1. Environmental impact of livestock production
Kite Consulting believes in long-term sustainable businesses. It supports this by providing well informed, innovative and proactive consultancy. To this end, we recognise the impact that livestock production has on the environment and, as a consequence we focus on:
• continually improving farm efficiency.
• continually improving animal health and welfare.
• reducing the carbon footprint of food production.
• protecting the environment, wildlife and water.
• responsible use of fertilisers and farm manure in order to reduce nitrate and phosphate leaching, and ammonia emissions.
• supporting renewable energy
2. Supporting our customers
Kite Consulting believes livestock farmers endeavour to provide the best possible care for their animals, employees, the consumer and the environment. We help them to do this better by:
• supporting our clients to produce nutritious, healthy and safe food.
• helping our customers to run sustainable, safe and resilient businesses.
• empowering and training the next generation of young people in order to prepare them for a future in farming.
3. Animal welfare
Kite Consulting believes animal welfare is a top priority for its customers and works with them to help provide world class animal welfare standards. We believe that good animal welfare goes hand in hand with sustainability.
4. Carbon foot printing
Kite Consulting was amongst the first in the UK to measure and survey the carbon footprint of milk production on commercial farms in 2007, using Carbon Trust accredited tools developed by us. This work demonstrates that efficient farming systems with high welfare standards were also low
carbon systems. This message has been rolled out in talks to farmers, discussion groups, processors and retailers and has been a driving force behind our consultancy for over a decade.
5. Responsible use of antibiotics
Kite Consulting recognises the danger of anti-microbial resistance. We are actively involved in reducing the use of antibiotics on farms through farmers meetings with our partners in the food chain and one to one consultancy with clients, without jeopardising animal health or welfare – ‘As little as possible, but as much as necessary,’ RUMA.
6. Farming whether by conventional or organic means
Kite Consulting supports modern, efficient, low carbon and profitable livestock production. We embrace new technology which result in high standards of animal welfare and performance. Whether this is in the organic or conventional sectors, the aim is to produce nutritious, affordable, high quality food.
7. Challenging convention, feeding low protein diets
Kite Consulting believes in promoting the use of high forage, low protein diets, using grass-based proteins, followed with rapeseed meal as the main vegetable protein, since 2010. We have produced policy documents on the benefits of feeding rapeseed meal in place of soya bean meal and as a result very little soya bean meal or palm fat is used on our client’s farms. By feeding low protein diets we also save on feed costs, improve animal health, reduce nitrogen excretions on to the land and reduce ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions into the air, thereby reducing the environmental burden of livestock production on farm.
8. Monitoring tools
Kite Consulting believes in using technical and business management tools, with new accurate feed analysis (for example using Dry NIR for forage analyses) and accurate rationing systems, to improve farm efficiency and output. We are not pushing particular animal or farming systems but removing the barriers to more efficient production.
