THE new high-welfare pig unit at Bishop Burton College has been officially opened.

The unit, which has already won the RSPCA's Freedom Food accreditation, was opened by Tim Rymer, chairman of JSR Genetics, and college principal Jeanette Dawson.

Representatives from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, National Pig Association, British Pig Executive, National Farmers' Union and the regional food group for Yorkshire and Humber were among Friday's guests.

Farm manager Dominic Naylor is delighted that the unit has been granted the Freedom Food stamp of approval.

He said: "This is a fantastic testimony to the hard work that has been put into the unit over the past year and the award is a direct reflection of the high welfare and technical standards of the unit at Bishop Burton College.

"For a long time, the pig industry has been associated with intensive agriculture, but the construction of the farrowing village at the college has broken that mould and demonstrated our commitment to 21st Century methods of producing top-quality pig meat."

The college, near Beverley, has a fully commercial 356 hectare farm. It and the pig enterprise operate as separate, self-standing divisions.

The new pig unit goes for the best high-welfare contracts available as it farrows outdoors in pig arcs and rears indoors on straw.

Mrs Dawson said of the new unit: "This is not a demonstration unit. It is about producing high-quality meat and a high-quality educational resource."

Each year, the unit receives visitors from industry and the general public, as well as thousands of schoolchildren. A special viewing facility allows each section to be seen without entry to the unit.

Colin Dennis, farm director, said: "I think the new enterprise is tremendous. As a college we need to be involved in the food chain - from farm to plate - and to do that we need to be producing more than just a commodity.

"We want to produce pig meat that can be differentiated from cheap imports and we want to support the local food industry."