Latest news with #poultryfarming
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
County Durham village objects to planned 32,000-hen egg barn
Plans for a 32,000-hen egg barn in County Durham have been approved despite concerns from neighbours about road safety and smell. The barn will be built on land south of Front Lane, Cornsay, after planning permission was granted by Durham County Council. The project, led by Richard Suddes of W I Suddes & Sons, will see the erection of a free-range egg-laying unit and associated infrastructure, covering a site area of more than five hectares. Durham County Council approved the plans on Thursday (August 14), with several conditions attached, including an Odour Management Plan. Approval comes despite objections from residents who raised concerns about the smell and road safety. In their objections, some residents, like Joanne Apple, said: 'The smell is rank. "The village will be subject to the same smell from a new direction, making warm summer days far from pleasant!' Others pointed out that the road leading to the site is unclassified, with a speed limit of 60mph, and frequently covered in mud from farming vehicles, which they said is an "accident waiting to happen." The council's delegated officer report, however, stated that the predicted emissions fell below the benchmark for offensive odours. The report also noted that traffic levels are deemed acceptable, with peak flows averaging under 20 vehicles a day, of which only around 3 per cent were heavy goods vehicles. Recommended reading North East campus crowned as best modern university in the country Path under Durham bridge closed after 'damaged concrete' found - but road stays open Violent thug threw a 'toddler tantrum' when he trashed his ex-partner's home Lidl was among the supporters of the proposal, stating it understood the importance of buying eggs from farms that prioritise animal welfare and sustainable practices. The new barn will have a non-residential floor space of 3,076 square metres under agricultural use, with walls and roof made from polyester-coated steel profile sheeting. The site is not within a flood risk zone, with surface water to be disposed of via a soakaway.
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ethiopians tackle food prices with small-scale poultry farms
STORY: As Ethiopia hosts the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, a youth-led poultry project on the outskirts of the capital is offering a local response to rising food prices. :: Furi, Ethiopia Here, groups of young people have established small-scale chicken farms with support from local authorities. And they are selling eggs and live chickens at lower prices than traditional markets. One consumer said a bird that once sold for up to $36 now goes for as little as $18, depending on size. This initiative is part of a broader government effort to boost domestic food production. Launched in June 2024, it now includes more than 20 youth associations in the Furi locality alone. Sanbato Lumi, a local job creation officer, explains that the initiative addresses both food affordability and youth unemployment. "We have been able to produce chicken and eggs in mass by organizing our unemployed youths. There are about 20 youth associations in this locality only. These associations supply the society eggs and chicken at a very low price especially for the residents of this area and at exhibitions and bazaars during festive seasons." While the Sheger farms are not officially part of the UN summit program, they reflect the grassroots solutions the event aims to spotlight. For now, the model appears to be working. Offering relief to families facing high food prices and provides young people with a sustainable source of income.
ABC News
14-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Agriculture Victoria declares end of H7N8 avian influenza outbreak
Poultry farmers are once again able to move birds across north-east Victoria without restriction after Agriculture Victoria declared an end to the latest avian influenza outbreak in the state. In February, detections of the H7N8 bird flu strain were found on four commercial properties near Euroa. The outbreak meant hundreds of thousands of birds had to be euthanised, while zones were set up that restricted the movement of birds, bird products and poultry equipment around the region. Victoria's acting chief veterinary officer Sally Salmon said work by Agriculture Victoria meant those restrictions could be lifted, and thanked the poultry industry and local bird owners for their help in eradicating the outbreak. "Early reporting from the first affected business meant we could act quickly, and their ongoing co-operation with all elements of the response has been a major factor in achieving eradication," Dr Salmon said. She said more than 100 people had been deployed to clean and disinfect each site, as Agriculture Victoria officers visited 350 properties, took 20,600 samples, and completed 21,500 tests for the virus. The Euroa incident was the second outbreak of avian influenza in a year, with the first outbreak occurring in May 2024, affecting several properties in south-west Victoria. Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group president and Werribee egg farmer Brian Ahmed said the end of the outbreak was welcome, and praised the work of Agriculture Victoria staff and farmers to eradicate the disease. But Mr Ahmed said a push towards expanding free-range chicken farming needed to be re-considered because he believed it could lead to further outbreaks. "As a farmer, I trust that the Agriculture Department has done their job and they wouldn't have lifted those restrictions unless they were quite comfortable that everything's been eradicated," he said. But he said the next avian influenza outbreak wasn't a matter of "if" but "when". "Unfortunately, government policies pushing our industry into non-cage systems with free-range [chickens] increases the risk of bird flu outbreaks. "The free-range system was designed for small-scale farming and there's nothing wrong with that. "But we're commercialising a farming system that was not designed for that, and we're going to have disease outbreaks like this more regularly, it's very clear." The caged-egg farming system is set to be phased out by 2036 under Commonwealth guidelines, but details on how the phase-out will occur are yet to be released.
