Linden Food Group Will Welcome New Partner

Winter 2016
Linden Food Group Will
Welcome New Partner
Inside this issue...
• Beef & Lamb Partnership For Linden Food Group
• Tracesure® Cu/I Maintains
Efficient Daily Production
• LINERGY Welcomes Merger
With Ulster Farm By Products
• Maximise Effective Lamb
Productivity
• White’s Oats Scoop Top
CIMI Marketing Award
• Fane Valley Dairies - Quality
Focus In Milk • BVD Tags - The Choice Is
Yours At Fane Valley Stores • Fane Valley Support Local
Breast Screening Charity
• Christmas Toys Appeal Is
Huge Success Across Group
• Fane Valley Feeds Host
Omagh Agri Students • Linden Foods Voted ‘Green’
Company of The Year
Linden Food Group Announce New Beef & Lamb Partnership In RoI
Linden Food Group have announced
details of a proposed restructuring
of its Slaney Foods business in the
Republic of Ireland, resulting in the
creation of a new partnership with ABP.
The companies have confirmed that
an agreement in principle has been
reached subject to approval by the
relevant regulatory and competition
authorities.
The ABP Group will invest in Slaney Foods to
form a Joint Venture with Linden/Fane Valley.
The new partnership will not impact on the
day-to-day operations of either Slaney or ICM
with business to continue as usual on all sites.
Trevor Lockhart, Chairman of Linden Foods
commented, “Linden Food Group, like ABP,
have over many years developed successful
national, european and world market/customer
positions, focussed on the retail and food service
sectors. Exciting new opportunities are continuing
to emerge across the globe and the challenge
for us is to create the business models, with
internationally competitive scale, capable of
securing the best markets and commanding the
highest return for our products. Our objective,
extending back to our co-operative roots, is
to maximise the value of our quality beef and
lamb and to deliver competitive and sustainable
returns to our farmer suppliers.
“The Allen Family have been exceptional partners
for the past 15 years during which time the
company has invested heavily to create some
of the best processing assets in the country.
The continuation of this partnership approach
will enable both Slaney Foods and ABP to
better service our existing and potentially new
customers whilst leading the way on process
efficiencies, product quality, innovation and
overall supply chain sustainability. The existing
operational and management structure of
the business will remain in place but now
complimented with a shareholder with
considerable market reach and processing
expertise”, concluded Mr Lockhart.
Tracesure® Cu/I Maintains
Daily Efficient Production
Linergy Completes
Merger With UFBP
Linergy have welcomed the news from
the Competition and Markets Authority
(CMA) to clear their recent acquisition of
Ulster Farm By-Products (UFBP).
An initial inquiry was opened on 20th
May 2015, following the completion of
the merger between the two rendering
companies. The clearance follows an in
depth Phase 2 investigation carried out by
the CMA, which has concluded that the
merger has not resulted in a substantial
lessening of competition, and is not
expected to do so.
Linergy is a Category 1 rendering plant
based in Granville Industrial Estate
Dungannon. It processes animal byproducts from animal slaughtering
processes, as well as fallen stock directly
off farms. Linergy have entered into the
first ever ‘Prosperity Agreement’ with the
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
(NIEA) and have recently been crowned
‘Green Company of the Year’ at the
prestigious UTV Business Eye Awards.
Providing trace elements by bolus means that each animal gets what it needs.
Dairy and beef farmers who have
traditionally supplemented their
herds’ diets with conventional
minerals are switching to a bolus
which delivers a daily dose of the
essential trace elements needed for
production and performance.
Relying on minerals to get the essential
micro-nutrients into livestock is highly
variable, especially in situations of free
access where the intakes differ hugely.
As commodity prices have increased,
farmers are recognising that they can
get all of their selenium, iodine, copper
and cobalt needs from Tracesure® Cu/I.
The bolus is manufactured by Animax
Ltd and the company’s approach is to
focus on the elements which are often
low, and which will cause problems if
not corrected.
The four production limiters are
selenium, iodine, copper and cobalt.
If any of these are low in the animal,
production will be limited,
Tracesure® Cu/I provides a slow release
of selenium, iodine, copper and cobalt
for up to six months, giving farmers the
reassurance that animals are getting
precisely what they need, minus
unnecessary elements which reduce the
effectiveness of these.
