August 20, 2015

Hubbard holds first forum on premium broiler products and markets

The first Hubbard Premium Forum focusing on premium broiler products and markets was held in Breukelen near Utrecht in the Netherlands, attracting 106 attendees from 18 countries.

This forum will be the first of a series of meetings which will be held in different parts of Europe.

During two morning sessions the presentations focussed on different aspects of the premium products and markets in Europe.

After the kick-off by Olivier Rochard (MD of Hubbard), Peter van Horne (Senior Agronomist of WUR-LEI in the Netherlands) made a comparison of broiler production costs of the main countries in the EU and also compared these with the main exporting countries: the US, Brazil and Thailand. He concluded that without trade barriers the EU certainly cannot compete on costs. Therefore a differentiation in production systems can be a way to stay ahead.

Paul van Boekholt (Hubbard Business Director Northern Europe) summarised the past and current developments of product and market types in the EU and the growing differentiation, nowadays not simply based on tradition but driven by animal welfare and more recently the need to reduce the use of antibiotics in the production chain.

Wilbert Hilkens (Sector Manager Animal Production of ABN AMRO) presented the recent developments of differentiated broiler production chains in the Netherlands, e.g. 'Beter Leven' and the 'Chicken of Tomorrow', as good examples on how the industry can react to changing consumer demands. He also gave an overview of changing consumer preferences and its expected implications for the supply chains of meat and eggs by 2020.

French broiler integration Duc presented the development of their certified broiler production in free range and indoor in France since 1991, while Campoaves explained the production of their free range chicken 'Frango Do Campo' in Portugal.

Mark Barnes (COO of Hubbard LLC in the USA) summarised the recent developments of the production of Antibiotic Free (ABF) broilers and slower growing chickens in the US market. The production of ABF broilers is driven by large restaurant and supermarket chains supported by social media and changing needs of the millennials. The ABF market is there to stay, according to Barnes. Five of the top ten integrators are or will be producing ABF broilers. It is now becoming the norm, not the exception, and in 2015 represents nearly 25% of the total output of broilers. The sales of slow(er) growing products initially started in the New York and California markets, but is spreading more throughout the country due to ethnicity, taste, demographics, social media and customer demand. Hubbard's sales in this market segment more than doubled over the last two years.

Frederic Fagnoul (Hubbard geneticist for the Hubbard Premium product range) gave more insight in the work done at R&D level with a clear focus on robustness, welfare traits, productivity, efficiency and meat quality. Hubbard has been selecting slow(er) growing broiler breeds for nearly 50 years and has adapted its breeding programme to changes in consumption patterns and the increased demand for conformation and meat quality. For that, Hubbard has intensified its selection following these latest trends and is finalising a multi-million Euro investment in its R&D and production centre for the Hubbard Premium product range in Courtenay, France.

Marcel Vanlauwe, who has been involved in the selection of the Hubbard Premium Products for several decades, summarised the excellent breeder results in the field for the Hubbard JA57, JA87, Redbro M and P6N. These field results are gathered from Hubbard's customers using the Hubbard Flock Recording system, which is available for free for all Hubbard customers. Based on these data Marcel showed that for all breeder females the average production of hatching eggs per hen housed is above the Hubbard standard. He stressed that it is very important to develop a good carcass during the first period of rearing. It helps to achieve the best uniformity, combined with good appetite and egg size and to get good peaks and good persistency.

Claude Toudic (Hubbard Technical Manager EMEA & Brazil) focussed on the results of an experimental trial done by ITAVI and INRA in France on a multi-criteria evaluation of the Hubbard JA757 and JA957 broilers in indoor, winter garden and free range housing systems. He concluded that carcass quality tends to be better when birds have access to a winter garden or a ranging area (less fat pads and skin lesions). The winter garden and free range systems are improving the image of broiler growing towards consumers. However, 'free range' is a recognised category in the EU regulation, but the 'winter garden' as used in the Netherlands is not. This makes the involvement of retailers in the communication to consumers very important.

During the afternoon of the first day attendees were welcomed by HatchTech to visit their latest innovation called 'HatchCare' at the Lagerweij hatchery in Lunteren. This was followed by two visits to farms producing the 'Beter Leven 1-Ster' (Better Life 1-Star) broilers till 56 days in an extensive indoor system (25 kg/m²) with a 'wintergarden', covered ranging area, using the Hubbard JA757 breed. The attendees were very surprised about the level of investments, the technical results and the professionalism of the broiler growers producing slow(er) growing broilers in the Netherlands.

Pictures:

• Top Left: The wintergarden of a broiler house for the 56-day 'Beter Leven 1-Star' production in the Netherlands.
    
• Top right: The group having a close look at a broiler house for the 56-day 'Beter Leven 1-Star' production in the Netherlands.
    
• Bottom: 'Beter Leven 1-Star' production in the Netherlands using the Hubbard JA757 broiler in an enriched environment and at lower stocking density (25/m²) according to the EU Marketing Terms for Extensive Indoor broilers. The pop-holes to the additional wintergarden can be seen on the right.