Starting a poultry farm business?
Firstly you need to decide what type of poultry you are going to farm and whether it is chicken, duck, geese or turkeys, and if chickens, whether it will be broiler chickens for their meat, or layer chickens for egg production.
If you have decided on chickens your next question is whether the birds will be raised in a shed or whether they will be free-range, and of course what type of equipment and machinery you may need to look after them.
You will also need to think about having a biosecurity plan drawn up so that your birds will be protected from potential infection such as the recent outbreak of avian influenza (AI). An outbreak can devastate whole flocks of birds and really impact a farm’s finances, business continuity and reputation with Government bodies.
You’ll need to ensure that your farm plan takes into account all the regulations that come with running a farm, which can be found on the Department for Environment and Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) web site as well as health and safety regulations.
Insurance
You’re going to need to make sure your farm business is adequately insured and you need to check that the policy is designed for a farm business. This will need to include the equipment on your site as well as building insurance. Also you should have an employers’ liability insurance policy and a business interruption policy for if your business cannot operate for whatever reason.
Biosecurity plans from Livetec are recognised by leading farm business insurers so it is of great benefit for a new farm business to have a biosecurity policy in place which you can show to your insurer.
How Livetec can help you with your farm plan?
When planning a farm business, alongside all the decisions that have to be made, the red tape that has to be addressed, getting the finances/insurance and supply chain set up, new equipment and developments to the property, you should also be looking at a farm biosecurity and contingency plan.
The Livetec team of experts have helped many new entrants to the industry set up their farm business. We deliver tailored structural and operational biosecurity advice, including custom contingency plans which includes protocols to protect your business from the risk of infection, and what to do in the event of your farm being caught in a surveillance zone.
The team draw on their extensive experience and scientific knowledge to construct your plan which is bespoke to your farm business, is compliant with government legislation and will provide you with peace of mind that you have greatly reduced the risk of a pathogenic disease outbreak on your farm.
Find out more www.livetecsystems.co.uk
