Progress in the OMELETTE Project: First Insights from the Pilot Farms
Within the OMELETTE project, we are actively following up with our pilot farms. We’d like to share a brief update on the farms involved and some of our initial findings.
In addition to the start-up phase at a laying hen farm in the Netherlands, we visited a second laying hen operation that houses approximately 100,000 hens. Here, 98,000 white and 2,000 brown hens are kept, with most of the eggs sold locally.
We also visited three parent stock farms—one located in the Netherlands and two in Belgium. Both Belgian farms are linked to the same hatchery. One operates three houses with 19,500 breeders each, following a traditional setup with two rows of laying nests on slatted floors. The other Belgian farm also runs three traditional free-range houses but with just one row of laying nests.
The Dutch parent stock farm involved in the project exports all of its hatching eggs. This requires a tailored approach. The farmer experiences less consistent hatching results and therefore regularly hatches a small batch of eggs on-site as a quality check.
On each of these farms, we collected baseline data and made arrangements for ongoing monitoring and data sharing. Farmers are encouraged to keep us informed about any issues or interventions between our scheduled visits, helping us build a comprehensive and dynamic dataset.
What We've Learned So Far
We’ve already gained valuable insights. Interestingly, although some farms work with the same veterinarian or feed supplier, their management approaches and underlying principles differ significantly. Each farm makes decisions based on its own experience, philosophy, and business objectives.
This diversity underscores the importance of developing a flexible platform—one that allows for tailored, farm-specific recommendations. The variety in practices enriches our understanding and ensures the project’s outcomes will be broadly applicable across different contexts.
We’re excited to continue following the progress of this project and will keep you updated on the next steps.