As part of USSEC’s continued efforts to support Indonesia poultry industry stakeholders in difficult times during the COVID-19 outbreak, two virtual technical seminars were held on June 8 and 19, targeting self-mixing layer farmers located in West Sumatra and Central Java regions, respectively. The virtual seminars were conducted over Zoom and attended by 46 participants, including self-mixing layer farmers and feed ingredient importers.
Dr. Budi Tangendjaja, USSEC Technical Consultant, conducted both seminars in Bahasa, Indonesia and delivered the following key points:
Importance of Vertical Integration in Production Cost: Vertical Integration is critical in the layer business as it allows farmers to control their costs in the value chain. When vertical integration is adopted, the layer farms can better manage feed cost and improve profitability.
Incorporating Feed Ingredients with High Nutritional Benefits Increases Productivity: Using feed formulation software in layer ration, it was demonstrated that the inclusion of U.S. soybean meal in feed formulation can help to optimize feeding cost despite its higher price relative to other origins. This is due to the higher nutrients’, especially energy and amino acids, digestibility in U.S. soybean meal.
Sustainable Farm Practices and Sourcing Feed Ingredients from Sustainable Sources: Going forward, layer farm operations will be expected to adopt sustainable practices in both feeding and farming as consumers’ demand for green products, including chicken meat and eggs, grows. U.S. soybean meal, which is produced from sustainable U.S. soybeans, will complement layer farms’ efforts to adopt green operations at the layer farms.
Mr. Andri Wijaya, the leader of one self-mixing layer farmer group in East Java, shared his positive experience gained from using U.S. soybean meal in his feed formulation. He made a switch to U.S. soybean meal and reportedly enjoyed both consistent and optimum egg production performance for the first time since he started his layer farm business. He encouraged his colleagues in Central Java to use U.S. soybean meal in their feed rations, especially during the current situation where the price spread make is affordable.
In his closing comments, USSEC Indonesia Country Director Ibnu Wiyono introduced local representatives of U.S. soy exporters who were present at the meeting and urged the self-mixing layer farmers in Central Java to consider collective purchase of U.S. soybean meal.
These seminars are part of USSEC Indonesia’s technical servicing program targeted at layer farmers in Indonesia. The first seminar was successfully conducted on May 4, 2020 for farmers in the East Java province and the program has benefited 70 layer farmers so far.