The River Wye
Avara has been part of the local economy since the 1960’s and we are one of the main employers in the catchment area, directly employing approximately 1,500 people who live, work and play in the catchment, plus many more that work with our wider supply chain. We all want to see a healthy river.
That is why we believe we have done more than any other poultry business to respond to concerns and to support efforts to develop understanding on the complex subject of river health. We have invested in improving data, monitoring and understanding of river health, and has engaged with industry, academic and regulatory stakeholders to support evidence-based solutions.
Independent Environment Agency data has noted a downward trend in phosphorus levels which are now understood to be lower than they have been since the early 1990s, during a period in which farming practices have evolved significantly. More broadly, independent research makes clear that river health is influenced by multiple factors that are unrelated to our operations, or that of our wider supply chain.
British poultry is a core part of the UK’s food system, providing an affordable, high-protein staple that feeds a significant proportion of the UK each week, with Avara proudly playing a continuous, large-scale role in supplying retail demand across the country.
Domestic poultry production underpins UK food security and supply resilience, reducing reliance on imports at a time when global supply chains are volatile and lower-cost poultry produced to reduced standards is increasing its share of the UK market.
The UK poultry sector operates within a tightly regulated domestic framework, with standards on food safety, traceability and animal welfare set and enforced in Britain which are higher than the standards for imported poultry. Maintaining domestic production capacity ensures those standards remain within UK control so that UK consumers have access to high quality foods, rather than the poultry that is consumed in the UK coming increasingly from lower welfare and environmental standard producers overseas.
Common misconceptions
If Avara left the catchment, the problem would be solved?
The situation in the Wye is complex and any serious conversation about water quality must include solutions to various challenges, including excess nutrients, chemical pollution, biodiversity loss and the impact of climate change on water temperature and flow.
From January 2024 all the manure from our supply chain that would have been sold as fertiliser within the catchment is being exported elsewhere in the UK. By doing this, the majority of the manure generated from farms that supply us has been removed from the catchment, without closing a farm or disrupting the supply of food. However, this does not affect nutrient demand from other agriculture sectors within the catchment.
Poultry farmers just dump manure on their farm.
Manure is not stored, spread or in any other way disposed of on poultry farms that supply Avara: they are sealed houses that stand on concrete. Any manure that would have been sold and then used as fertiliser in the catchment area prior to January 2024 is now exported from the area.
Poultry manure is a waste product that’s just being dumped in the catchment.
Poultry manure is a fertiliser that’s highly valued, and widely used, by arable farmers, who pay for it if they don’t produce it themselves. Since January 2024 none of the farms in Avara’s supply chain sell manure for use as fertiliser in the catchment area. The majority of land in the catchment is used for agriculture, so there is a significant demand for fertiliser, which is met with other animal manures, inorganic fertiliser, and poultry manure from producers outside Avara’s supply chain.
All poultry manure needs to be exported out of the catchment to solve the problem
Poultry manure is a widely used fertiliser. If it were no longer available, the health of the Wye would still depend on the careful use of whatever fertiliser replaces it. If that fertiliser is applied in excess of crop need, nutrient levels would grow.
Removing poultry manure would also not account for other ways in which phosphates enter the river, including through water treatment and sewage overflows, and other forms of livestock manure. It would also fail to address the other causes of increased nutrient levels, including chemical pollution, biodiversity loss and the impact of climate change on water temperature and flow.
The rising number of Intensive Poultry Units is the root cause of the problems in the Wye catchment
The suggestion that the number of Intensive Poultry Units is the root cause of the challenges in the River Wye catchment is not accurate.
River health in the Wye is a complex, long-standing issue influenced by multiple factors, including wastewater, land management practices, and wider environmental conditions. It is not attributable to any single source.
Data indicates that phosphorus levels in the river have varied over time and, over the long term, have declined from historic highs, with levels now understood to be lower than in the early 1990s.
Our role is limited to poultry production. We do not control how land is managed for fertiliser application, which is undertaken by independent farmers within a regulated framework.
There is no clear scientific consensus identifying poultry units alone as the primary driver of the river’s condition. Independent research highlights the need to consider all contributing sources to fully understand and address the issue.
We recognise the importance of the River Wye and continue to take practical steps within our control, including reducing phosphate in feed and supporting the movement of poultry manure out of the catchment.
The phosphorus in the poultry manure is from imported feed ingredients, mostly South American soya
Soya comprises less than 25% of our birds' diets and represents a small proportion of the phosphorus in the diet. Our feed is made from a variety of UK cereals, including wheat, as well as amino acids and other nutrients that are needed to support healthy growth and development.
It's time that Avara did something
We were the first business in the catchment to publish accurate data about our supply chain and a clear roadmap for action. We have invested in improving data, monitoring and understanding of river health, and have engaged with industry, academic and regulatory stakeholders to support evidence-based solutions.
We have also been working with local experts, including the Wye and Usk Foundation.
From January 2024, any manure generated on farms that supply us and would have been sold as fertiliser in the catchment is being exported. In addition, the small number of farmers that supply us, and also retain manure for fertiliser on their other farmland, agreed to pilot new soil assurance standards under Red Tractor.
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