By Charles Bourns, broiler grower, Gloucestershire
I have after five years of trying been on holiday to South Africa and now at least know what sunshine is again! What also amazed me was the amount of new orchards I saw. As well as apple orchards, there were cherry trees and also olive groves. Whilst we seem to be stagnating other parts of the world are progressing their agriculture, and will to I presume export to us what our policy makers and NGOs stop us from producing.
The other thing that has happened in the last few weeks is a rash of farms coming onto the market in our area. Maybe these people know something I do not about the future.
I am an optimist who believes we have a good future, even if at present the industry seems to be doing its best to shoot itself in the foot. Why do I say this? It is because of the head long decision to increasingly grow chicken at 30kg. We are told will improve the welfare for the chicken. The problem is that it is being done with the usual standard bird and they are being thinned, so the system is trading on the ignorance of the consumer and hoping no-one looks too closely at what is being done on the farm. And anyway, as I have always said it is the stockman that makes for good welfare and not the system the chicken are kept in.
The other problem with this headlong introduction is that it will not give the industry time to gear up its production because a drop to 30kg drops production by 20% and increases cost by 5/6p per kilo. If new sheds are needed, which they will be, it will increase costs by 15p per kilo. It also takes two years plus (as long as all goes well) from inception to production for new sheds, so the industry needs time and an increase in price to implement this new system. This must to recognised by all in the chain or the consequence will be to export part of our industry.
I know that the change is going to happen. The industry’s success has been built on its ability to adapt to change. But let’s hope it is given time. There is planning to consider for the new sheds and the industry needs the confidence to build them, in other words the profitability to persuade the bank manager to lend them the money.