The Year Round: Landmark reached as 17 million birds produced

Spraying was completed in early November.

The crops have all established well, even the last sown potato land has emerged well apart from bits of the headlands where the soil structure was damaged.

What an amazing time for selling the corn!

I think I maybe sold a bit too much too early, but a very respectable average will be achieved.

Chicken feed prices are rising and will probably rise even more, but thankfully the liveweight price for the birds has risen as well.

Food prices in the shops are rising, but people should remember how cheap food is in real terms compared with a few decades ago.

It's our 50th anniversary of broiler production and we are mid way through our 235th crop.

We have now produced over 17 million birds, bearing in mind we started with 12,000 birds in 1960, building up to 170,000 birds by 1998.

We are currently producing 1.25 million chickens a year.

Fifty years ago it took 78 days to rear a 2.0 kilo bird. It now takes 34 days.

Originally, that bird would have eaten 5.4 kilos of feed, now it only needs 3.3 kilos to achieve the same weight.

Some would say this is too intensive, but 90 per cent of the population want cheap food and aren't prepared to pay for the slower growth.

There are moves afoot to cut out some expensive red tape – hooray!

Let's hope that some of the bureaucratic nonsenses like the Soil Protection review, Crop Management Plans, IPPC and the Assured Schemes are for the chop.

I can't think they have improved our management or our prices one jot.

They just cost us time, money and frustration.

CW 20/11/10