FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Biosecurity by military design
BY DICK VAN DOORN B
roiler farmer Henk Ghyselen’s great-grandfather, Modest, married his wife in 1890 and moved to the farm’s current location in Koksijde. The pair did not have poultry. Henk Ghyselen took over the farm
from his father at a young age in 1993; he was only 25 at the time. Wheat prices were so bad that he needed to find alter- natives to keep the farm afloat. Broilers turned out to be a good option, in addition to the Belgian Blue cattle and the 45 hectares of arable farming they already owned. Ghyselen: “Broilers were an especially good option because we could feed our own wheat to them. The broilers’ manure went back onto the fields. So we already practiced circular agriculture which is all the fashion right now”.
Ideal and unique location As far as its location goes, Ghyselen’s broiler farm is one of a kind. During the week, the noise of the broilers is regularly drowned out by fighter planes bursting into the stratosphere from the runway next to the farm. Visitors to the farm must first apply to the airbase commander because the farm’s driveway also serves as the airstrip. Security is strict, of course: no one can enter or leave without a security check. Armed guards with dogs keep the base and, by default, the broiler farm, safe. There are no unexpected, unannounced visitors and thus the Ministry of Defence ensures elementary biosecurity. The airbase where Ghyselen operates his farm was built by the Germans during World War II. After the war, the Belgian Ministry of Defence took over the base and nothing has changed since. The farm is private property at a military location. Applying for expansion permits is not even that dif- ficult, according to the broiler farmer. “In addition to permis- sion from the Koksijde municipality and valid environmental permits, you need the airbase’s permission and even that of the air force, air traffic management and NATO itself.”
Above expectations Ghyselen built his first broiler house for 25,000 birds in 1993. He filled it with Ross chicks and the technical results were well above expectations. He was not worried that the broilers would suffer stress from the aircraft because his father used
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 8, 2020 11
Belgian broiler farmer Henk Ghyselen’s farm is located at an airbase in Koksijde, Belgium. Its airstrip also functions as the driveway to his farm. When he wants to expand he needs a municipal permit and NATO permission.
to have hobby poultry around the farm and these animals were not afraid of the noise either. “The broilers are not both- ered by aircraft landing and taking off. Poultry are just not scared of sounds they do not know or are not used to.” The good results meant that Ghyselen could build a second broiler house for 25,000 birds in 1995, followed by a third for 35,000 broilers in 2014, bringing the total number of birds to 85,000. He installed an Agro Supply heat exchanger next to the broiler house that yields a maximum of 12ºC heat gain. Back then it was not yet obligatory, but the family did get a
Name: Henk Ghyselen (52) Residence: Koksijde (Belgium) Enterprise: Ghyselen owns the farm together with Mia (48), Gerbert (20) and Sarah (22). They have three poultry houses with a total of 85,000 Ross broilers and 90 hectares of arable farming. The average feed conversion is 1.55. They unload in between rounds at 35 days (about 2kgs live weight) and the rest at 42 days. He has placed water misting installations in his poultry hous- es because of temperatures that reached 42°C during the summer last year.
PHOTO: DICK VAN DOORN
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