Global Technical Service on Serbia & Bosnia and Herzegovina TOUR

The LOHMANN Global Technical Service Team, which includes Mark Allen (Flock Management), Juan Valle (Nutrition), and Dr. Andreas Bublat (Veterinary Specialist), was recently invited by Marek Malkowski, the Key Account Manager Europe, to visit Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The team’s primary objective was to offer in-person support and guidance to LOHMANN distributors regarding alternative management systems. The first destination on their trip was SPASIC FARMS in Belgrade, Serbia.

LOHMANN Global Technical Service Team supports Seminar at SPASIC-FARMS in Belgrade:

In Serbia, the transition from conventional cage systems for egg production, as present in the EU before 2012, is still permissible. Despite this, many egg producers in Serbia have already invested in alternative systems, catering to the niche market for organic eggs.

Our long-standing partner in Serbia, SPASIC-FARMS, the exclusive supplier of LOHMANN BROWN day-old chicks in the country, invited the Technical Service Team to a roundtable meeting on 15.02.2024. The meeting included veterinarians and feed producers from across the country, focusing on adjusting feeding, management, and healthcare practices for LOHMANN BROWN flocks. The goal was to share the expertise of our Technical Service team on these subjects.

This format of meeting received positive feedback from participants and proved to be an effective alternative to the larger seminars typically organized by SPASIC-FARMS for clients and potential customers from Serbia and neighboring countries.

The partnership between AGREKS / Animal Commerce and LOHMANN BREEDERS GmbH

After the seminar, the journey continued to our distributors in Bosnia-Herzegovina, AGREKS, and Animal Commerce, Serbia, where our team of experts was also in high demand for their expertise on transitioning to alternative management systems for breeding and laying hen populations, particularly in the areas of breeding and production”.

Following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, only a few West Balkan countries have yet to join the European Union (EU), allowing the continued practice of keeping laying hens in cages. However, there is a trend towards eventual EU membership for these countries, including the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), with the former already holding the status of an official EU candidate.

Some poultry keepers in these countries, such as AGREKS d.o.o. from BiH and its Serbian counterpart Animal Commerce d.o.o., have taken proactive steps to produce eggs in compliance with EU animal welfare regulations. These companies have adopted enriched colony systems, providing more space and amenities such as nests, scratch areas, and perches for laying hens, enabling them to express natural behaviors.

AGREKS initiated a project at Karadordevo farm in Donji Zabar, BiH, with four operational poultry houses accommodating approximately 70,000 layers in voliere systems. Meanwhile, Animal Commerce in Kruscic, Serbia, installed six-layer houses in 2011, housing a total of 125,000 laying hens in enriched colony systems.

The partnership between AGREKS and Lohmann Breeders GmbH has resulted in a significant impact on the egg and poultry industry in Donji Zabar, known as “the egg and poultry town.” AGREKS claims to produce the highest number of eggs per capita in Europe, contributing to a broader market for BiH egg-based products.

As negotiations between BiH and the EU progress to open the EU market for table eggs, AGREKS aims to be the first to supply eggs produced in alternative systems in accordance with EU industry regulations.

The LOHMANN Global Technical Service Team visited AGREKS farms and the feed mill in Donji Zabar and Kruscic to share knowledge and refine practices related to feeding, management, biosecurity, and ensure the excellent health status of the LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC flocks.