Our first Trade Awareness Course (TAC) of the year concentrated on the topic of ‘From Farm to Fork’ within the pig industry and saw visits to sites belonging to one of the country’s leading food producers, Cranswick Country Foods based in Hull, and a family run farming enterprise, Lincolnshire Pork Co based in Lincolnshire.
The host companies – Cranswick Country Foods, Lazenbys Gourmet Sausage Factory, Lincolnshire Pork Co and Uncle Henry’s Farm Shop - all made the delegates feel very welcome and were very generous with their time and facilities.
The hosts very informative tours and presentations gave the delegates the opportunity to see the whole food journey. Clearly showing the ‘farm to fork’ process from birth, through rearing to slaughter and ultimately to butchered meat and oven/table ready products, which the delegates were able to sample at lunch time. Alongside the factory tours was a tour of Lincolnshire Pork Co’s arable enterprise and their AD facilities which gave a perspective of how pig meal was produced and how waste was usefully disposed of. Both days provided a comprehensive overview which, our feedback shows, proved informative to all attendees.
As with some previous TAC’s, the industry experience of the delegates ranged from months to decades and it is encouraging to hear that we were able to provide a course that proved to be of some benefit to all, in one way or another. The whole group got on well together during the visits and the socialising was helped along with an excellent evening meal at a local all you can eat, Brazilian restaurant.
Lead chaperone and principal organiser, Mark Woodall and the rest of the Executive Committee would like to thank all attendees, and their employers, for helping to make this such a successful course. Our special thanks and appreciation go to all the host companies for their generosity, without which we would be unable to run these courses.
