A conversation with Annie Rayner and Clare Hill, founders of Planton Farm, Roots to Regeneration and Impeckable Poultry, experts in poultry welfare and regenerative agriculture transition pioneers in the UK. We discuss where to start when you want to integrate livestock as a farmer. Many would say poultry, but there are a lot of issues, from lockdowns because of bird flu to feeding because these aren’t ruminants, so they can’t just graze, while another big one is genetics. We have bred birds to be either egg or meat birds, and that is incredibly inefficient and horrible for animal welfare. Annie and Clare are on a mission to answer the question: What does it mean to produce deeply regenerative chicken and eggs?
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ON:
We have all seen the Joel Salatin or Richard Perkins style chicken caravan, and if you haven’t, googled them. Eggs and chicken meat are a great, fast cash flow-generating enterprise.
DUAL-PURPOSE BIRD: WHY IS IT CRUCIAL?
Annie discusses the potential of dual-purpose chickens for meat and egg production, exploring the idea of breeding birds that are good for both purposes, that can be used for both egg and meat production, rather than specialised breeds for just one purpose. Historically, dual-purpose chickens were more common, but the poultry industry has become highly specialised, with separate breeds for eggs and meat. Developing dual-purpose chicken breeds that are productive for both eggs and meat could help reduce waste and inefficiency in the poultry industry.
”So dual-purpose chickens really have originated as a byproduct of the egg industry and egg production generally. So, when we domesticated chickens, originally, it wasn’t for their meat. It took quite a few hundred years before we started eating them, but we were eating their eggs and then eating the cock, as they were kind of surplus to the requirements. So, part of what we want to look at is, actually, we know that chicken is a good protein source, but what kind of bird makes a good, dual-purpose chicken that actually provides a good meat bird as well as laying eggs? So maybe coming at it from a slightly different angle to what has been done historically, and is being done over on the continent, in terms of the kind of ban on male chick culling, we’re seeing a rise in dual-purpose breeds.” Annie Rayner
MODERN CHICKEN GENETICS HAVE GROWN UP WITH SOY AND WHY FEED IS SO IMPORTANT
Annie and Clare explore alternatives to soy, including local breeds of chickens and waste streams of food, and examine the true cost of producing eggs on a larger scale.
”There are currently farmers looking at, say, for example, alternatives to soy, which is really important because one of the components of chicken feed that is really causing a lot of damage is soy, both from the deforestation angle and from where it’s been grown. But also, chickens don’t digest phosphate very well, so it ends up with high levels of phosphate in the muck.” Clare Hill
”They are up and running around, and they are eating seed heads, they’re eating insects, and they’re behaving in a different way. That’s one thing to look at: how do we increase the biodiversity that’s in our environment so that it provides more feed? Of course, chickens would eat a mixture of all sorts of things. We’ve even seen them eat small rodents before. So, they can’t just live on grass like cows. So, it’s, how do we bring that in? And waste streams of food are a potential solution. Current, modern genetics have grown up side by side with soy. So, I think, when we unpick the genetic side, we’ll also be unpicking the feed side at the same time and working out what works and also that balance of production.” Clare Hill
WE NEED TO INCREASE ECOLITERACY
Claire emphasises the need for equal investment in agroecology and technology to address societal issues and discusses the importance of increasing “ecoliteracy,” or ecological literacy, among farmers and the general public.
It’s in the people. We see a lot of people who invest in technology because it’s a tangible thing, we can see it growing. But actually, what we need is increased eco-literacy, increased the ability to manage complexity on the land, and help in unpicking some of the cultural norms that have led us to believe that, it’s only good if it’s controlled and it looks neat, and those things are what we need support with. So, it’s kind of like an equal focus on people and on technology. The fifth agricultural revolution is said to be a combination of technology and agroecology. So, we need equal investment going into the agro-ecology side, as we see going into the tech side, to help us ultimately. It’s people, isn’t it? That’s what we need. We’re the ones that will act on the change, and most of us want to see a positive change. We just don’t always have the tools or the knowledge to do it.” Clare Hill
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen, Annie and Clare also talked about:
- Improving chicken farming practices for better bird health and sustainability
- Shifting agriculture towards sustainability, prioritising people and ecology over finance
- Chicken farming, welfare, and environmental impact
LINKS:
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- Paul Greive – How the biggest exit in regeneration led to millions of more chickens on pasture
- Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin – Why chickens are the perfect entry point to decolonize our food system
- Josh Heyneke – Small scale farmers going potentially bankrupt with regen duck eggs and fertiliser
- Pietro Galgani on paying the true price for food and agriculture products and how to get there
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.