A note of optimism for seasonal turkey production has been sounded by Paul Kelly in his spring newsletter from Farmgate Hatcheries, a major supplier of poults for Christmas production.
The prospect of a vaccine against avian influenza being made available at some point in the future is encouraging, said Kelly. “Currently there is a vaccine available but it is not licensed for use – but is going through trials at the moment,” he said. “I do believe we will have a vaccine in the short to medium term, probably circa 12 months from now. I understand the French will be vaccinating high-risk areas of the country in the autumn of this year.
“The acceptance by the chief veterinary officer that a vaccination programme is needed will secure and protect the long-term future of our industry. UK Christmas poultry production does, I believe, have a bright future.”
Kelly also pointed to the Animal and Plant Health Agency trying to pull together a plan that will give seasonal Christmas poultry growers the confidence to produce for Christmas this year.
He said the NFU is drawing up protocols that should make cleaning and disinfecting of infected premises a far less daunting task and provide practical solutions to dealing with muck out and wash down.
“These proposals should bring into line the huge variations in clean and disinfect wash down requirements by different case officers throughout the country.
“The current APHA clean and disinfect wash down guidelines are complicated to say the least. Deep cleaning a building to a high standard is not rocket science and something we should all be doing anyway.”
Kelly said that last Christmas his sales were down by around 10% to 2019 pre-covid levels as a result of more families eating out, pressure on incomes and the influence of avian influenza – adding up to the ‘perfect storm’.
He said he believes sales will be similar this coming Christmas, with the bird flu situation still high risk, a potential recession, uncertain feed and energy costs and no sliver bullet for the tight labour situation unless the government reverses its immigration policy to allow free movement again for EU nationals – “a very long shot to say the least”.
FarmGate Hatcheries is offering nine turkey breeds with bronze, black or white feathered poults available from May to September. Prices are up for 2023 by 17%, reflecting the huge increases in price of feed, energy and labour costs after the start of the Ukraine war. “It would be great to see deflation in 2024,” said Kelly.