Could you briefly introduce yourself and your farm?
My name is Oskari Kössi and I have a broilerfarm with capacity of 60 000 broilers. We also grow crops on the farm.

What challenges were you facing on your farm, and why was it important to solve it?
As broiler production is contract production in Finland we usually face the same challenges, and figure them out together. In the starts of the 2000’s we faced the challenge of getting rid of oil in heating the broilerhouses – this was national problem also financial problem that we decided to tackle. We have always had the water circulating radiators but we needed to find more economical and sustainable way of warming the water.

Which Good Practice did you use to tackle this challenge?
Finland won the good practice in the round one with “Water circulation central heating with renewable energy” – this is how we have tackled the transition into using more sustainable energy sources. We have heating plants on the farms that use wood biomass for heating the water that goes around the pipes in the broilerhouse. The wood used comes from the forests and is usually “energy”- wood that consists of the logging residue, so the sawmill logs are never used. Biomass is fully utilized; we are also completely self-sufficient with wood biomass in Finland.

What changed on your farm after applying this Good Practice”?

The benefit comes from its way of heating the rearing space and controlling moisture. This way of heating does not add moisture in the air and by using water circulation central heating there is no need to limit the ventilation to keep the temperature at the correct level. Warm air consists of more moisture so you can keep the correct humidity level with ventilation.

With water circulation central heating the air humidity is lower and bedding stays dryer throughout the rearing period. The benefits are better rearing conditions and less footpad lesions. Healthier broilers do not have a need for antibiotics. With the right temperature, broilers do not need to eat to keep warm which results in a better feed efficiency.

Also the costs are much lower, especially if the biomass comes from farmers own forest – or it can be bought locally from other forestowners.

What advice would you give to other broiler farmers dealing with a similar issue?As this is a very local or Nordics specific way of operating, I would encourage farmers in Europe to also research the benefits of heating the house before the chicks come in and how it affects the health of the birds.
https://broilernet.eu/water-circulation-central-heating-with-renewable-energy/