Dec 10
26
Ostrich Farming Production and the Increasing Potential of Ostrich Meat
What was the driver for developing ostrich farming around the world? Until 1993 ostrich farming in South Africa was confined to members of the cooperative under single channel marketing. This initiative resulted in an effort to break the monopoly by generating production outside South Africa. Ostrich Leather was the driving product at the time. In order to increase revenue, the Israeli industry commenced marketing ostrich meat.
The South African industry feared industrial levels of production as they believed this would impact on the prices achieved for the skins. At the time ostrich skins were achieving in excess of US$40/square foot – the equivalent gross revenue of some $600 per slaughter bird. Prior to deregulation, the meat from Ostrich was considered a low value by product. Low fertility and hatchability, combined with high levels of chick mortality and low meat yields, have resulted in unacceptably high costs of ‘units’ of production and therefore the need to protect the artificially high prices received for Ostrich Leather. A number of such references have been made in various South African industry reports referencing these facts . Reference is also made to the lack of any genetic development in 150 years of the history of commercial ostrich production .
Subsequent experience working with ostrich demonstrated the diversity in genetic performance and the potential for ostrich to become an extremely efficient converter of food to meat protein, when farmed under commercial conditions. So what is the market potential for meat production?
Global Meat Production by Type
This graphic is taken from data presented in a paper written by Dr. Thomas Elam where he discusses the ever increasing demand for meat protein. Reasons for the rapid increase are a combination of population increase and improving wealth. This graphic clearly illustrates the percentage increase in pig and poultry meat consumption by comparison to the ruminant specie. This is a reflection of the significant improvements in costs of production in recent decades as a direct result of improvements in diet, management techniques and genetics. Ostrich have the potential for similar improvements in productivity and costs of production.
The other benefit that ostrich have in contributing to the meat protein supply is the fact there is a large population base unable to consume pig meat for religious and/or other reasons. Therefore ostrich provide an alternative option to increase variety for these population groups. Ostrich meat makes excellent ham, bacon and other meat products commonly associated with pig meat. The potential for ostrich farming production to supply ostrich meat in its many forms is significant.
