2021 brings a triple threat to poultry farm supply chains, with the effect of the CO2 shortage being exacerbated by COVID-19 related staff shortages, and a potential mass exodus of European nationals under the EU Resettlement Scheme as a result of Brexit.
Impact on Farms
Supply chain issues such as these can be hugely detrimental to business continuity. A number of potential issues are expected to appear across the UK:
- Rising financial outgoings to ensure birds remain fed and healthy as they remain on the farm for longer periods due to a loss of humane stunning capacity.
- Labour shortages that affect processing capacity. 60% of poultry workers are EU nationals, and in June this year total processing capacity dropped by 10%.
- Significant disruption to turnaround schedules sparked by end of lay flocks and breeders continuing to produce eggs that are surplus to requirements.
- Overpopulation caused by an inability to remove birds from farms, resulting in overcrowding, welfare compromises, and increased health risk to livestock.
- The potential for farm production to be reduced or ceased completely due to the loss of vital personnel or supplies, putting the future of operations at risk.
Every one of these issues holds the potential to devastate a farm. Rapidly. It’s vital that farmers are continually working to improve their bottom line and build resilience to enable them to navigate the challenges posed by supply chain problems.
Livetec Can Help
We’ve been working closely with poultry farmers for over a decade, and we’ve seen firsthand the widespread issues that can affect farms – and farm workers – in the event of gas and labour shortages. Our experience in working through crises has enabled us to develop a robust set of processes and solutions which can be implemented at both farm and processing plant level. We are here to support farmers across the industry to mitigate risk and reduce the impact that supply chain issues can have.
We are working with our customers to:
- Establish high quality and reliable processes to minimise or even eradicate bottlenecks in production. We work closely with farmers to design, develop, and implement resilient on-site protocols to maintain production and boost welfare through our Insurance & Assurance Technical Service.
- Provide emergency stunning capability and capacity during CO2 shortages for both farms and processing plants. Through these services, we aim to clear one of the biggest sticking points that can occur in the poultry sector during major global gas shortages.
- Offer expert, professional depopulation services where needed, utilising our own technological solutions that have been developed in-house with support from leading academic institutions and research establishments located across the United Kingdom.
- Identify suitable alternatives to unnecessary depopulation where possible to help protect healthy livestock during periods of overcrowding. We help farmers create strong contingency plans to ensure processes are in place to manage overpopulation.
Leading Through Crisis
While supply issues can pose major challenges for farms, we know that many of the associated risks can be successfully mitigated with improved planning and a robust emergency response. Our experienced team is here to help with both of those aspects.
Working with Livetec can not only protect your finances. We’ll help you to safeguard your livestock and your own wellbeing when the unexpected happens. We’re proud to be working with farmers to minimise the scale of any potential losses, boost processing capacity in an emergency scenario, and support businesses with farm-to-fork contingency plans.
Click here to contact the Livetec team today.
