Giving petrol the heave ho

UK - For one Scottish pig producer the increase in fuel prices has seen the farm's fuel bill rise to a staggering 56,000 a year - and that is just on petrol for quad bikes.

Grampian Country Pork keeps 12,000 sows on 28 outdoor units across north east Scotland.

Employed for general feeding and bedding, the company has 50 bikes in operation at any one time.

Each ATV burns an average of 30 litres of petrol each week, which explains why the fuel bill is astronomically high, even priced at a competitive 75p/litre for bulk delivery.

According to Grampian's financial controller Dave Smith, the fuel cost is something which has become unsustainable given the current state of the UK pig industry.

"We've been driven to reduce costs as far as possible and because the bikes are such an essential part of our business, we have had to look for alternatives as regards fuel," says Mr Smith.

With limited development from ATV manufacturers on the diesel front, the farm has switched to liquid petroleum gas (LPG) power.

Soure: FWi