The Scott brothers make their mark in the poultry world

The brothers from Howden Farm, in Haddington, who dream of constructing sustainable, climate friendly, self sufficient, poultry sheds have already constructed two free range units and have another in the making.

The new poultry unit is currently under construction Ref:RH210321154 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Up until 2016, their background was in arable farming and growing wheat, barley and oilseed rape, which will now be contracted out this coming year once the crops are sown, to allow the family to focus more on their poultry units and renewable energy sources.

The first poultry shed constructed was a 16,000-bird free range unit, fitted with Vencomatic UK equipment, which soon after allowed the family to double the shed size to accommodate 32,000 birds, with the same again now currently being installed to further expand their numbers.

Gentle handling, eggs are place on trays with pneumatic sucker Ref:RH210321148 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

As a result, they are able to house 64,000 hens on farm for a 64-week cycle with each bird producing 340 eggs. At present however, birds do have to be housed until March 31, as a result of avian flu.

“We needed to create a more sustainable income for our business without relying on the Basic Payment Scheme. If you want to grow a profitable business, you have to think about diversifying and moving with the times. It has been a very challenging few years and a steep learning curve from building sheds, to starting off a whole new farming enterprise without any experience” said Michael, who supplies free-range eggs to ‘The Lakes Free Range Egg Company’.

eggs getting sorted so they can be placed on the trays and stacked Ref:RH210321147 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

He added: “The egg market is quite saturated at the moment and there is fear of over expansion within the industry. Feed costs have been very high over the past six months which has squeezed margins further.

“Feed prices increased between 50% and 80% above the industry average last year, and every £5 per tonne rise adds an extra penny to the cost of production per egg, which fairly adds up when you are feeding 64,000 hens.”

Silos outside the unit to store all the feed to keep the chickens in tip top laying condition Ref:RH210321156 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

To reduce costs and maximise income, the three brothers invested heavily into automated equipment throughout the shed to save time and labour. The egg packing equipment is purchased from Prinzen; the PSCPC 30, PR70 and Prinzen Palletiser (NEW for 2021) purely for the reliability and support.

The egg palletiser packs all of the eggs into separate pallets using plastic packaging for a more environmentally friendly source, being able to recycle and wash the packaging. Another way the brothers are looking at being more environmentally friendly is by planting trees to provide biodiversity and shelter for the birds.

Egg packing shed, all eggs are placed on trays then automatically stacked on to pallets Ref:RH210321150 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

To further ensure that their equipment will last for future generations, they found that the Magnelis galvanised steel used on the system was a big benefit.

“Breakdowns are minimal as the equipment is fresh and has been built to a good standard. You get what you pay for. I would prefer to invest in a system that is good value and one that will potentially last longer, require reduced labour to run and have less problems along the way,” added Michael.

Along with the installation of two new units, the Fortica ventilation system from Hotraca Agri has been key for the brothers, working alongside the biomass wood chip boilers, and their ground source heat pump.

the container that houses the Ground source heat pump system to heat the poultry unit Ref:RH210321145 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

“The heat provided improves air quality, feed conversion, floor litter, hen welfare and reduces humidity and ammonia levels within the shed, which all round improves bird performance,” said Michael, who feeds the hens a specialist bespoke ration from Noble feeds.

The poultry sheds consume high levels of electricity for lighting, heating and ventilation, so the costs of production can be fairly high compared to other livestock businesses. The aim behind installing two 200kW biomass wood chip boilers and 90kW solar pv is to become self-sufficient with their own power by having their own micro electrical grid.

The Wes Wind Turbine has been installed at Howden Farm Ref:RH210321155 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

“The long-term future goal is to become more self-sufficient; that is what the consumer is after and it is the way forward for the industry. We need to replace soya with alternatives which would significantly reduce the carbon footprint of poultry diets but it is challenging to do it is a long-term goal that needs to be implemented now,” explained Michael.

“The future of our farm depends on the egg trade, we have a tough couple of years ahead of ourselves to try and pay off our sheds with a fairly low trade. There are many challenges which lie ahead, however we are excited to see what the future brings,” concluded Michael.

the shed also uses heat recovery units, where the heat in the air from the shed is recycled back into the system again Ref:RH210321158 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

Farm Facts

Who is all involved: The three Scott brothers, Charlie, Andrew and Michael along with their parents, Douglas and Coreen.

History: Purchased Howden Farm 101 years ago as an arable farm, now running two sites of hen sheds with 64,000 hens.

Acreage: 350 arable acres.

Poultry: 64,000 hens with an aim of producing 340 eggs per bird per 64-week cycle.

Renewables: 1.2 MW ground source heat pump, two 200kW biomass wood chip boilers, an 80kW wind turbine and 90kW solar pv array.

Tree have been planted to give the chickens more shelter Ref:RH210321152 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...

On The Spot

Best investment: "A ground source heat pump, it brings heat into the shed as well as recovering the waste heat from hens and the ground. It has been an expensive investment but a worthy one."

Biggest achievement: "Graduating with a BSc in Agriculture at Edinburgh SRUC."

Best advice: "To the younger generation: Believe in yourself and don’t fear failure."

Where do you see yourself in 2031: "Power sustainable, our electric usage is extremely high. I would like to see our business in a stronger financial position by then. Soya could be replaced with insect protein which will offer the free-range egg sector a real opportunity to increase its sustainability, by moving away from traditional soya-based feed inputs

If you could change one thing, what would it be? Write off all our debt!"

The poultry unit has a very low profile, so it doesn't stick out in the landscape Ref:RH210321157 Rob Haining / The Scottish Farmer...