World meat industry news

On March 6, a consignment of incubation eggs of gray geese of the Kolos breed from Hungary was imported into the Oryol region with the permission of the Rosselkhoznadzor. The recipient is Mulard Utka LLC, which is engaged in the cultivation and maintenance of poultry, the department reports.

The unloading was carried out under the supervision of specialists from the Office of the Rosselkhoznadzor for the Oryol and Kursk regions and the veterinary service of the Oryol region.

The incoming batch (16 thousand 500 pieces) was produced at an enterprise located in a territory free from infectious diseases of birds.

After checking the package of veterinary accompanying documents and the conditions of transportation, the incoming batch was transferred to the recipient for further incubation.

As consumer appetite for niche products continues to grow, goose farming is becoming an attractive area for investment. Primarily, geese are bred primarily for meat production, so breeding stock is selected primarily for their expected genetic ability to produce fast growing, early maturing goslings with a compact, fleshy body. Intensively reared broiler geese reach a slaughter weight of 5 kg by 56–63 days of age; at semi-intensive keeping, they reach a slaughter weight of 6 kg by 16 weeks of age, and at extensive keeping (pasture) they can be slaughtered by 22–24 weeks of age. Popular breeds for industrial breeding of geese include the Toulouse, Emden (sometimes spelled as Embden), white and brown Chinese goose and others.

In addition to healthy meat, goose fat, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, is increasingly being considered as a functional food. Goose liver is a delicacy, while goose eggs for human consumption are popular in Asian countries. The goose industry is particularly lucrative in China, where goose egg production is already well developed. Chinese breeds of geese for eggs are Yangzhou, Magang geese.

Where egg geese farming used to be a small family business in China, it has now become a specialized profitable business thanks to the discovery of Professor Zhendang Shi of the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He made a discovery about how, through lighting (manipulation of the photoperiod), to achieve year-round egg laying. In fact, the country's annual production of commercial goose eggs has increased by three to four percent per year since the technology was developed in 2000.

In addition, most of the world's feather and down production comes from slaughtered geese.