Sustainable Turkey Production Dr James Bentley Turkey Consultant and Producer
Enthusiasm for turkeys! Excitement for the turkey industry! Passion for turkey meat!
What is Sustainability? use global natural resources sustainably, enable the continuing provision.that a healthy natural environment provides, promote high standards of animal health and welfare, protect food safety,
What is Sustainability? Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs. Balance of the short term and long term strategy KEY REQUIREMENT IS CONTINUOUS PROFITABILITY
Sustainable Turkey Production? Limiting factors to future profitability o Market Trends o Productivity and Cost Competition o Inputs feed ingredient supply o Welfare issues positive as well as negative! o Food Safety Salmonella and Campylobacter o Reliance on antibiotics o Environment inputs - energy, bedding outputs CO 2, NH 3, litter, wastes, o Breeding - choice and diversity o Training and recruitment
Turkey Market
Conventional Market Sectors by Slaughter Weight Heavy - US Integrated Europe/Integrated/Further Processed 18 22kg males Heavy Medium - Europe/S. America 11 18kg males Medium/ Small - Whole bird only - festive market
Who is the competition? Other turkey producers / countries OR Other meats (broiler + pork)
The feed to breast meat race Turkey Body weight FCR at BMY (live) feed:breast at 126d (kg) 126 d 2003 15.18 2.52 0.25 10.08 Broiler Body weight (kg) FCR BMY feed:breast 2003 2.00 1.85 0.18 10.27
The White Meat Race - 2010 Turkey Chicken Pork Weight (kg) 20.39 2.17 101.6 Days to Slaughter 140 35 170 FCR (kg/kg) 2.49 1.57 2.48 Evisc Carcass (%) 77.0 71.4 75.9 Breast Meat (%) 27.2 18.6 X Swalander, 2010
The White Meat Race - 2010 Turkey Chicken Pork Weight (kg) 20.39 2.17 101.6 Days to Slaughter 140 35 170 FCR (kg/kg) 2.49 1.57 2.48 Evisc Carcass (%) 77.0 71.4 75.9 Breast Meat (%) 27.2 18.6 X Kg feed/kg carcass 3.23 2.20 3.27 Kg feed/ kg breast meat 9.15 8.44 X Swalander, 2010
M broilers M Turkeys Placement of turkeys and broilers - UK 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 broiler turkey
Consumption of turkey per capita selected countries 2009 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 kg/head USA France Germany Italy Canada UK
Mil poults per year Poult placements per Month - UK 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 2008 2009 2010 0.50 0.00 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Market Sectors Xmas whole / portion bird Fresh Frozen Industrial 7.5m Traditional 1m Farmgate Butcher Retailer Free Range Organic Certified / Freedom Easy cook Coloured feather (Bronze,Black,etc) Delayed evisceration Crowns / Portion
Turkey consumer comments Negatives Christmas Only Don t know how to cook it Taste dry and bland Prefer chicken Can t find it Cheap image low quality Intensive production system in batteries Not in fast food Positives Healthy low saturate fat Taste and versatility in cooking Value for money Substitute for most other meats in many dishes Versatile in farming systems and housing Traditional small farms Premium product
UK Turkey Dilemma o 2 products xmas roast and all year meat o Xmas prefer hens All year males Poults not used o Smaller Xmas whole birds and portions erodes margin o Fresh is fresh kill at Xmas only o UK produced QBT - imported poults o Cost of seasonal production - utilisation short lay breeders, hatchery space, growing farms empty o Marketing confused - xmas messages vs year round o Are the products compatible? o New products or new messages?
Xmas Market Niche designer to commodity frozen something for everyone Celebrity endorsements Retailers want some points of difference but look for value Drivers of new products or points of difference for consumers to align too e.g. egg market? Farmers and local producers Many excellent farm gate Traditional TFF websites Year round market Focusing on reducing cost not improving image? 1 in 16 households have turkey regularly (15 don t!) Trying to compete with chicken? Promoting itself as a cheap meat? Not local? Focus on health, welfare Beef pork, lamb competitor. Generic marketing? Enthuse retailers
Bernard Mathews - 2011
Costs and Performance
Commercial growing issues o Incorrect nutrition for farming system o Physical feed quality - in the feed pans!!! o Wet litter o Incorrect minimum ventilation management o Not monitoring body weight progress optimised growth curve 6 week weight growth in last 4 weeks o Drinker management - cleaning water lines o Respiratory disease ORT / TRT o Spot brooding - labour intensive o US Gangrenous Dermatitis
All factors must be considered together Identify what is limiting growth Physical feed quality Temperature Amino acid nutrition Stocking density Disease Actual growth Growth to achieve maximum profit 80% 100%
All factors must be considered together Physical feed quality Temperature Amino acid nutrition Stocking density Disease Actual Growth to achieve growth maximum profit 85% 100%
US New Techniques Whole house brooding Nipple drinkers Tunnel ventilation UK New Techniques Free range / windows
300-400 poults per stove Labour intense 7 m of hand feeding per stove Supplemental drinkers to wash 25 C room temperature More individual control
Reduced brooding labour Potential fuel savings Automation advantages Lighting less shadows Increased brooder weights - Access feed and water
Quadrant brooding
Energy values in Turkey diets Range of AME values kcal/kg Turkeys USA UK France Italy Germany Brazil Prestarter 2900 2800 2800 2850 2750 2850 Starter 3000 2820 2900 3000 2850 3050 Grower 3250 2850 3100 3200 2950 2950 Finisher 3450 2900 3250 3350 3100 3100 Breeder 2900 2750 2800 2850 2750 2900
Commercial nutrient density Cost consequences - live Low Medium High Body weight (kg) 18.53 19.09 19.51 FCR 2.92 2.71 2.52 feed cost per kg live (US cents/kg) UK 1997 1.15 1.17 1.54 US 1997 0.65 0.61 0.61 UK 2007 1.37 1.41 1.49 US 2007 0.59 0.61 0.63
Feed Ingredient Security o Ingredients dependant on few ingredients o Limited choice for starter diets Energy kbp starter Wheat 12%+ enz Brazilian Soya 48 (46.2%) Full Fat Soya (Toasted) Lysine kbp starter Wheat 12%+ enz Brazilian Soya 48 (46.2%) Full Fat Soya (Toasted)
Feed Ingredient Security o Ingredients dependant on few ingredients o Competition for wheat o Limited choice for starter diets o New ingredients o Naked oats as wheat replacement o DDGS from wheat in biofuel o Alternative proteins o Meat meal??? Technically yes / politically no o Enzymes o Proteases for soya o NSP enzymes for DDGS and poor ingredients STABILITY IN PRICING CASH FLOW!!!!!!
