Devizes pig farmer's toughest ever year saved by wife's farm shop

His family have kept RSPCA assured pigs at the West End Farm in Bishops Cannings since 1970, but he described 2022 as the toughest year he had seen for the industry.

Mr Naughton has had to reduce the number of pigs he keeps by 20%. (Image: The Piggery)

This was due to a backlog of pigs that could not be slaughtered because there were not enough butchers in the country, combined with skyrocketing wheat prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price of a ton of wheat shot up from £200 to £300 and the spiralling cost of running the farm meant Mr Naughton lost over £100,000 in the first five months of the year.

He said: “It’s been the most challenging 12 to 18 months I’ve known in farming. It was extremely stressful for all of us.

“In February I had to place all my staff on notice of redundancy because the situation was so dire. It was very hard because I had worked alongside them for between nine and 20 years.”

Mr Naughton places an emphasis on high welfare standards for his pigs. (Image: The Piggery)

Mr Naughton blamed the Government’s initial reluctance to provide visas to skilled butchers for many of the problems.

He added: “I’ve lived through all sorts of disruptions, but this one was entirely the making of our own government and their refusal to acknowledge there was a shortage of skilled butchers.

“Thankfully now they have. But they utterly destroyed the pig industry through their intransigence. They were meant to be supporting us, but they abandoned us and it was very difficult to understand.”

Mr Naughton was not hit as hard as other farmers because he grows his own wheat and sells most of his produce to local abattoirs.

But the biggest turning point came when his wife Muriel had the idea of turning a small chipping container into a farm shop called the Piggery.

The new farm shop has given the Naughtons a boost. (Image: The Piggery)

“It’s given us a glimmer of hope and encouraged us all to keep going. It’s been so encouraging to find out how enthusiastic people are about the quality of our meat and other products.

“It’s given everybody a tremendous lift because you have to have something to look forward to and all the staff have been involved.”

In fact it's been such a success a new, larger shop is currently under construction.

Mr Naughton has also retained all his fulltime staff.

“Thankfully we’ve managed to pull through and keep everybody’s jobs which is a huge testament to them.”