Ukraine war
Poultry farmers warn of the shortage of organic feed
Combine harvesters harvest sunflowers for organic feed production in a field. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Before the outbreak of war, Uraine was one of the major suppliers of organic animal feed. Now it could be tight. Poultry farmers fear for their organic status.
The organic poultry farmers could run out of suitable feed in the coming months because of the Ukraine war.
«Organic livestock farmers are the first to be affected by the effects of the war. We will have a real supply crisis for organic feed, especially for protein, »said the President of the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry, Friedrich-Otto Ripke, of the «Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung» (Saturday). With a few exceptions, inventories only lasted until June or July.
It is true that conventional feed could then also be fed. But that means the loss of organic status. Ripke called on the federal government to temporarily suspend the obligation to feed organic feed. Without exception, the production of organic eggs would be “before a hard break,” says Ripke.
According to information from the association, around twelve percent of laying hens in Germany are kept on organic farms. According to this, Ukraine was one of the major producers of organic feed or individual feed components until the outbreak of war. According to Ripkes, a comparable development is emerging in the area of GMO-free feed, which is also used in conventional animal husbandry. Here, too, large parts of the feed came from the Ukraine.