Innovations at Turriff

2014
FEBRUARY
FARMING
MATTERS
Innovations at Turriff
A
number of new initiatives and
programmes of investment have
taken place at Woodheads’ Scottish
abattoir in Turriff.
The system was developed by QMS and
Scot EID and is designed to help sheep
farmers improve their breeding decisions
and profitability in the future.
Lamb suppliers are now able to access
animal-specific carcass data via the
Woodheads website. The system is believed
to be the first of its kind anywhere in the
world and uses the EID ear tag, which is
now compulsory for slaughter lambs in
Scotland, to match the weight and grade
of each lamb to the individual tag number.
Some £1.3million has recently been
invested in the site as part of a package
to boost capacity. Improvements include
new equipment in the boning hall, new
packaging facilities and improved washdown facilities.
Continued on page 2
INSIDE:
• BBC Lambing Live
• Morrisons online
• Contact details
• Farm open day
START SAVING
TODAY THROUGH
AF see page 6
Innovati
Welcome to
Farming Matters
Joe Mannion, Head of Livestock Procurement,
introduces Farming Matters.
W
elcome to our first newsletter of 2014.
We have had a busy few months since
our last edition in October, with livestock
events taking place at Dumfries House, the Beef
Expo in Carlisle and the East of England Smithfield
Festival at Peterborough. This year, we have
plans to attend shows across the UK and will
keep you informed via our new website at
www.morrisonsfarming.com.
Our Christmas meat sales were on plan, with lamb
selling particularly well. Meat sales continue to be
good, however the mild weather has affected our
mince and stewing volumes. Affordability remains
a concern and something we will need to be mindful
of throughout 2014.
Cattle prices started to reduce in December and
continued into January, which is unusual and appears
to be driven by a combination of consumer price
resistance and cheaper imports coming into the UK.
Pork and lamb prices remain robust, however pig
prices are now starting to reduce slightly.
Our new pig abattoir at Colne is now up to full
capacity and will allow us to process an additional
300,000 pigs this year.
Looking forward into 2014, we will double our
convenience stores from 100 to 200 and our new
online food website will be rolled out across the UK.
In turn, Woodheads plan to increase the number of
livestock processed across all our sites this year.
I hope you enjoy reading this
edition of Farming Matters.
Joe Mannion
Fans of BBC’s Lambing Live may recognise a few familiar
faces in the new series, which will be screened in March.
Hamish and Susie Dykes of West Linton, Peebleshire,
who supply the Woodheads abattoir in Turriff,
are the focus of the upcoming series, much of which has
been filmed on their farm.
The film crew also visited the Turriff site, where livestock
buyer Richard Henderson helped presenter Kate
Humble get up to speed with lamb grading.
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Morrisons FARMING MATTERS FEBRUARY 2014
Continued from page 1
Beef breeders and finishers who supply
Woodheads are also benefiting from a new
suckler cow supply chain group which has been
operating since September. The group, co-hosted
with SAC, has concentrated on herd performance
benchmarking and managing cow fertility. Topics
covered by the group are agreed by all members
and reflect the business priorities of members,
with expertise supplied by Morrisons, SAC and
external speakers. The group currently has ten
members with an average of over 200 cows. Any
Turriff supplier with breeding cows is able to join
the group and should contact the livestock
office to register interest.
Woodheads Turriff lies deep in rural
Aberdeenshire, about an hour north of Aberdeen.
The site employs 330 people and processes up to
11,000 lambs and about 750 cattle each week.
Some 600 tonnes of beef and lamb is processed
each week for frozen burgers, free flow mince
and diced products.
The abattoir is supplied by 1,100 Scottish farmers.
For contact details for the site’s livestock buyers
– Michael Wilson and Richard Henderson –
see page 5.
BBC filming
at Morrisons
ions at Turriff
Commitment to British farming
underlined at Farm Open Day
T
he Morrisons Farm at Dumfries House in Ayrshire
threw open its doors to more than 250 farmer
suppliers and invited industry representatives on 22
October.
This major event included a tour of Morrisons’ 1,000 acre
beef and sheep unit, and briefings from senior figures in
the company. HRH The Prince of Wales lent his support
and met a selection of farmers from across the UK,
including Morrisons dairy farmers from Pembrokeshire,
chicken farmers from the Midlands, egg suppliers from
Yorkshire and beef and lamb suppliers from across
Scotland and the north of England.
and Sonia Whitely-Guest, Morrisons’ Brand
Development Director, on the latest consumer trends
and how they will affect farmers. Sonia emphasised
Morrisons’ commitment to British farming but also
explained how farm gate prices for meat had grown
much faster than consumer prices in recent years, at the
expense of retailer margins. The challenge in the future
will be to increase efficiency throughout the supply
chain, including on farm, to help ensure British farm
produce remains competitive in the future.
