02/01/2006 
”Averting offers” made at the end of the year - A comment by Franz Meyer zu Holte, ISN chairman
Dear ISN members, Usually, a New Year is started with optimism and confidence at the turn of the year.
But even if our new Federal Chancellor sends a million-Euros’ letter to everybody, pledging upswing in Germany, we as Germany’s pig keepers should continue to have an eye for reality. With the major slaughter companies making
averting offersat the turn of the year, it becomes obvious how capricious the pig market can be.
It is true that 2005 was quite satisfactory, by and large. Most of the previous years’ losses could be compensated for. And yet - apart from optimism and confidence – critical watchfulness remains to be one of the successful entrepreneur’s most important virtues.
The year ahead requires solutions to be found to urgent political issues. The EU pig keeping guideline must be converted in a way allowing the protection of animals to be indivisible on a pan-European level at least – or even better, on an international level.
During the WTO negotiations it became clear that opening international markets must never be kind of a charter for dumping with regard to environment and animal protection as well as to social issues.
On top of that, excessive bureaucracy both on the national and EU levels must finally be lowered again. Just now, at the turn of the year, many new and even questionable rules for registration were stipulated. Just as if an EU
pig data bank(which is regarded to be quite nonsensical by all experts) was not enough.
Although we will be assigned with many demands, rules and other peculiarities from the outside, which will certainly make great demands on our activities, we should never forget to maintain our core competence; which is: producing healthy high-quality pigs, under conditions appropriate to the species, to be sold on a challenging market - but not forget about our own budgets at the same time.
In this spirit, I wish all members and friends of the ISN, as well as their families, all the best for a good and successful new year, 2006.
Yours faithfully,
Franz Meyer zu Holte
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