Neill Acheson, of Animax Ltd, says
Tracesure® Cu/I only includes trace
elements that stock need. “Conventional
supplements contain materials that there is
absolutely no point in giving to animals,’’
he says. “A prime example is phosphorus.
Grass won’t grow without phosphorus so
we know that stock are getting enough in
their diets. And iron, which is frequently
given in mineral formulations, doesn’t
become deficient in cattle other than in the
extreme situation of calves reared on milk.
The overall effect therefore is to reduce
absorption of key trace elements.
Neill continued; “We provide trace
elements by bolus, so that each animal
gets enough. To maintain efficient
production, farmers should consider how
the focused bolus approach might best fit
the needs of their herd.’’
Tracesure® Cu/I can be purchased
at Fane Valley Stores. For more
information with no obligation please
speak with a member of our Stores
staff.
UFBP is a Category 3 rendering plant
located at Glenavy, processing by-products
from animal slaughtering processes.
Originally established in 1952 by the
Glenfarm Holdings Co-Operative; it was
then purchased in 2012 by SAPI SpA an
Italian based rendering company. SAPI have
interests throughout the world in rendering
plants and also trade in the end products of
the rendering process, Tallow and Meat &
Bone Meal.
Richard Moore, Managing Director of
Linergy, commented: “We are delighted to
have received full clearance from the CMA on
this matter. It has been a long and complex
process and we are pleased that the final
outcome is as we expected. We can now focus
on the future and plan to meet the demands
of the ever-changing rendering industry, as
it emerges from the BSE era. We aim to bring
value to the market and meet the needs of
our customer base and this merger is an
important step in achieving this. We look
forward to working with SAPI and believe
that their wide-reaching network and global
expertise will help achieve our goals.”
Francesco Arico, Managing Director of
UFBP, said: “This is an important decision
in the future development of UFBP which will
allow us to expand our capabilities and offer
a greater service to our current customers
and potential new customers. It will also give
us the base from which to further develop
our processes and bring more efficiency and
value into our day-to-day operations. Linergy
are an established and well recognised
local partner who will add expertise to our
business in UFBP. Additionally, Linergy share
our commitment towards maintaining and
promoting high environmental standards
within our operations.”
Forward-Thinking In Late Pregnancy
Maximises Effective Lamb Productiviconcentrate per head per day. Fresh silage
should be offered daily to prevent secondary
fermentation and energy loss. Table 1 indicates
the levels of concentrate feed required for
good and poor quality silages.
Lamb Survival and Colostrum Quality
Colostrum is vital to lamb health and survival.
Ideally lambs should suck within 30-40 minutes
of birth and require the equivalent of 50 ml/
kg birthweight. Ewes should be vaccinated for
clostridial diseases to protect new-born lambs
against these common diseases with defence
immunity passed through the colostrum.
Fane Valley Feeds Ewe feed range has a
unique yeast, “Safmannan” which increases
the immunoglobulin content of colostrum
maximising immunity prior to the lamb
developing its own immune system.
The Fane Valley Feeds mineral package is
specifically formulated to ensure high levels
of Vitamin E, Selenium, Iodine and Cobalt to
produce vigorous lambs which are ready to
suckle.
Pictured: Mathew Armstrong, Ruminant Technical Specialist at Fane Valley Feeds
carrying out on-farm silage analysis.
With the main lambing season fast
approaching, it is critical to start
planning ahead for the feeding and
management of pregnant ewes.
Matthew Armstrong, Ruminant
Technical Specialist at Fane Valley Feeds
outlines some of the important factors
affecting pre-lambing ewes.
Ewes that are under-conditioned at lambing
will have lambs of lower birth weight, produce
poorer quality colostrum, produce less milk and
have lower lamb survival rates. For every 0.5
kg extra lamb birth-weight, weaning weight
increases by 1.7kg. Mammary development
is of key importance therefore energy and
protein supplementation are vital to maximise
colostrum quality and milk production.
Twin Lamb Disease (Pregnancy Toxaemia)
Twin Lamb Disease affects ewes bearing twin or
triplet lambs and is the result of up to 70% of
foetal growth occurring in the last 6 weeks of
gestation. During this time, the increasing size
of the uterus restricts the space available for the
rumen, reducing feed intake. The pre-lambing
ewe’s appetite can be reduced by up to 30%
during this period, resulting in decreased energy
intake and the ewe being unable to meet her
energy demands leaving body reserves to be
partitioned towards the growing lambs. Ewes
that are too fat or too thin are most at risk.