The farm is home to about 200 breeding female Beef
Shorthorn cattle and 800 breeding ewes.
The farm tour looked at our work with the Beef
Improvement Group to promote feed conversion
efficiency in beef cattle and the Scottish Sheep
Strategy, which examines the financial gains from
rams selected for high Estimated Breeding Values (EBV).
The Morrisons Farm recorded an income difference
of £1.90 per ewe per year in favour of the high EBV
ram, or £1,520/year over the 800 ewe flock.
Delegates also heard from Sion Roberts of European Food
and Farming Partnerships (EFFP) on the challenges of
increasing volatility in agricultural commodity markets
3
Busy winter of
Morrisons and Woodheads sponsored and attended
a number of events over the winter.
About 250 people visited the Morrisons stand at
the East of England Smithfield Festival. Woodheads
Spalding sponsored the festival’s beef ribs competition
– the results of which were as follows:
Class 37
Steer or heifer, sired by any British native breed
1st H C Russell & Son, South Devon. Steer, b. 26/04/2011; w.465.7kgs
2ndJ L Griffin & Son, South Devon. Steer, b. 14/05/2011; w. 439.4kgs
3rd Michael Read, Lincoln Red. Heifer, b. 12/10/2011; w. 344.0kgs
Not a Morrisons near you? The
Our www.morrisons.com online webshop is now
taking orders from customers in the Midlands,
West and South Yorkshire.
Morrisons has begun making its first online food deliveries.
Our distinctive yellow vans began delivering groceries to
homes across the Midlands from 6am on Friday 10 January.
Interest has been strong, with many thousands registering
their interest on the first day. Customers have also been
importing their shopping lists from all the major grocers.
The Morrisons.com offer replicates many in-store services
provided by the company’s Market Street butchers, bakers
and fishmongers. For example, a virtual butcher enables
customers to choose how thickly their steak is cut. Orders
will then be expertly prepared by Academy-trained
butchers in our manufacturing sites.
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Morrisons FARMING MATTERS FEBRUARY 2014
Other features of Morrisons.com will deal with customer
concerns about the freshness of the food bought online, the
variability of delivery charges and convenience of online
food deliveries.
• Delivery charges will be £1, £3 or £5 depending on whether
it’s peak, off-peak or standard times. Unlike rival services,
Morrisons.com will have a predictable charge that does
not vary if demand changes.
• Customers will receive a one hour time slot in response
to feedback that two hours is too long to wait.
• The expert review is a rosette rating system that gives
customers an honest assessment of the quality and
seasonality of every item of produce.
• The doorstep check allows customers to check the
freshness of the products before they accept them.
events
Class 38
Steer or heifer, sired by any continental breed
1st R E Needham & Son. British Blue X. Heifer, b. 18/03/2012;
w. 324.8kgs
2ndMichael Read, Limousin X. Steer, b. 22/11/2011; w. 324.2kgs
3rd Mr Johnson, Limousin. Heifer, b. 08/04/2012; w. 372.0kgs
Class 39
Champion beef ribs
Champion R E Needham & Son, British Blue X. Heifer,
b. 18/03/2012; w. 324.8kgs
Reserve Michael Read, Limousin X. Steer, b. 22/11/2011;
w. 324.2kgs
Morrisons was a mainline sponsor for the Borderway
Agri-Expo 2013, which was held at Harrison and Hetherington
auctioneers in Carlisle.
Cattle buyer Michael Winchester (pictured far left) presented
a prize to the show champion.
Live to Dead
events update
A series of events are being held with
EBLEX and MLC Services Ltd at Woodheads’
Colne and Spalding abattoirs to give
suppliers an opportunity to handle a group
of live animals, assess them for fat cover
and confirmation and grade them.
Two beef events have already been held at Colne
and one at Spalding. The next event takes place at
Spalding on Tuesday 4 March from 9am to 2pm.
The events, funded by AHDB levies, allow
farmers to compare their classification in the live
assessment to that applied in the abattoir. Topics
covered on the day include current consumer
demand, breed characteristics, requirements of
abattoirs and livestock markets and farm and
abattoir hygiene requirements.
Feedback from suppliers who have attended has
been very positive, with all feeling they have a
better understanding of the EUROP grid, handling
points and livestock marketing.
Anyone interested in attending the next event can
contact Caroline Gooch on 07581482561 or caroline.
gooch@morrisonsplc.co.uk or Stephen Zealand on
07891812706 or stephen.zealand@morrisonsplc.co.uk
re soon will be…
It is expected that 50% of the country will be covered
by the beginning of 2015.
How to check if you are in the delivery zone:
• Click on www.morrisons.com.
