British in need of organic feed ingredients
Shortages of organic feed ingredients have been predicted for several years in the UK. Organic livestock producers are now having to rely on imports.
Over the last 10 years, the number of organic livestock enterprises in Britain has grown faster than organic arable production, resulting.
Despite record high prices, UK demand for organic feed, especially organic poultry feed, is continuing to grow, says Graham Loveday, organic sales manager for Marriages, a flour and feed miller which sells 20% of its feed to organic producers.
Poor grain harvest
Europe’s poor grain harvest last summer, together with stricter EU standards, have raised prices for organic cereals to new levels, with wheat selling at up to £280 ($550) per tonne.
The EU requires the organic content of animal feed to increase from 80 to 85%, and 95% for organic ruminant feed.
“The biggest demand for organic feed is from poultry producers responding to the growing popularity of organic chicken and turkey with consumers,” says Loveday.
Strong growth in US
In the US, the organic industry overall is growing at the rate of 15-20% per year, according to Simmons Grain Company in Salem, Ohio, as livestock producers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of organic production and the premiums for organic products and consumer demand is growing.
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