With most flocks having already completed
pregnancy diagnosis at this stage, ewes that
require additional concentrate feeding can be
identified. Silage should be analysed and the
correct feeding regime should be in place to
maximise feed utilisation.
Prolapsed Uterus
Ewes fed poor quality silage will struggle
to meet their energy requirements and will
increase rumen fill in an attempt to close the
energy deficit. This results in the vagina being
pushed out due to the intra-abdominal pressure.
Ewes in excess body condition will be more at
risk and overcrowding or inadequate feed space
will also put additional pressure on the pregnant
ewe. Body-Condition Score and Nutrition
Ewes that are too fat have more difficult
lambings than thinner ewes.
The difference in good and poor quality silage
could be the equivalent to up to 1.0 kg of
Fane Valley Feeds have a complete range of
compound sheep feeds and blends available to
meet the requirements of local sheep farmers. All products are nutritionally balanced to meet
the energy and protein requirements of high
production ewes. All products contain quality protein and energy
sources. These include energy sources such
as maize and barley which complement each
other with their different speeds of degradation
within the rumen.
Hi-Pro Soya and Rapeseed are utilised to
provide high levels of undegradable protein to
increase milk yield, improve the production of
quality colostrum and maximise lamb growth.
To find out more about the complete range
of Fane Valley sheep feeds please contact
Matthew Armstrong on 07714 950585 or
your local Fane Valley Feeds Sales Specialist.
Table 1: Recommended daily concentrate feed rates according to silage quality and the number of lambs being carried.
www.fanevalley.com
White’s Oats Scoop Top
CIMI Marketing Accolade
Fane Valley Dairies
Quality Focus In Milk
World dairy markets remain under pressure
from the usual supply and demand factors
and unfortunately it continues to be a
buyers market. In Fane Valley Dairies we
are focussing on aspects which are in our
control such as improvements in quality.
Mourne Maid dairy products have an excellent
reputation in the global supply chain. Quality
is the single biggest factor in every link of that
chain, from the raw milk supplied by our dairy
farmers to finished product. Increasingly, product specifications are
becoming tighter particularly in relation to
microbiological quality and the best way to
keep levels of bacteria low in dairy products is
to limit the levels in raw milk at farm level.
With this in mind the following schedule applies
to all milk supplied from 1st January 2016:
TVC
Range
Financial Adjustment
.....................................................................................
Pictured: (L-R) James Mathers - General Manager, Grainne Maher - Jewellery Designer,
Stuart Best - Business Development Manager, Danielle McBride, Brand Manager
& Mark Gowdy - Sales & Marketing Manager at White’s Oats
White’s Oats, the local producer of
porridge, granola and oat snacks,
received the winners accolade from
the Chartered Institute of Marketing
Ireland (CIMI) “Marketing with Impact
within the Food & Drink industry”.
The judges commented on White’s winning
entry; “The difference was the creative
response…. clearly presenting the marketing
challenge, the process that led to the
development of the tactical communications
plan, setting out the creative response and the
results.’’
The CIMI recognition is the latest in a series
of prestigious awards won by the company,
which is based at Tandragee in Co. Armagh in
the past 12 months for a range of oat-based
products.
Other Awards won in 2015 include:
- UK Great Taste Awards Gold Awards;
- Blas na hEireann, Irish National Food &
Drink Awards Gold and Silver Awards;
- Irish Quality Food & Drink Awards Winner in Cereal category;
- Ulster Grocer Marketing Awards for Best
New Product Launch.
Danielle McBride, White’s Oats Brand
Manager said: “This is an immensely
important and encouraging award for White’s,
reflecting the strength of our strategic and
integrated marketing campaign for the launch
of our rebrand from marketing professionals.”
Mark Gowdy, White’s Oats Sales &
Marketing Manager commented;
“The awards celebrate the best marketing
achievements in Ireland. Our award
acknowledges the high standard of our
campaign and the tremendous contribution
made by everyone at White’s Oats.”
