In the Netherlands the number of broiler farms has been reduced by 50%, while farm size doubled between 1990 and 2008. A debate on the positive and negative aspects of large farms emerge. Many entrepreneurs in the broiler sector use increase in scale as strategy to reduce production cost. However, a critical reflection on the process of scaling up is needed. We investigated various aspects of broiler farm size with three farm sizes: small (fewer than 60,000 birds), medium (60,000 to 120,000 birds) and large (more than 120,000 birds). . The study shows that: - profitability (revenues as % of total cost) is higher on larger farms - gross margin (revenues over feed and chick cost) is higher on larger farms - larger broiler farms have a higher labour productivity (kg broiler live weight / hour) - larger farms more often have certified low ammonia emission poultry houses - there is no clear relationship between mortality and broiler farm size - there is no significant relation between the level of medication (antibiotics) and farm size The size of a broiler house and the equipment used is not related to the farm size. As a result there is no influence of farm size on the physical and social environment of the broilers. Our conclusion is, that larger broiler farms have some clear economic advantages. There is no evidence that there is a negative relation between farm size and animal health and animal welfare

Horne, P.L.M., van

Leenstra, F.R.

English

van Horne, P.L.M.

NARCIS 

Broiler farm size in relation tot sustainability aspects

Name not available

Wageningen Yield 

Broiler Farm Size in Relation to Sustainability Aspects 
Peter van Horne1 and Ferry Leenstra2 
1LEI Wageningen UR, P.O.Box 35, 6700AA Wageningen, the Netherlands  
2 Livestock Research Wageningen UR, P.O.Box 65, 8200AB Lelystad, the Netherlands 
Peter.vanhorne@wur.nl 
 
Broiler farm size and sustainability 
Keywords: farm size, broilers, economics, sustainability  
 
Summary 
In the Netherlands the number of broiler farms has been reduced by 50%, while farm size 
doubled between 1990 and 2008. A debate on the positive and negative aspects of large 
farms emerge. Many entrepreneurs in the broiler sector use increase in scale as strategy to 
reduce production cost. However, a critical reflection on the process of scaling up is needed. 
We investigated various aspects of broiler farm size with three farm sizes: small (fewer than 
60,000 birds), medium (60,000 to 120,000 birds) and large (more than 120,000 birds). . 
The study shows that: 
- profitability (revenues as % of total cost) is higher on larger farms 
- gross margin (revenues over feed and chick cost) is higher on larger farms 
- larger broiler farms have a higher labour productivity (kg broiler live weight / hour) 
- larger farms more often have certified low ammonia emission poultry houses 
- there is no clear relationship between mortality and broiler farm size 
- there is no significant relation between the level of medication (antibiotics) and farm size 
The size of a broiler house and the equipment used is not related to the farm size. As 
a result there is no influence of farm size on the physical and social environment of the 
broilers.   
Our conclusion is, that larger broiler farms have some clear economic advantages. 
There is no evidence that there is a negative relation between farm size and animal health 
and animal welfare.  
 
Introduction 
According to the agricultural census, there were 700 farms with broilers in the Netherlands 
in 2008, keeping a total of 43.3 million broilers. Of these farms, 340 are specialised broiler 
farms. A specialised broiler farm is a farm where more than two-thirds of the income is 
gained through broilers. Table 1 shows the development of the specialised farms between 
1985 and 2008. The number of broilers declined by 45% between 1985 and 2008. In the 
same period, the number of broilers on these specialised farms increased from 22.1 to 29.3 
million (+33%). The average number of broilers per farm increased from 35,483 to 86,257.  
 
