Sustainability

In the following pages we consider the economic, environmental and social aspects of the development.

Economic sustainability

The applicant’s stated (1) reason for selecting the specific piece land upon which to develop, is that it is of poor quality for crop growth, despite being classified as prime arable land. Although this assertion remains unproven, the applicant’s logic is that lower yields of cereals lead to reduced income, with further financial risks being presented by changing (less favourable) weather patterns. Therefore the applicant is looking for another form of farming which (they feel) won't be affected by the weather, which in simple terms means, a more stable and predictable income, equalling more profit. This is a valid argument, but it overlooks the possibility that free range eggs are likely to become unprofitable either because of over - supply and / or lack of demand

For the former, one need look no further at the number of recent applications for huge free range developments, to see that there is going to be significant competition amongst suppliers of free range eggs which will in turn drive down farm gate prices

Lack of demand; the question being do we really need that many eggs anyway, and will consumers be willing to pay the premium for free range eggs, upon which suppliers in general seem to be basing their business model? This question is perhaps unanswerable at the moment, however there will always be competition between free range / barn / battery eggs, and for those unwilling or unable to pay a premium, the ‘best’ eggs will always be those with the lowest price

These business risks are discussed and generally supported in a large number of freely available periodicals, journals and in the press, and references to some of these are given elsewhere on our website

Most telling amongst these include an article from The British Free Range Egg Producers Association, which has already noted that the rapid growth of egg production has caused the profitability of that business to fall, so that for some producers it is close to break-even (2).

Further, a report by ADAS (2) concluded that, for the foreseeable future, any increased demand for free range eggs due to population growth would be met by increases in the efficiency of (existing) free range egg production. Growth in the market demand for free range eggs must therefore come from a preparedness of consumers to pay a premium price for free range, relative to barn eggs.

In Angus Council terms, it would appear that "the needs of the present" in terms of egg production are already being met, and that we should not "compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" by permanently destroying prime agricultural land.