20 and Under
+0.25ppl
21-25
+0.12ppl
26-50
Base - no adjustment
51-100 -0.15ppl
101-300 -2.2ppl*
Greater than 300 -6.2ppl*
Penalties marked * will be increased if TVC of
greater than 101 are detected in concurrent
months. However, it is not our desire to
penalise producers but rather to encourage
and incentivise producers to reach the base
or bonus categories.
A study of Society averages on recent
milk statements will confirm that most producers already have TVC of less than 25
and therefore this change in structure will
have little effect on the vast majority of our
suppliers. The biggest change is around base
levels (TVC 26-50) and above. These changes
bring our payment schedule into line with
other processors.
The CIMI Excellence Awards is now in its
15th year and the awards programme and
categories are specifically designed to attract
entries from businesses of all sizes, operating
in all sectors in Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland.
Field staff are available to discuss any issues
/ problems you may have with TVC levels
and an information leaflet is available which
contains practical guidelines.
Winning a CIM Marketing Excellence Award
means that a recipient company has created
results that deliver real business benefits.
• Present clean cows for milking
White’s was founded in 1841 and currently
employs 36 people in its milling and
processing operations to produce a range of
branded and private label porridge products
and oat snacks.
• Use approved chemicals at the correct concentration
Northern Ireland’s only oat miller, White’s
also supplies products to other manufacturers
of breakfast cereals and has grown sales in
export markets including the Republic of
Ireland, Spain, US, Russia, the United Arab
Emirates, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Below is a summary of good practise which, if
implemented, will deliver low TVC levels:
• Wash/pre-dip teats
• Dry teats thoroughly
• Hot washes need to start at 85°C and finish at no less than 55°C
(Please ask our field staff for indicator strips to
check your plant.)
• Replace rubberware regularly
• Check the plant/bulk tank regularly for any residue build up
• Cool milk quickly to at least 3.5-4°C
www.fanevalley.com
BVD Tags - The Choice Is
Yours With Fane Valley
Fane Valley Support
Local Cancer Charity
Fane Valley and its group of companies
have raised over £5000 for Action Cancer
Breast Screening Services.
Over 60 free mammograms will now be
made available because of staff fundraising
efforts and the generous donations made
across Fane Valley Stores by customers.
Pictured: Pat Donnelly, Livestock Identification Manager at Fane Valley Stores.
ALL three types of BVD tissue sampling
ear tags approved for use in NI are
promptly available at Fane Valley
Stores.
With the BVD eradication scheme becoming
compulsory from Tuesday 1st March 2016, Fane Valley Stores can offer you the choice of
Caisley, Allflex or Typifix tissue sampling ear
tags.
“No matter which tag type a customer chooses
our experienced staff can offer clear advice
and guidance on their use and how to send
the resultant tissue samples to the testing
laboratories.“ explained Pat Donnelly,
Livestock Identification Manager at Fane
Valley Stores.
Testing to eradicate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea is a
major step forward in protecting herd health
and livestock performance. BVD in your herd
costs money due to lack of thrive, increased risk
of pneumonia and mortality.
For those starting to undertake compulsory
testing Fane Valley Stores offer a unique level
of service combined with choice of BVD tag
type to suit your farm. Orders placed over the
counter or by phone are efficiently processed
and completed using our in-house tag printing
technology.
Christmas Toy Appeal
Success At Fane Valley
Time is money in farming and getting PI
individuals identified and removed with haste
from other cattle is vital. Thus, all our tissue
sampling is undertaken right here in NI using
the world class expertise of AFBI veterinary
laboratories.
Farmer owned Fane Valley Stores offers a
complete package of BVD ear tags, applicators,
training and the required packaging for sending
tissue samples to the laboratory for testing.
Taking the Fane Valley Stores route to BVD
tagging and testing is a simple first step to
becoming BVD free.
By taking tissue samples when tagging calves,
stock carrying this easily spread viral disease are
identified and should be quickly removed from
your herd. Remember, the longer an animal
identified as being persistently Infected (PI),
remains in contact with other cattle the greater
the risk of BVD spreading throughout your herd
thereby causing long term loss of potential
income.
