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23/01/2005
Uproar over ‘half organic’ pullet rule
A new rule for ‘half organic’ pullets will bring upheaval and massive extra costs to the sector by the end of the year.
The regulation means that all birds destined for organic units will have to be fed an organic diet throughout the rearing period. They will also have to be reared to organic veterinary rules.
The change, which comes into effect on December 31, will add as much as £1 to the price of a pullet and 4p a dozen to the price of all organic eggs. But some experts believe it could also have disastrous implications for the supply of organic birds.
Introduced out of the blue as far as producers are concerned, the new move has been branded “unworkable, unthinkable and absolute nonsense”.
The new regulation has emerged from the Brussels talks to extend the derogation which has allowed organic producers to continue to use conventionally reared pullets. The industry expected a simple 18-month extension of the existing rules. But with little warning the EU Commission introduced the proposal that even if birds were to continue to be reared on conventional units they must comply with organic feed and vet rules.
A decision had to be made by the end of last year or the derogation would simply lapse and organic pullets would become mandatory across Europe. Talks dragged on until late December and faced with full organic rules or a halfway house Governments voted for the ‘half organic’ option.
Defra had been opposed to the new rules and had been told by industry figures that they could not be implemented. One leading packer said: “We violently objected to the idea. This is absolute nonsense, it simply doesn’t stack up.”
There are fears that many pullet rearers may decide that rearing organic birds will offer too many complexities in terms of separate feeding systems and vet procedures. The result could be a shortage of organic layers.
But the regulation is seen as deeply flawed for a range of reasons including:
There will apparently be no system for inspections to check that the new rules are being followed on rearing units.
Trials so far have suggested that being reared on organic diets results in lowered performance in flocks.
There is no certainty that the organic retail market can accommodate a price increase of 2-3 per cent.
Despite their ‘half organic’ status pullets will still have to go through a 6-week conversion period when they arrive on the laying unit.
Richard Jacobs, business manager of Organic Farmers and Growers has already written to Defra saying: “The requirements are in my opinion, completely unworkable.
“If non-organic pullet rearers do not want to supply pullets for organic egg production the organic egg industry in the UK will struggle to survive.”
Mr Jacobs told the Ranger that it will be critical for industry wide groups to meet together to attempt to find a practical way forward in the face of the new regulation.
Defra has responded to the situation by tightening the already existing demands on producers and certification bodies. These insist that conventional pullets can only be purchased if no organic birds are available. Up to now they have been widely ignored.
Now producers will not only have to inform their certification body which organic rearers have been unsuccessfully contacted in a bid to find organic replacements but this information will have to be passed on to Defra. Each body will have to submit a two monthly spreadsheet to Defra’s organic strategy branch listing every producer who has been given a derogation to buy ‘half organic’ pullets and, in each case, how many organic rearers were contacted before the approval was given.
Defra says it will wait and see whether the changes produce a shortage in the supply of pullets to organic units. It anticipates that even if some conventional rearers decline to become involved in the new system—which will involve producing written confirmation that each batch of birds has been reared according to organic feed and vet rules—then others will spot a business opportunity and will step up production.
...and will the feed be 100% organic?
The uncertainties now facing the organic sector are compounded by the big question hanging over feed.
How organic is an organic diet going to be from August of this year? That’s when the current derogation, accepting 20 per cent of conventional content in poultry feed, expires. Defra has already held talks with the British feed industry on the issue and has been told emphatically that any move to an organic content of higher than 85 per cent will be both unsustainable and extremely risky.
It is argued that while ruminant diets may well switch to 100 per cent organic the global supplies of suitable proteins are not available to support a similar move for poultry. Diets, say the industry, could be nutritionally compromised by a move to anything higher than 85 per cent.
The Government’s organic advisory body, ACOS, has backed a move to 85 per cent. It says that this level should be maintained until 2008 and then be reviewed.
The cost implications for producers are profound. A move to a 100 per cent organic diet is estimated to result in a price increase of £30-£40 a tonne and the pushing of organic feed costs through the £300 a tonne barrier. A five per cent increase on current content would cost around £3-£4 a tonne extra.
While Defra appears to be sympathetic to retaining the derogation the picture has been clouded by an announcement from EU Agricultural Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel. She told a conference in Berlin that allowing 20 per cent feed to come from non-organic sources had served its purpose in helping to build the industry. But the derogation should now be allowed to lapse.
“Consumers do not expect animals to be fed non-organic feed,” she said, “We must ensure that our standards do not fall behind either public expectations or international standards.”
