announced Windsor Framework as a step forward. 

Following the announcement of the Windsor Framework, the UK Government confirmed that it would not proceed with the NI Protocol Bill.  This is a positive development given that the dual regulatory regime proposed within the Bill threatened to impinge on NI’s access to the EU single market, which the local agri-food industry relies on due to the level of cross border trade. 

Nevertheless, outstanding issues are being worked on and it is hoped that with an improvement in UK and EU relations pragmatic solutions can be found.  Access to Tariff Rate Quotas and managing regulatory divergence are key priorities for NIGTA to maintain business competitiveness for the benefit of the local agri-food sector.

Regulatory divergence is an inevitable consequence of EU-Exit without some form of veterinary agreement allowing the UK and EU to mutually recognise each other’s standards as sufficient.  It should also be noted that regulatory divergence impacts the whole of the UK, not just NI, for access to the EU market.

One of the first examples of divergence in agri-food is the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, which recently received Royal Assent and has formally become law.  The Act creates powers for a new regulatory framework for precision-bred food and feed products, but only applies to England as the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments do not currently support it, preferring to remain aligned to the EU for access to the EU market.  Precision bred feed cannot be placed on the market in NI unless the precision bred organism is authorised, and the product labelled, in accordance with EU Genetically Modified Organism legislation.  However, the EU is considering proposals for new EU rules on new genomic techniques (NGTs) which are expected to be published later this year.

The UK Government’s Retained EU Law Bill which seeks to revoke certain retained EU law with a sunset clause set for legislation to expire by the end of 2023, unless actively retained by ministers, threatens to rapidly exacerbate regulatory divergence. 

Managing regulatory divergence effectively through properly developed structures and communication channels, which allow for business engagement and two-way free flow of information is critical.  The Windsor Framework makes provision for structured sub groups composed of UK and EU officials, but it is vital that the voice of stakeholders and business is also heard.  NIGTA will continue to engage on finding solutions to the divergence challenge for the benefit of the local agri-food industry.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 03 April 2023

Uncertainty and volatility dominated the agri-supply trade in 2022, largely driven by the impact of the war in Ukraine which broke out on 24^th February 2022.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a profound effect on the global economy and caused significant supply chain disruption, particularly in the grain, fertiliser and energy markets.  Despite the challenging trading conditions, local importers and traders worked tirelessly to ensure supplies of raw materials were not disrupted to the local agri-food industry. 

The humanitarian impact of the invasion cannot be overlooked, and it is desperately hoped that a resolution to the war can be found soon.  Following the NIGTA Annual Dinner, NIGTA members donated £5,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal to help DEC charities deliver the necessities of food, warmth, clean water and medical care to people in Ukraine.

Fluctuations in the currency market further contributed to the volatility.  The fall in the value of the pound had a direct impact on increasing the cost of many imports, including feed materials and fertiliser. 

Disruptive weather was also a feature of 2022 with heatwaves spreading across Europe, drought in parts of America and flash flooding elsewhere.   This not only impacted crop yields but also interfered with transport networks.  Low water levels in Argentina prevented vessels from being able to load to full capacity and there was a large barge backlog in the Mississippi River, a critical transport waterway, due to drought.

Northern Ireland’s first Climate Change Act received Royal Assent in 2022 following a combined effort from the agri-food sector to ensure the targets laid down were science and evidence-based.  The targets set are ambitious and will require collective action to achieve them.  In 2023 NIGTA will be focusing even more of its efforts on the sustainability agenda by setting up a new NIGTA Sustainability Committee and engaging with stakeholders on how to address the various environmental challenges affecting the local agri-food industry.  Professional advice will play a key role in delivering important environmental messages and the Feed Adviser Register training will be central to this.

NIGTA focused much of its efforts in 2022 on dealing with the outworking’s of Brexit.  As a member of the NI Business Brexit Working Group, NIGTA engaged with politicians, officials and stakeholders to highlight the practicalities and impacts of proposed measures, such as the NI Protocol Bill, and will continue this work into 2023 in the hope that informed policy will lead to a sustainable resolution.  

The challenges of the past year have not faded away, but our world-leading agri-food industry has a proven track record of resilience, and through collaboration we will be able to overcome them together.

Category: Feed Forum

Published: 10 January 2023