“No wonder almost 5,000 NI farmers joined
the voluntary scheme to remove BVD from their
herds.” continued Pat Donnelly
“We are very pleased to help support Action
Cancer and specifically their breast screening
services and to know that all proceeds will
go specifically towards completing 60 local
breast screenings is very reassuring and most
of all, life changing.” commented; Trevor
Lockhart – Fane Valley Chief Executive
For further information about Caisley, Allflex or Typifix tissue
sampling ear tags please contact Pat Donnelly - Livestock
Indentification Manager Tel: 028 3839 4900
Fane Valley recently donated 100s of toys
and gifts from across their wider Group
for local charity ACTION FOR CHILDREN
during the Christmas period, through a
Business In The Community initiative.
“It was our pleasure to be able to help with the
children’s toy appeal through ‘Business In The
Community’ in aid of Action for Children. The
charity provides a very important and valuable
service all year round, but most importantly,
during the festive season they make it their
priority to help those children in real need. Our
staff were very happy to help the appeal again
this year.” said; Trevor Lockhart – Fane
Valley Chief Executive.
Fane Valley Feeds Host Local School
Fane Valley Feeds recently welcomed a group of GCSE Agricultural
students from the local Omagh CBS for a mill tour.
The students enjoyed a detailed visit of the state-of-the-art mill where they were
introduced to the process of manufacturing animal feed. The agri pupils received a talk from the very experienced staff onsite and had an opportunity to engage
and ask questions. Fane Valley appreciate the important role they can play in
helping to educate and shape the next generation within the agri industry.
“We are delighted to welcome Omagh CBS students to our feed mill. We hope this
experience will help contribute towards their GCSE Agriculture programme and we
wish them all the best in their future studies.” said; Ronan McCanny - Operations
Manager - Fane Valley Feeds
Pictured: (L-R) Ronan McCanny, Omagh CBS Pupils & Martin Morris Teacher.
Linden Voted ‘Green’
Company of The Year
Fane Valley Co-operative Society Ltd
Alexander Road, Armagh BT61 7JJ
T: 028 3752 2344 F: 028 3752 7876
E: info@fanevalley.com
Omagh T: 028 8224 3221
Pictured: (L-R) Brenda Buckley presents Mael Wilford - Environmental Manager
From Linden Foods with the ‘Green Company of The Year’ Award 2015/16
Linden Foods the red meat processor
based in Dungannon have recently
been crowned UTV Business Eye
‘Green’ Company of The Year.
Now in its ninth year, the star-studded event
held in The Culloden Estate & Spa honours
the high achievers of the Northern Ireland
business community as well as the public
sector.
Hundreds of entries from across sixteen
different categories were entered and the
lucky winners chosen by a distinguished
panel of judges including; UTV’s Business
Correspondent Jamie Delargy, Business Eye
Editor Richard Buckley as well as the Business
Editor of Northern Ireland’s main morning
newspaper Gary McDonald - Irish News.
Linden Foods was one of the big winners on
the night when they picked up the accolade
for ‘Green’ Company of The Year 2015/16
“We are delighted to be voted ‘Green Company
of the Year’ at the UTV Business Eye Awards.
We have really enjoyed the environmental
and sustainable journey we have been on
since establishing our GreenTrack strategy.
To win an accolade of this stature is a testament
to the great efforts and major difference we
are making as a whole company. We are all
passionate about what we do and how we do it.
We have trusted and established relationships
with our farmers, customers and colleagues. We
pride ourselves on putting the customer at the
heart of the business and doing it right first time
every time.“ commented; Mael Wilford –
Environmental Manager Linden Foods
Speaking on the night Richard Buckley
Editor - Business Eye said; “Linden Foods was
a clear winner in this category, which drew a
wide-ranging variety of entries from companies
covering a diverse selection of environmental
initiatives. Linden is a pace setter in an
industry which hasn’t been renowned for its
environmental best practice through the years.
This is a company that applies environmental
standards across all that it does.”
Newry T: 028 3026 2305
Armagh
T: 028 3752 0229
Altnamachin
T: 028 3087 8402
Augher T: 028 8554 9330
Banbridge
T: 028 4062 8778
Ballycastle T: 028 2076 8800
Ballymena Mart
T: 028 2563 7778
Lisbane T: 028 9754 1087
Lane Ends
T: 028 3755 1223
Markethill Mart
T: 028 3755 2523
Omagh
T: 028 8225 5350
Omagh Mart
T: 028 8224 5361
Portadown
T: 028 3839 4900
Rathfriland
T: 028 4063 0394
Banbridge T: 028 4066 2742
Find Us On Facebook!