A posting by Poultry World editor Richard Allison
There has been much said and written about the potential benefits of biofuels to farmers and it does make sense bringing so called set-aside land back into production. It's better producing fuel than being a breeding ground for weeds and pests.
But spare a thought for livestock farmers. A closer examination of the EU target reveals a very different picture.
Imagine soaring feed prices and feed manufacturer having to import a substantial proportion of their cereals from outside the EU. That's the chilling prediction I heard at the recent International Egg Commission conference in London.
German researcher Hans Wilhelm Windhorst of the University of Vechta explained that if the EU does stick to its proposed biofuel targets, an extra 36 million hectares will be needed by 2030 using the EU assumption of 50% being home produced. That equates to 31% o total land in the EU (27).
You have to question whether EU officials are really aware what a huge impact this biofuel policy will have on food and feed production in the EU.
I fear EU officials are pushing through ambitious targets without considering the full implication such as the environmental cost of importing biofuels and the loss of EU land area to cereals. Particularly at a time when global cereal stocks are at their lowest.
See the next issue of Poultry World for a full report plus an NFU view.