Organic growth for natural additives products

Born into a family poultry business, Ted Dickin has been involved in agriculture all his life. After completing a poultry course at Hutton Agriculture College in the early 1960s, he spent the next 10 years working on the family poultry farm and butchery business before finding his feet in sales in the 1970s. He spent a number of years working in all sorts of industries – from developing racing dog food supplements, marketing pigeon products to joinery and even demolition – before his avid interest in animal behaviour and his reading round his subject drew him back to his agricultural roots. Finally, with a gift for spotting a good opportunity, he launched a range of natural products based on essential oils and organic minerals (and in more recent years, bioflavanoids).

His research in the poultry industry (where he has spent a great deal of his own money proving that medicinal additives need not be used) has borne considerable fruit. Not only has he found that such additives are unnecessary, but he has proved that natural products can have a beneficial effect in producing performance that far outstrips that where medicines are used. He has refined the products and developed them through his determination and never-say-die attitude. His positive attitude is infectious and his enthusiasm, in an industry where hard knocks are commonplace, is testament to his entrepreneurial spirit.

FS. What trends in demand for organic production have you seen in recent years?

TD. Organic production is clearly increasing but still accounts for only a small percentage of the total food market. However, the reduction in the use of chemicals and particularly of medicinal additives in feed is significant. Indeed, we have seen tremendous growth in the sale of our products, which are natural and also carry organic approvals.

FS. Are fears over chemical and medical additives warranted?

TD. For more than 40 years since the Swann report in the 1960s, there has been concern over the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and, more generally, medicines that are used in human drug therapy. The rapid increase in the so-called ‘superbugs’ that we have seen in the last 10 years has heightened the public’s perception that we are losing the battle against disease. Some diseases that were thought to have largely been eradicated (Tuberculosis, for instance) have suddenly started to become a threat to human health – a threat that must be countered.

FS. How can animals and poultry be reared intensively without the use of medicines and still meet strict safety standards?

TD. The use of natural additives has seen strong growth during the last 10 years. There has been a plethora of animal feeding trials using all types of materials including botanical products, organic acids, enzymes and pro-nutrients, pro and pre-biotics, minerals, herbs and essential oils. It is clear from these trials that some of these materials exhibit certain antimicrobial activity. However, it seems clear that such materials do not create the ‘resistance’ effect that we have seen in the use of antibiotics and so the ascendancy of the superbugs ought to be curtailed. For instance, the healing powers of oregano have been known for more than 2000 years – no one would see this common culinary ingredient as a threat to human health and the advancement of the bacterial population.

FS. In particular, how difficult is it to respond and protect against disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza, while maintaining a drug-free status? Are you at greater risk of infection?

TD. Well, firstly we must concentrate on the prevention of disease before it starts to be a problem. Too often, the preferred method is to slaughter infected animals and birds, as in foot and mouth disease, avian flu, etc. Suppose such diseases never got a chance to take hold? It may be a wild idea but it is possible. We have seen that our products, EnviroCyte and Nvirox (based on natural materials, particularly bioflavonoids), can kill the bird flu virus in the laboratory. Indeed, this work carried out by Retroscreen Laboratories has introduced a new weapon in the fight against disease.

FS. What natural compounds and additives do you use to control pathogens?

TD. The products that we market are designed to give the best performance in animals and poultry without recourse to medicines. Some are mineral-based such as Orgamin, a product that supplements poultry feeds with highly available trace minerals essential for optimum performance, whilst others such as Herban and HerbaCyte are appetisers that improve feed intake and performance by other means. EnviroCyte and Nvirox as described above are products that control pathogens and viral challenges including avian flu, Salmonella and even MRSA.

FS. Are there any additional benefits to these treatments?

TD. The supplementation of diets with medicinal additives tends to produce a ‘total kill’ of all gut organisms. Indeed, we believe that the receptor sites for medicines attract such additives so quickly that they eliminate the possibility of any beneficial organisms being left to help fight off disease. Hence it is difficult to stop feeding these medicines for fear of the animal being left wide open to the onset of disease. Natural products tend to enhance the beneficial gut micro-organisms and reduce the proliferation of the harmful ones, thereby giving the body some natural resistance to disease. At the same time, drugs that may be used from time to time can be kept in the armoury for more serious disease outbreaks should they occur. By this means, the animal is protected and the possibility of bacterial resistance is greatly reduced at worst and at best, totally eliminated.

In recent commercial trials using more than 7.5 million birds on over 40 different farms we have seen an average improvement in profitability of 18.4 percent where our products were included in the feed – so there is a huge benefit to using these supplements.