Birds are processed at 35 to 36 days old at a slaughter weight of 1.7kg.
Each of Hanna’s four poultry houses are left empty for two weeks between rotations.
Hanna’s farm produces a total of 1.5 million kilograms of poultry meat per year.
is really good. We are committed to a welfare programme and we have enrichment and perches in our barns”. Providing a suitable environment for the birds in the houses can be quite challenging given that the climate in Finland can range from -35°C in the winter to +35°C in the summer. Feed is purchased from a private local feed company called Satarehu owned by broiler farmers, including themselves. The feed is based on grains, mostly wheat and dehulled oats. There is no maize at all. “We also use GM soy but we are look- ing for opportunities to replace that with local faba beans or peas. We also add 20% wheat on-farm, starting at 5% on day five. That amount is increased daily according to the broilers’ needs.” Wheat is used to help dilute the diet to meet the tar- get slaughter weight. Feed prices are about € 340 per tonne which is a concern as they have risen recently. We receive about € 1.30 per kilogram of meat so it means about € 2.20 per bird is achieved at slaughter,” says Hanna.
Tightly-woven industry Finland has worked for decades to to become antibiotic free. Something which takes a lot of work and means adhering to
Hanna’s farm is in Eura in southwest Finland, where temperatures can drop to -35°C.
a production strategy which includes a thorough cleaning, disinfection and drying programme before new chicks ar- rive. “It’s really an industry-wide effort,” Hanna explains with her director’s hat on, “I’ve been executive director of the Finnish Poultry Association since 2015. The association gives advice to all poultry producers, including egg, broiler and turkey producers.” “It also informs farmers, companies and the authorities about poultry issues and, of course, we also promote the in- terests of the poultry industry. Our members are poultry farmers, meat processors, egg packing companies, feed manufacturers, veterinarians, etc. So we represent the whole value chain and really work together to set and maintain our standards.” Hanna adds: “I sometimes think that Finnish con- sumers don’t realise just how good the situation is in Fin- land. That said, during the Covid-19 era broiler meat con- sumption in Finland rose by almost 6% last year and we see that Finnish people appreciate more local production”. The total number of broilers processed last year in Finland was about 80 million, with around four million layers producing eggs for consumption in Finland.
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