She said there was a need for a more transparent definition of organic farming principles to boost consumer confidence.
The regulation means that all birds destined for organic units will have to be fed an organic diet throughout the rearing period. They will also have to be reared to organic veterinary rules.
The change, which comes into effect on December 31, will add as much as £1 to the price of a pullet and 4p a dozen to the price of all organic eggs. But some experts believe it could also have disastrous implications for the supply of organic birds.
Introduced out of the blue as far as producers are concerned, the new move has been branded “unworkable, unthinkable and absolute nonsense”.
The new regulation has emerged from the Brussels talks to extend the derogation which has allowed organic producers to continue to use conventionally reared pullets. The industry expected a simple 18-month extension of the existing rules. But with little warning the EU Commission introduced the proposal that even if birds were to continue to be reared on conventional units they must comply with organic feed and vet rules.
A decision had to be made by the end of last year or the derogation would simply lapse and organic pullets would become mandatory across Europe. Talks dragged on until late December and faced with full organic rules or a halfway house Governments voted for the ‘half organic’ option.
Defra had been opposed to the new rules and had been told by industry figures that they could not be implemented. One leading packer said: “We violently objected to the idea. This is absolute nonsense, it simply doesn’t stack up.”
There are fears that many pullet rearers may decide that rearing organic birds will offer too many complexities in terms of separate feeding systems and vet procedures. The result could be a shortage of organic layers.
But the regulation is seen as deeply flawed for a range of reasons including:
There will apparently be no system for inspections to check that the new rules are being followed on rearing units.
Trials so far have suggested that being reared on organic diets results in lowered performance in flocks.
There is no certainty that the organic retail market can accommodate a price increase of 2-3 per cent.
Despite their ‘half organic’ status pullets will still have to go through a 6-week conversion period when they arrive on the laying unit.
Richard Jacobs, business manager of Organic Farmers and Growers has already written to Defra saying: “The requirements are in my opinion, completely unworkable.
“If non-organic pullet rearers do not want to supply pullets for organic egg production the organic egg industry in the UK will struggle to survive.”
Mr Jacobs told the Ranger that it will be critical for industry wide groups to meet together to attempt to find a practical way forward in the face of the new regulation.
Defra has responded to the situation by tightening the already existing demands on producers and certification bodies. These insist that conventional pullets can only be purchased if no organic birds are available. Up to now they have been widely ignored.
Now producers will not only have to inform their certification body which organic rearers have been unsuccessfully contacted in a bid to find organic replacements but this information will have to be passed on to Defra. Each body will have to submit a two monthly spreadsheet to Defra’s organic strategy branch listing every producer who has been given a derogation to buy ‘half organic’ pullets and, in each case, how many organic rearers were contacted before the approval was given.
Defra says it will wait and see whether the changes produce a shortage in the supply of pullets to organic units. It anticipates that even if some conventional rearers decline to become involved in the new system—which will involve producing written confirmation that each batch of birds has been reared according to organic feed and vet rules—then others will spot a business opportunity and will step up production.
...and will the feed be 100% organic?
The uncertainties now facing the organic sector are compounded by the big question hanging over feed.
How organic is an organic diet going to be from August of this year? That’s when the current derogation, accepting 20 per cent of conventional content in poultry feed, expires. Defra has already held talks with the British feed industry on the issue and has been told emphatically that any move to an organic content of higher than 85 per cent will be both unsustainable and extremely risky.
It is argued that while ruminant diets may well switch to 100 per cent organic the global supplies of suitable proteins are not available to support a similar move for poultry. Diets, say the industry, could be nutritionally compromised by a move to anything higher than 85 per cent.
The Government’s organic advisory body, ACOS, has backed a move to 85 per cent. It says that this level should be maintained until 2008 and then be reviewed.
The cost implications for producers are profound. A move to a 100 per cent organic diet is estimated to result in a price increase of £30-£40 a tonne and the pushing of organic feed costs through the £300 a tonne barrier. A five per cent increase on current content would cost around £3-£4 a tonne extra.
While Defra appears to be sympathetic to retaining the derogation the picture has been clouded by an announcement from EU Agricultural Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel. She told a conference in Berlin that allowing 20 per cent feed to come from non-organic sources had served its purpose in helping to build the industry. But the derogation should now be allowed to lapse.
“Consumers do not expect animals to be fed non-organic feed,” she said, “We must ensure that our standards do not fall behind either public expectations or international standards.”
She said there was a need for a more transparent definition of organic farming principles to boost consumer confidence.
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