Table 1 Development of the number of specialised broiler farms. 
  1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 
farms 624 618 596 540 371 340 
broilers (x million) 22.1 24.7 27.3 33.7 29.7 29.3 
broilers / farm 35,483 39,931 45,800 62,458 79,983 86,257 
 
A debate is currently taking place in the Netherlands regarding increases in scale in 
agriculture. Questions that need to be asked in this respect are; what are the driving forces 
behind increases in scale, how have developments progressed over the past 15 years and 
what are the positive and negative effects of scale increases. 
 Method 
The goal of the study was to map out a variety of aspects relating to the scale of broiler 
farms. These aspects relate to economics, the environment, animal health and animal 
welfare. The study was carried out by a team of researchers at Wageningen UR, making use 
of the relevant literature (van der Meulen et al, 2010). Quantitative research has also been 
done on the basis of data from the Dutch agricultural census and international data from 
Eurostat. The data from LEI’s Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) was also 
analysed. The study measured farm size in terms of the number of bird places. This 
measurement method was chosen as it is commonly used in practice. During the study, the 
farms were divided into categories: small (fewer than 60,000 birds), medium (60,000 to 
120,000 birds) and large (more than 120,000 birds).  
 
Driving forces 
When describing the driving forces of scale increases, it is impossible to separate them from 
the development of intensification and specialisation. The most important driving forces in 
scale increases are (Bont, 2007): 
- Cost reductions. Entrepreneurs try to reduce costs by means of scale increases. At a 
given market price, profitability can thus be increased.  
- Automation and other forms of innovation. Thanks to new technology, the amount 
of labour required per bird has been reduced. 
- Chain partners. The broiler farmer acts as a link within the production chain. 
Suppliers (such as compound feed factories) and buyers (slaughterhouses) are 
becoming larger and larger, and are also putting pressure on primary farms to 
increase the scale. Larger farms are given discounts on feed. Slaughterhouses charge 
a supplement for small numbers of broilers, or may even refuse to do business with 
small farms.  
- Low market prices. Through competition, liberalisation of the global market and the 
market power of supermarkets and industry, the market prices are under continual 
pressure. The entrepreneur responds to this by increasing scale in order to be able to 
make an income with more birds.  
  
Economics 
The key figure of profitability presents the relationship between revenues and costs on a 
farm. The costs include costs calculated for the use of unpaid labour and equity capital. This 
key figure is calculated annually for all farms participating in the FADN. Figure 1 presents 
the profitability of 27 specialised broiler farms in 2007 in relation to the size of the farm. 
Figure 1 shows that profitability on the larger farms is greater.  
Another key figure in measuring the economic result of a company is the ‘feed margin’. The 
feed margin is calculated as the difference between the revenues from the sale of the 
chickens and the costs of feed and day-old chicks. Besides the revenues, this also includes 
the main cost items (combined: 70 to 75% of the total costs) of a broiler farm. This is more 
a global indicator of the economic result than the profitability. Conversely, the feed margin 
of a larger number of farms is known through external sources. The results show that the 
feed margin per broiler for small farms was €0.502 in 2007. For medium-sized and large 
farms, it was €0.525 and €0.540 per broiler respectively.  
Labour productivity is an important economic factor. Labour productivity is the annual 
weight delivered divided by the number of hours worked. A study by Vermeij et al (2009) 
involved an analysis performed on the basis of 93 questionnaires. On smaller farms, 
production was 408 kg per hour, on medium-sized farms 535 kg and on large farms 638 kg 
per hour worked. Translated into monetary terms, the production costs on small farms is 
€0.01 higher and on large farms €0.01 per kg weight lower than average.  
 
Figure 1. Relationship between the number of broilers per farm and the profitability in 2007 
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
0 50000 100000 150000 200000
Number of broilers
P
ro
fi
ta
b
il
it
y
 
Source: FADN of LEI 
  
Environment 
Relevant environmental factors include ammonia emissions and mineral excretions. The 
legal standards for ammonia emissions are expressed in grams of emission per bird place 
per annum. No relationship with farm size is included in the statutory regulations. An 
indirect effect of the farm size is included, however. Larger farms have a greater tendency 
to invest in low-emission systems, sometimes in combination with extending the business. 
An analysis of figures on the basis of the agricultural census 2008 demonstrate the 
following: the proportion of bird places with low-ammonia emission housing systems is 
10% on small farms, 16% on medium-sized farms and 29% on large farms. In principle, the 
excretion of manure and minerals does not differ between large and small farms (van der 
Peet et al, 2008). 
 
