Jan 11
17
Designing An Operational Plan for an Ostrich Farming Business
“No Raw Material, No Industry”…..this was a statement made by the manager of a major South African tannery at the 2nd South African Ostrich Farming industry conference in 2002. At the time production was falling, making it challenging for those marketing the products to grow their sales. The operational plan must identify the risks and set out the strategies for ostrich farming, and other processes in the business must follow.
Pen of Slaughter Birds in South Africa
It is important to know one’s market prior to starting ostrich farming as the market you will be servicing determines systems you may need to incorporate into your farming practices.
Supply:
To ensure a reliable supply, production systems must be set up to achieve:
- Reliable egg production
- Reliable hatchability of those eggs
- Minimal chick mortality
- Programmed slaughter dates, so you know exactly when those birds will leave the ostrich farm. Producers must meet those slaughter dates and the abattoirs must honor them.
Standards:
What standards are requirements demanded by the buyers:
- Are any quality marks standards required? Examples of these are:
- Good Agricultural Practices such as GlobalGAP
- HACCP
- Welfare Standards such as RSPCA Freedom food or Certified Humane
- Will you operate to Best Practice or Good practice?
The Operational Plan should first highlight the inherent risks so that the business can then put in place steps to mitigate those risks. Once the marketing plan is complete, the next step in developing a business plan for ostrich farming or any process within the production chain is to carry out a risk analysis.
A good place to start would be to use the graphic in Sources of Revenue. Starting at the top, consider every aspect that needs consideration. At the top of the list is feed ingredients. What happens if the right quality feed ingredients are not available? The answer will be an impact on bird production, impacting feed conversion, delaying days to slaughter and profit margin on bird production. Then ask what strategies are required to ensure we achieve the right quality feed ingredients to minimise that risk. Do this with ever process.
Development of a HACCP plan operates along similar principles in the manufacturing process. The idea of the HACCP plan is to identify the hazards and then establish the procedure to minimise those risks.
The role of ostrich farming management is to identify the different risks and put in place management practices to mitigate those risks.
