Check out our new research results! With new technologies helping to better understand poultry production dynamics and farm sustainability.
Commercial Farming vs. Agroecology: One of the biggest debates in recent years regarding sustainable livestock farming revolves around two main theories: 1) We need to increase efficiency and produce more with the inputs we put in. 2) We need to integrate production into natural cycles as much as possible, reducing inputs and consequently reducing total production. This discussion becomes even more complicated in the case of monogastric animals (poultry and pigs) because, unlike ruminants (or equines), their diet inevitably requires grain inputs. There are many arguments for and against each system, ranging from economic to social, ecological to geopolitical, and ethical to political reasons. At Regrowth, we prefer to work with the data at hand. As we wrap up our summer trials, interesting results are beginning to emerge, thanks to our PLF technology. In the following chart, we compare two different coops where we ran our system: one commercial and one for pastured poultry. All animals came from the same nursery, had the same feed, were of the same age (within a few days), and shared the same genetics. As you can see, there is a clear difference in feed conversion efficiency between the two. Now the question is: why? Is it because pastured animals browse more and have their stomachs full of low-calorie grass? Is it because the animals on pasture move more? Is it because the commercial coops are better equipped to handle extreme heat waves? There are many hypotheses, some of which we are currently exploring as the pullets reach laying age and start producing eggs. We are also going to explore what can be done to improve or mitigate both systems and how this may affect animal welfare and sustainability. If youre interested learn more, your welcome to attend the EAAP - European Federation of Animal Science conference in 1-5/9 and hear some more about how new technologies can help us to better understand farm sustainbility! no