Bird welfare and bird health 
Van der Fels (2008) carried out an analysis among a broad group of researchers from 
Wageningen UR regarding the opportunities and risks for animal welfare, animal health and 
food safety on large farms. The conclusion was drawn that the size of the farm does not 
necessarily have an influence on the characteristics of the bird or on the direct physical and 
social environment in which the birds are kept. Particularly for the broiler sector, the size 
and layout of the broiler houses is not related to the size of the farm. In other words, the 
layout of the broiler houses within the Netherlands is very uniform and larger farms simply 
have more housing of more or less the same standard dimensions.  
If the mortality can be taken as an indicator for bird welfare and bird health, a quantitative 
analysis is possible. The mortality percentage of three groups of farms is calculated on the 
basis of the data drawn from LEI’s Farm Accountancy Data Network. The average loss for 
the groups of small, medium-sized and large farms in 2007 was 5.1%, 4.2 and 4.3% 
respectively.  
Antibiotics are used in the broiler sector to cure and prevent disease problems. The use of 
antibiotics in livestock farming has been investigated by Bondt & Puister (2009). Their 
research shows major differences between the antibiotic use at different farms. However, it 
was not possible to demonstrate a link between the level of the use of antibiotics and the 
size of the farm.  
 
International comparison of farm size 
Figure 2 presents a summary of the size structure in the most important EU poultry-
producing countries. In the United Kingdom, the average farm size is significantly greater 
than in the Netherlands. The average farm in Spain, France and Poland is smaller than in the 
Netherlands. The average farm size in the Netherlands is fairly similar to that in Germany 
and Italy. In these countries, approximately 40 to 50% the broilers is kept on larger farms 
(i.e. farms with more than 100,000 broiler places).  
 
Figure 2 Average farm size (all professional farms) and proportion of broilers on farms 
with more than 100,000 birds (2007) 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
UK SPA FRA GER POL ITA NL
average size (*1000) % broilers on larger farms
 
Source: Eurostat, processed by LEI. 
 
References 
- Bont, C.J.A.M de (2007). Schaalvergroting en verbreding in de Nederlandse landbouw. 
WOT (Statutory Research Tasks) Nature and Environment report 36.  
- Bondt N & L. Puister (2009). Use of antibiotics on dairy, pig and poultry farms. LEI 
report 2009-015. February 2009. 
- Meulen, H van der (2010) (editor). Farm size in agriculture: dairy, poultry and 
horticulture. LEI Wageningen UR report (in press 2010). 
- Peet, G van der, K. Eilers, C van der Peet-Schwering (2008). State of the art 
megafarms. Report 105. Animal Sciences Group. February 2008. 
- Fels, B van der, H. Hopster, A. Eilbers & M. Swanenburg (2008). Expert analyse 
Grootschalige Varkensbedrijven. Case study Family Farmers. Animal Sciences Group, 
Wageningen UR, Lelystad. 2008 
- Vermeij, I, H. Ellen & J. van Harn (2009). Arbeidsproductiviteit op vleeskuikenberijven 
(labour productivity on broiler farms). ASG Veehouderij (Livestock farming). Report 236. 
Lelystad. June 2009. 


C van der Peet-Schwering

C.J.A.M de (2007). Schaalvergroting en verbreding in de Nederlandse landbouw.

Expert analyse Grootschalige Varkensbedrijven. Case study Family Farmers. Animal Sciences Group,

Use of antibiotics on dairy, pig and poultry farms.

Broiler farm size in relation tot sustainability aspects

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