The Guardian
12-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Revealed: More than 24,000 factory farms have opened across Europe
American-style intensive livestock farms are spreading across Europe, with new data revealing more than 24,000 megafarms across the continent. In the UK alone, there are now 1,824 industrial-scale pig and poultry farms, according to the data obtained by AGtivist that relates to 2023. The countries with the largest number of intensive poultry farm units are France, UK, Germany, Italy and Poland in that order. For poultry farming alone, the UK ranks as having the second-highest number of intensive farms at 1,553, behind France with 2,342. The top 10 countries for intensive pig and poultry farms combined are Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, UK, Denmark, Poland, Belgium and Hungary, according to information obtained from the European Commission, and country-specific regulatory agencies and colleges. Intensive livestock units are farms where 40,000 or more poultry, 2,000 or more fattening pigs, or 750 or more breeding sows are being held at any one time in the EU and the UK. The increase in so-called megafarms across Europe comes as the number of small farms has reduced dramatically, and the income gap between large and small farms has increased, according to Guardian research. The rise in intensive farming has coincided with a decline in birds, tree species and butterfly numbers. In the Severn and Wye Valleys, a UK hotspot for intensive poultry farming, there are 79 chickens per human, the Guardian has revealed. Across Europe the rise in large intensive poultry units is a key driver of river pollution. Chicken droppings contain more phosphates – which starve fish and river plants of oxygen – than any other animal manure. In the UK the number of intensive farms grew from 1,621 in 2017 to 1,824 in 2023, and according to data released under freedom of information laws to Terry Jermy, the MP for South West Norfolk, megafarms in England have breached environmental regulations nearly 7,000 times since 2015. The data shows that the Environment Agency carried out about 17 inspections of intensive livestock units a week in which 75% of those inspections found breaches. The breaches include slurry pits in disrepair, causing them to leak and pollute the local environment, and a serious case in which a site of special scientific interest was polluted by animal effluent. There were also some serious air pollution incidents and numerous breaches involving the over-stocking of animals. When serious breaches were found, action against the farms was rare. For the most serious breaches (category 1 and 2), more than half received either no further action, 'advice/guidance' or a warning. Fewer than half of the incidents received further action such as a formal warning, and less than 1% received a 'recommended' prosecution. Jermy said: 'These shocking numbers alongside the severity of the litany of offences clearly show that the huge increase to US-style factory farms since 2017 is harming our land and jeopardising our climate targets and sustainability ambitions moving forward. 'In my constituency farming is our lifeblood, as is the environment, and therefore, we must have a serious conversation as to what kind of farming we need moving forwards. It must be one that protects our communities, agriculture and nature, while furthering animal welfare standards as well as harnessing food security.' An Environment Agency spokesperson said: 'Environmental permitting provides a consistent, robust form of regulation, which identifies all non-compliances and requires them to be addressed, regardless of severity. In the past two years 98% of intensive pig and poultry farms have been scored in the highest bands for compliance, meaning they present a very low risk to the environment. This follows ongoing high levels of compliance over previous years. 'The vast majority of non-compliances identified are low risk, and we work with farmers to achieve compliance. Any high-risk non-compliances, or farms that fail to bring themselves into compliance, will face enforcement action.' Norfolk has been dubbed the 'megafarm capital of Europe' with statistics from Compassion in World Farming showing there are now 122 megafarms in the county and 25,748,309 factory-farmed animals. A megafarm in Jermy's constituency that would have reared almost 900,000 chickens and pigs at any one time was recently blocked by councillors over climate and pollution concerns. There were objections raised over air pollution and the impact on a water-depleted area. Revelations about the scale of livestock megafarms across Europe should be a wake-up call in Brussels, said Reineke Hameleers, the CEO of Eurogroup for Animals. '[It] goes against promises to improve animal welfare and move toward more sustainable farming. It's important that the European Commission makes smart, informed choices about the future of farming. Funding should go to farming systems that are truly sustainable, competitive, and resilient.'
