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In week ended 5th January, the deadweight prime cattle average price levelled on the week at 365.0p/kg. read more

As domestic lamb continues to compete with increased volumes of cheaper imports and demand remains subdued, DW lamb prices eased in week ended 5th January. read more

World prices eased back towards the end of 2012 although remained at levels comparable to the same period in 2011. read more

Having shot to record levels during September and October, GB finished pig prices continued to rise in November and early December, albeit more slowly. read more

The GB weekly average price rose by £4.63/t to £227.93/t and the free-buy average fell by £4.45/t to £330.74/t. read more

Mid-January saw the release of much-anticipated information from the USDA in the form of world supply and demand estimates, US winter wheat plantings, final 2012 production estimates and quarterly stocks. read more

The USDA data set a bearish tone for oilseed markets with upward revisions to US and Brazilian crops. read more

UK malting barley export prices are at €245/t FOB (spring, South Coast) w/e 11th April. read more

The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on the activity of UK hatcheries and poultry slaughterhouses. read more

USDA’s latest quarterly stocks report, released on 28th September, estimated US maize stocks (at 1st September) at 25.1m t, down 12% on the same point in 2011 and the lowest since 2004. read more

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PAPERS

Spring was most definitely in the air in Bishop Burton this weekend. Sisters Isobel and Lydia Ferguson got to hold this newborn lamb when it was barely a day old. It is one of more than 1,400 lambs that are expected to be born at Bishop Burton College in the next three to four weeks. Isobel, four, and Lydia, three, of Beverley, were among 2,500 people who visited the college’s Lambing Sunday event yesterday. Visitors were able to see newborn lambs up close and even witness live births. The siblings’ mother Ruth, who also took along her seven-week old son Jacob, to the event, said: "A friend told me about it. It has given us a good insight into farming. The girls have really enjoyed seeing the lambs and were even able to hold and touch them." Helen Martin, agriculture lecturer at the college, said: "The idea is to open up the college to the public so they can get an insight into what happens here at one of the busiest times of the year. Lambing Sunday hasn’t run here for some years, but we’ve recreated this event due to the popularity of the public wanting to know where their food has come from, traceability, and the whole process that happens here on this farm." Lambing is also an exciting time for the college’s agricultural students. As well as answering questions from members of the public yesterday, they are also working six-hour shifts around-the-clock to keep an eye on the flock. Oliver Tempest, 17, is studying agriculture at the college, near Beverley. He said: "It’s my first time lambing season. It’s an exciting time. I’m looking after the animals, cleaning the pens and feeding them. I’m a city boy, but this is something I’ve always wanted to do."

They have been hailed as the hottest new trend in celebrity pets. But a leading agricultural writer claims the micro-pigs beloved of celebrities like Charlotte Church and the Beckhams amount to nothing more than a marketing gimmick – and do not actually exist as a breed. Welsh farming expert and pig breeder Liz Shankland, owns a smallholding on the Caerphilly mountain and is a respected breeder of pedigree Tamworth pigs, and is the author of the new Haynes Pig Manual, released next month. She said that the vast majority of animals sold as micro-pigs are actually just young animals that will soon out-grow their owners, posing a danger to those attempting to care for them. Ms Shankland, a columnist for the Western Mail, said she knew of many people in Wales claiming to be micro-pig breeders, but said those who had been misleadingly sold miniature animals were often unwilling to come forward. She said: “I know of a few dozen owners, but a lot of the people are too embarrassed at being duped, so don’t want to go public. A breeder in South-East Wales sold an un-castrated boar piglet to a family living in a terraced house in London with eight children living under the same roof!"