• Enter your email address and postcode. Postcodes within
the delivery range will be taken to the site to create a
customer account.
• Our coverage is expanding every week- please use our
handy postcode checker to see if we can deliver to you yet.
Shop on the go - Download the Morrisons Groceries App:
• The Morrisons Groceries App is now available for Apple
and Android mobile devices.
• Go to your App Store, search for ‘Morrisons Groceries’,
and download it.
Woodheads contact details
Michael Winchester (Senior Livestock Buyer)
Caroline Gooch (Cattle and Lambs) Jim Holden (Cattle and Lambs) Ray Platts (Cattle and Lambs) Richard Sharratt (Cattle and Pigs) Katrina Donaldson (Cattle and Pigs) Stephen Zealand (Cattle – Southern England) Michael Wilson (Cattle and Lambs – Scotland) Richard Henderson (Cattle and Lambs – Scotland) Richard White (Transport Manager) 07801100092
07581482561
07831555076
07801595327
07788184300
07583192991
07891812706
07581412433
07885110762
07801595329
Enquiries for all sites can also be made
to the livestock office at Colne
The Abattoir, Junction Street, Whitewalls Industrial Estate,
Colne, Lancs. BB8 8LH
Tel: 01282 729117 Fax: 01282 866153
Email: woodheadslivestock@morrisonsplc.co.uk
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Member
only offers
SAVE THROUGH AF
Morrisons Farming Programme
AF members save with great prices
on a wide range of livestock
equipment and animal health
products but you must be a
member to benefit
Fasimec Duo S
A broad spectrum
parasiticide for sheep
over three months of
age for the treatment
of gastrointestinal
nematodes, liver
fluke, lungworms and
nasal bots and the
associated diseases.
Flectron fly tags
Cypermethrin ear tags for season
long control of nuisance and biting
flies in cattle.
Save on inputs
and business
essentials
The Morrisons Farming Programme
AF membership allows you to save on
a wide range of products through AF,
the UK’s largest agricultural purchasing
group.
Members benefit from significant savings
on a range of farm inputs, livestock
equipment, animal health products,
electricity, vehicles and building
materials.
AF has excellent terms in place with
suppliers nationwide, allowing the
group’s specialist buyers to act as an
extension of the farm office, reducing the
time spent on purchasing and dealing
with suppliers and giving you more time
to spend on farm.
Some examples of potential savings
which members can make through the
group are shown below.
Savings through AF are only available to
members, and joining is easy. There are
straightforward membership forms to
complete, which are taken to a monthly
membership executive meeting.
AF is funded by an annual membership
fee and a levy charge, which enables
you to see exactly what you paid for
your goods and services.
To find out more, contact David Taylor,
AF’s dedicated Morrisons Farming
Programme AF membership account
manager, on 07775 036107 or email
david.taylor@angliafarmers.co.uk
Typical savings on a
wide range of products
Electric fencing
Save on a wide range of electric
fencing equipment to keep your
stock safe.
Livestock equipment
Save up to 20%
Farm, estate and
vehicle insurance
Save up to 15%
E
SAV
15%
H
OUG
THR F
A
Feed
Save up to 10%
Animal health products
Save up to 10-20%
Lambing products
Save up to 10- 20%
Ear tags
Members can save on a
wide range of ear tags,
including Dalton
and AgriFlex.
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Electricity
Save up to 20%
Mobile phones
Save up to 30% on
calls and handsets
Fuel
Save up to 5 -10%
Member
only offers
SAVE THROUGH AF
Members save on livestock
products and equipment through
the Morrisons Farming Programme
AF membership
Tyres
Save on all types of agricultural,
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AF in focus:
Supporting your building
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AF’s dedicated building team can
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and extended payment periods.
Members carrying out building and
maintenance projects can also make
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LPG
Fuel and gas is one of the
largest product groups within AF,
representing an annual turnover
in excess of £55 million.
Household appliances – from washing
machines and fridges to laptops and
televisions
Fencing and gates – members typically
save 15%-20% on a wide range,
including posts and rails, palisade
panels, equine electric fences, machine
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Horticultural supplies – significant
savings are available on hedging plants
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Don’t forget that you must be a
member to benefit from products
and services through AF. To find out
about joining, and the benefits of
membership, contact AF’s dedicated
Morrisons Farming Programme AF
membership account manager David
Taylor on 07775 036 107 or email
david.taylor@angliafarmers.co.uk
Farming Matters is published by Anglia Farmers Limited, Honingham Thorpe, Colton, Norwich, NR9 5BZ.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information published, Anglia Farmers cannot accept
any responsibility for errors, omissions or claims made in either editorial or advertising.
Electricity
AF manages more than 5,000
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members and is therefore able to
negotiate extremely competitive
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installation to renewal.
UP
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