Naked oats? Macloed 2007 A variety of Avena sativa L (not a separate species) Absence of hull should greatly increase nutrient density for poultry
Summary of ME differences Conventional oats 13% < wheat Naked oats 9% > wheat High-oil naked oats 13% > wheat
Farm-scale trials Feed conversion ratios (cumulative; feed:gain) Oat content (%) Bird age (weeks) 4 8 12 16 21 0 1.39 1.80 2.10 2.47 3.04 10 1.33 1.80 2.06 2.47 2.95 20 1.33 1.81 2.10 2.52 3.06 30 1.34 1.78 2.08 2.51 3.04
Wet litter
Enteritis pre - 42 days (>75% in France) Poorer weight and higher FCR Lower income Increased variability at slaughter Foot pad dermatitis, leg problems, osteomyelitis Increased use of antibiotics Farmer frustration - poor management grow chickens Thiery 2005 Wet litter observations
Enteritis checklist Can use a checklist to investigate problems and reduce risk o use of NSP enzymes o cereal by products (biscuit / corn processing) o mycotoxins o mineral balance (mono / divalent ionic balance, excess Ca) o fat quality o particle size o haemorrhagic enteritis virus challenge o coccidiosis control o alternative remedies (pro and prebiotics, oils, acidifiers, clays) o corona and astrovirus etc challenge NO MAGIC BULLET REDUCE THE RISK
Welfare Concerns
Foot pad dermatitis
Foot pad dermatitis Montella (2005) 80% males and 100% female turkeys from well managed Italian commercial flocks had FPD exceeding the severity to be classed as poorly managed under the criteria of the EU Broiler Directive
Some practical effects on FPD% Females - after 28 days 6 days on litter treatment Litter Water% Foot pad scores Visual Histopathology Dry clean 13 1.8 2.5 Wet clean 74 6.3 6.5 1 bird per m 2 Visual score 1 superficial change to 7 black necrosis Histopathology 1 mild inflammation to 7 ulceration and loss of epidermal tissue Mayne 2005
Some practical effects on FPD% Females - litter type from d0, wet dry after 28 days scores 6 days after litter / moisture treatments Litter External Histopathology Dry Wet Dry Wet Cardboard 5.0 5.5 5.8 6.3 Paper 1.8 5.8 3.3 6.8 Straw 4.8 5.3 4.8 6.3 Shavings 1.0 4.8 3.0 6.3 sed 0.95 1.1 Mayne 2005, Hocking, 2006
Foot pad dermatitis No relationship with stocking density Litter moisture main causal factor why does water cause inflammation? Some litter types have greater risk EU Industry research not gained EU framework funding
Antibiotic use (Lister,2011) The criticisms Antibiotics are used in an uncontrolled manner Leads to resistant superbugs Causes harmful residues in meat and eggs Causes poor animal welfare allowing birds to survive in sub optimal conditions Used for growth promotion rather than to treat disease In practice omedicine use to complement good management practice, vaccination programme and hygiene omaintain an effective disease monitoring programme odevelop a vaccination and preventive treatment strategy
Turkey Challenge - Multiple age rearing? o 2 3 age groups and no empty stage per farm o Short down time between flocks (1-2d) o Farms in close proximity with independent management but overlap of ages (and poultry species) o Ineffective clean down and disinfection and biosecurity o Multiple use of the same litter o Litter stored or spread next to the poultry house o Classic brood and move with many cycles per year. o Other livestock on the same farm acting as vectors for one key primary or secondary pathogen. Audit your system and have a strategy
Food Safety and Environment o Passing comments o Salmonella a success but vigilance o Campylobacter challenge < broiler? BPC Task Group o Environment - IPPC / regulatory framework o Versatility of production o Non IPPC small farms o Wet litter harder disposal
Quality Schemes
Conclusion
Suggestions? Training and new entrants - need new blood Marketing is critical to industry sustainability Xmas bird - new product variations to reinforce consumer value and keep awareness and fresh image - producer margin Align production system to marketing values not vice versa Aligning year round product with broiler meat is unlikely to be successful Need to promote opportunities to encounter turkey meat shelf space, restaurant, ethnic, celebrity brands, fast food? Margin not volume consumption - a la 90 s USP s - health, value, welfare and versatility How do we spread this message?
LETS HAVE enthusiasm for turkeys! LETS HAVE excitement for the turkey industry! LETS HAVE Passion for turkey meat!