By Charles Bourns, broiler grower, Gloucestershire
I will start by reporting on the home front. As you know, my son James is now running the farm and has started to bring it into the 21st century. The first improvement is the addition of solar panels and batteries to cut down our electric usage. The only disappointment is we will still have the standing charge. It has shown me why farmers spend so much time looking at their phones, something I never understood before.
Also looking at the weather, it should be interesting to see where we end up usage wise. The birds themselves are performing well and we are still growing the Redbro.
I was disappointed that in the general election, food and farming did not seem to get a mention. This shows that we as farmers have a great deal of work to do to build on our support from the public, so they look and buy British first. I know this is my mantra but we cannot let up.
The other night I attended a Nfsco Board meeting and we were entertained by a very interesting talk. It was on a subject that has passed me by as I do not have any land spare, and that was the policy around biodiversity net gain, where developers have to rent or buy land to offset the land taken up by a development. This can be anything from expanding a garden to a housing estate. The greater the wildlife on the land they are developing the greater the land they need to rent or buy, but it is usually 20% more than the land they are building on.
A friend of my brother, who owns a lorry pitstop, expanded his lorry park by two acres and had to buy eight plus acres. The land also has to be within the district of the development in order to stop land being taken in say Wales to offset an English development for example.
There are also rules on nutrient neutrality, which poultry could, I believe, tap into, as it has several strands. With the industry going to 30kg stocking density and reducing a farm’s output by 20%, this will mean reducing phosphates and interventions such as reed beds.
Lastly, it is fantastic that after nearly 40 years growing chicken, I feel we are wanted! Thanks to 30kg, growers are in demand among all the processors. Let’s make sure the industry does not sell itself cheap.