Organic feed letter to the Farmers Guardian

This letter has been sent to the Farmers Guardian following an article on organic feed

Sir,

We share Ian Proctor’s objective of upholding the integrity of the organic sector and agree that the organic poultry sector should work towards being able to feed 100 per cent organic diets (‘Expected non-organic feed decision a spectacular failure’, Farmers Guardian, December 23).

However, a large proportion of organic feed suppliers and organic livestock farmers believe that 100 per cent organic pig and poultry diets are currently unachievable without compromising livestock welfare due to the lack of quality organic protein-rich ingredients. This is further strained with the requirement for a percentage of organic feed to be sourced from a producers’ region or holding. The NFU believes that the imposition of these regulations will lead to stress on birds’ nutritional requirements, which will in turn reduce bird welfare and potentially damage the organic brand, more so than a small non-organic allowance.

The decision to extend the derogation allowing five per cent non-organic feed ingredients within monogastric diets has not been taken lightly by the European Commission and is the right decision in the absence of available organic raw materials. This is a decision that has been discussed at length and has been supported by a number of member states and has further had the backing from the organic expert group.

The NFU is now urging the European Commission to consider how research in this area can be increased to ensure that the derogation is not extended further.

Martin Humphrey
NFU organic poultry representative
 

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